Dear Rapido Customer,
Scroll down to read about more paint schemes for our baggage cars, but first - read on...
Rapido Trains Inc. is proud to give you, our loyal customers, a sneak preview of a completely new concept in model railroading.
We all want wires on our model railroad telephone poles, but who wants to spend the 20 years to install them? That's 10 years to install the wires, and 10 years of therapy to recover! Now you can add super-detailed, "Totally Wired" Telephone Poles to your entire HO scale mainline or branchline in one evening.
Each package contains 11 single poles and one double pole. 17 scale-size wires are already installed on all of the poles.
THAT'S RIGHT - the wires are ALREADY installed on the poles!
Simply remove the poles from the foam base and plant them on your layout. Poles can be spaced up to 100 scale feet apart. The wires unroll from rollers inside the box as you pull the telephone poles out. We've done all the hard work for you, and we're a lot cheaper than therapy!
"Totally Wired" Telephone Poles will be available this spring. This is NOT a limited run. We'll keep making them as long as you keep ordering them. Your hobby shop will receive all of the information in January. MSRP is $34.95.
With "Totally Wired" Telephone Poles from Rapido Trains Inc., your model railroad's right-of-way will be elevated to a new level of realism. Totally.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LRC???
The LRC (Light, Rapido, Comfortable) coaches are the heart of VIA Rail Canada's Corridor services, and were also used by Amtrak in the NEC and between Toronto and Chicago. The LRC locomotives were the fastest locomotives in Canada in the 1980s and 1990s.
Rapido's first product back in 2004 was an undecorated resin kit of the Bombardier LRC coach, and in 2005 we announced an undecorated resin kit of the LRC locomotive. It became clear this fall that very little progress was being made on the LRC locomotive by our resin supplier.
So we have decided to cancel the resin LRC locomotive project. And instead, we are pleased to announce...
The Super Continental Line Bombardier LRC.
We've had almost daily requests for the LRC to be produced as a ready-to-run model, and we're proud to finally satisfy this demand.
This project is still in its early stages, and we don't expect delivery until late 2008 or early 2009. Normally I wouldn't announce something so early, but I wanted to explain the reasons for the cancellation of the resin project.
The LRC will feature the high level of detail you have come to expect from the Super Continental Line of museum-quality passenger cars. The LRC will come decorated for VIA Rail Canada and Amtrak.
LRC Locomotive:
- DC/DCC (with sound) or DC (without sound)
- DC (without sound) models are DCC-ready
- five-pole, skew-wound motor with flywheels
- operating headlights, ditch lights, class lights and back-up light
- full cab interior
- operating radiator fan
- numerous extra detail parts, factory-installed
- separate metal grab irons, factory-installed
- operating diaphragms
- multiple unit numbers available
- MSRP $299.95 (with sound) - $159.95 (without sound)
LRC Passenger Cars:
- full interior detail with individually-molded seats
- track-powered "Easy-Peasy" interior lighting
- separate metal grab irons, factory-installed
- operating diaphragms
- separate end gates and end bars
- Coach and "VIA 1" First Class variations
- multiple car numbers available
- MSRP $59.95
Your dealer will receive full information about the new Super Continental Line LRC in January, but don't worry - the order deadline is months away, so you have plenty of time to order a bunch.
BAGGAGE CAR MADNESS!!!
The response to our baggage car so far has been excellent, so we are pleased to announce new paint schemes, for delivery in summer/fall 2008. The order deadline for these paint schemes is Monday, March 17, 2008. Your dealer must order by then to guarantee delivery.
- Canadian National (Wet Noodle Scheme)
- Amtrak (Phase 1)
- Baltimore & Ohio
- Burlington (Havelock baggage, silver "Zephyr" scheme)
- Chicago & North Western
- Illinois Central
- Kansas City Southern
- Louisville & Nashville
- Milwaukee Road (1950 scheme)
- Norfolk & Western
- Ontario Northland (modern)
- Rock Island (silver)
As usual, multiple car numbers are available for every paint scheme, ranging from two to ten. We will be announcing more paint schemes in a few months' time.
And remember, the order deadline for our first run of baggage cars (delivery this spring) is Friday, January 18. I suggest you order early from your favorite dealer to make sure you don't miss out on these great cars. We often sell out of all of our inventory before the cars arrive in our warehouse. It's impossible to predict how many we will sell, so we don't always make enough to handle late orders.
The first paint schemes, announced earlier, are:
- Amtrak (Phase 3)
- Canadian National Railways (1954 scheme)
- Erie
- Erie-Lackawanna
- Great Northern
- Missouri Pacific (Jenks Blue)
- New York Central (two-tone gray)
- Northern Pacific
- Pennsylvania Railroad
- Santa Fe (silver)
- Southern Pacific (gray)
- Union Pacific
- VIA Rail Canada
- Undecorated
So what about that Illinois Central Orange?
We finally got the IC orange right on our Cafe-Bar-Lounge and 10-5 Sleepers, so IC fans have been asking: what do I do about my Coaches and Duplex Sleepers? The answer is that we will be producing decals of the orange stripe, in the correct shade of orange. You can obtain these decals directly from us, and they will be available at cost. As I mentioned in the last Telegraph, we will also be announcing more coaches in (correct) IC colors in the next few months.
The exact price and ordering information for the IC decals will be sent in the next Rapido Telegraph.
Brief TurboTrain Update
Visitors to Trainfest got to see a test sample of our TurboTrain roaring around the track. The motor issues have been solved, and we are now finalizing the speed range, decoder programming, and other last-minute details. Production will begin shortly, and the first complete Turbos will leave China in February or March.
I very much appreciate your patience as we've developed this complex project. The book looks amazing, by the way, and will be in stores next month.
Click on the image below to see our sample in action at Trainfest.
For those of you still with me, that's about all for now. Thank you for supporting us in our first full year as a ready-to-run model railroad manufacturer. We will continue to strive for excellence in bringing new products to market, and I always welcome your feedback to let me know how we're doing.
Our web site will be updated within the next week with all of this new information, and your dealers and distributors will receive more detailed info (such as product numbers) in January.
I wish all my customers a Merry Christmas, a Happy Purim (well, Chanukah is almost over), and all best wishes for 2008.
Regards,
Jason Shron
President
Rapido Trains Inc.
