|
Dear Rapido Customer,
First we brought you museum quality passenger cars with revolutionary battery-powered lighting operated by magnetic wand. Then we brought you even more super-detailed underbodies with all of the steam, air and electrical piping.
Now, we are pleased to announce a completely new level of realism for your HO scale passenger trains...
The Super Continental Line
"Oh, So Steamy!" Steam Generator Car
The New "Oh, So Steamy!" Steam Generator Car with Real "Steam"
Time-exposed photo with an orally-generated draft from the left
(That means I was blowing on it instead of moving the train...)
|
This baby actually generates "steam"!
For most of the 20th century, passenger trains were heated by steam. The problem was, once diesel locomotive use became widespread in the 1940s, there was no longer a guaranteed source of steam at the head end. Railroads developed Steam Generator Units or SGUs (also known as Steam Gennies or Steam Heater Cars) to create steam for on-board heat. In central and northern states (and in Canada, of course), Steam Gennies were usually used between September and May, or all year round in the far north. In the summer time, they would be lined up on a track in the coach yard or engine terminal.
The new Super Continental Line "Oh, So Steamy!" Steam Generator Car actually generates a steam effect in service on your passenger trains. Hook it up behind your locomotive, turn on the steam, ease the throttle, and watch as steam wisps out from underneath your passenger cars, just like the real thing. Our model is based on a General Motors prototype built for Canadian National in the 1950s.
Steam Escaping from Underneath Real Passenger Cars
|
In some cases, steam on real passenger trains could be a real headache, especially if there was a frozen or burst steam line. In the photo below, the blow down valve on the Steam Genny has been opened. It's about 40 below outside. Ask me how I know. With our new "Oh, So Steamy!" Steam Generator Car, you get all the neat effects with none of the operational headaches or sub-zero temperatures.
Now that's what I call steam!
(fortunately, our model will not create that much steam)
|
So how does it work?
The "Oh, So Steamy!" Steam Generator Car is a new application of very old technology. Each car has a small burner inside which heats up the steam fluid (a type of baby oil), creating fake "steam." A small interior fan blows the steam through a hose and out the bottom of the Steam Genny. As the train moves, the steam lingers on the track and looks as if it is coming out of the steam valves on the passenger cars.
The steam is non-toxic and the fluid can be refilled through the car's roof hatch. The steam actually cleans your track while the Steam Genny is running, and unlike smoke-equipped steam engines the steam fluid will not leave a yucky residue on your scenery, rolling stock and buildings.
Most importantly: not only can you use your Rapido Lighter to operate the working backup lights, you can also use it to turn the steam on and off!
Have you ever seen this many pipes under a 40-foot car?
|
The "Oh, So Steamy" Steam Genny features:
- Real "steam" effect which can be turned on and off by magnetic wand
- Operating backup lights, which can be turned on and off by magnetic wand
- Works on DC and DCC layouts
- Full underbody detail, including ALL steam and air lines
- See-through etched metal platforms
- Separate, metal brake chain (sorry - it doesn't work)
- Accurate BX express trucks
- Reliable electrical pickup
- Separate metal grab irons painted and applied at the factory
- A must for any railroad that operated passenger trains in cold weather
The first run paint schemes will be announced on our web site and in the next edition of the Telegraph. If you have any specific paint scheme requests, please let me know. The MSRP will be $59.95.
Doug mistakenly thinks that he can use his Rapido
wand to work the doors on a real Baggage Car.
Prototype photo by Bram Bailey.
|
New Baggage Car Paint Schemes
(Official announcement coming soon!)
As usual, you get a sneak preview of what is coming. And here it is: MORE BAGGAGE CARS! The following will be the third release of baggage car paint schemes. We may do more down the road, but this is it for now.
- Algoma Central
- Burlington (Havelock Baggage, Green)*
- Canadian National (Green)*
- Canadian Pacific
- Central Of Georgia*
- Chesapeake & Ohio
- Delaware & Hudson
- Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
- Great Northern (Big Sky Blue)
- Milwaukee Road (Up Colors)
- Missouri Pacific (Eagle)
- New York Central (Gray)*
- Ontario Northland (Green)
An asterix (*) means that this is a paint scheme we have not done previously. These cars will be released in several numbers per paint scheme, and will go into production this summer, for delivery in late fall 2008. Despite rising costs of materials and labor in China, the MSRP is still $59.95. We must be crazy.
