Introducing the HO scale General Electric U25B Locomotive. This engine was GE's first successful entry into the road switcher department. It was also a turning point for locomotive manufacturers as it signaled the beginning of the end for Alco and was the first of the domestic "Universal" series locomotive. Come along as we explore this unique, yet under-appreciated "U-Boat." We've got lots of firsts in the industry within this run!

Warbonnet is nice, but the blue and yellow freight scheme was just as nice.

Now before we get too far in, we want to remind you we will have a Master Class for the HO Scale U25B Locomotive in the near future. Everything you ever wanted to know is listed here. Keep checking back for that to be added!

In a week or so, we'll also have our first U25B Locomotive video out, showing how the model came together. Subscribe, bookmark or just keep our YouTube channel open for that video.

Did you know that we 3D scanned a real U25B Locomotive? We spent the day at the Southern California Railway Museum (Formerly the Orange Empire Railway Museum) in Perris, California, meticulously measuring and scanning Southern Pacific U25BE, number 3100. But wait, that's a rebuilt U25! We were able to get the crucial curves and shapes, then spent lots of time "backdating" the details to create an unmodified U25B. In fact, John and Paul went to the Railroad Museum of New England, in Thomaston, Connecticut to measure their ex New Haven U25B. You certainly could say we are "detail-oriented!"

This was a value trip! Two for one scan, with the E8 Locomotive, at the Southern California Railway Museum. Photo courtesy of Craig Walker.

Now, back to those renders and details! Did we mention an industry first? If you were thinking High Nose U25Bs, you would be correct! But why stop there? Not only did we place those unusual corner-mounted class lights positioned correctly on the nose, we made them illuminated as well! Hoo-ah!

This isn't just any U25B...this is the ULTIMATE U25B Locomotive. Never before has there been a dimensionally accurate high-nose U25B done in HO Scale. That includes both plastic and brass!

The Rapido U25B Locomotive features include:

Let's see those detail variations! (This next section is photo intense!)

Wow. Not really much to say other than we can't wait until we have our first samples of the HO Scale U25B models. How about one more shot of the low hood version?

Ready to see every scheme on the first run of HO Scale U25Bs? Everyone has their favorite, but mine's the Great Northern.

Now, if you're ready to place your order, you'll need that handy catalog we created for the HO Scale U25Bs. Click the photo below to see all of the road numbers being offered!

We expect to have our first samples in the early fall. Once we have shown off the samples and we're happy with them, we'll announce an order deadline for the HO Scale U25B Locomotives. But why wait until then? Why not order now from your favorite hobby shop or directly from us?

The F-M H16-44 Locomotive has certainly been a labor of love. Since its announcement in February of 2020, sales have been slow. This has caused the H16-44 to take a back seat to other