Place your order with your dealer by July 1st to guarantee delivery. But remember - if your dealer is not a subscriber to the Rapido Telegraph, he or she doesn't know about these yet. We'll be finalising product numbers and sending out information to dealers in the next few weeks.
Please note: the ad in the June issue of Model Railroader mistakenly omits Lackawanna and Great Northern (Big Sky Blue) from the list of paint schemes. Well, what can you do...
Production Model of VIA Baggage Car
|
Baggage Car Delivery Schedule
The following paint schemes are currently on the ocean en route to our warehouse:
- Amtrak Phase 3
- Missouri Pacific Jenks Blue
- Pennsylvania
- Santa Fe
- Southern Pacific
- Union Pacific
- VIA Rail Canada
- Undecorated
They are expected to arrive on May 12th and will be at your hobby shop about two weeks after that date.
These remaining baggage cars from the first run are expected in June:
- Canadian National Railways (1954 scheme)
- Erie
- Erie-Lackawanna
- Great Northern
- Northern Pacific
- New York Central (Two Tone Gray)
Along with these Dayniter Leg-Rest Coaches:
- VIA Rail Canada
- Ontario Northland (Modern Scheme)
It's not too late...
to order our second-run baggage cars from your local hobby shop. Because our factory has been so busy with TurboTrain and first-run baggage car production, we haven't started production of the second batch of paint schemes yet. So you can order with your dealer before next Monday, April 21st, and still be sure to get them.
The second-run paint schemes are:
- 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)
And I almost forgot to mention Canadian National (Wet Noodle) Dayniter coaches, which will be produced at the same time.
Make sure your dealer places the order with their distributor before the order deadline. We've had some unhappy customers in the past whose dealers waited to place their order and the cars were sold out by the time they did.
Model Railroader® 75th Anniversary Passenger Car
|
Celebrate 75 Years of Model Railroader with Rapido Trains Inc.!
We at Rapido are very proud to have been selected by Model Railroader to produce the exclusive HO scale passenger car to celebrate the 75th anniversary of this great magazine, an institution in our hobby.
The anniversary car will be a Dayniter leg-rest coach lettered for Model Railroader's club layout, the Milwaukee, Racine and Troy. The model will be released in late 2008, and is a very limited run. Orders should be placed with your Rapido dealer (and not directly with Model Railroader) by July 1st to guarantee delivery.
The model features full underbody detail with separate air, steam and electrical piping; working diaphragms; full interior with individually-molded seats; and "Easy-Peasy" battery-operated interior lighting. The MSRP is $64.95. This is the first passenger car model ever decorated for the MR&T.
More information about the car, including its history, can be found on our web site. Click here to read more.
TurboTrain IC-33 Interiors in Production
|
Quick TurboTrain Update
The Intermediate Car production is almost finished, and the factory will soon start work on the Power Dome Cars. We have built two test tables in our factory, each containing two large ovals of track. Once the Power Dome Car production is finished, EVERY SINGLE TURBOTRAIN will be operated on one of the test tracks to make sure that the decoders work correctly and that all of the lights and functions do what they are supposed to do.
Please bear in mind that this adds 20 minutes to the production time of every single train, and as we can only test four trains simultaneously, production of the TurboTrains will take somewhat longer than the usual 90 days.
We're still on track to deliver the first of the TurboTrains this summer. I am going to China next month to supervise the first TurboTrain tests and make sure that everything is going according to plan.
It's been a long four years working on this project, but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have worked tirelessly to ensure that the TurboTrain model looks great and works reliably. I have also worked to ensure that this train is given its long-overdue recognition as a successful experiment and a vital piece of North American railroad history.
If you haven't yet read the book, TurboTrain: A Journey, you probably don't know that in its later years, the Turbo was possibly the most efficient train in North America, with 98.6% availability. You can order TurboTrain: A Journey, from your local hobby shop or railroad bookseller. It will soon be available on amazon.com as well. Read more about the book here.
Thanks for sticking with me on this project. It's good to know that you have faith that Rapido Trains Inc. will do this historic train justice.
That looks suspiciously like an Osgood-Bradley 10-window pre-war coach...
|
A New Project for 2009
Errr... I'm not ready to tell you more about this yet.
Well, that's all for now. As we have a lot of new product announcements coming up there will probably be more Telegraphs than usual in the next few months. Thanks for your continued interest in Rapido Trains Inc.!
All best wishes,
Jason
Jason Shron
President
Rapido Trains Inc.
|
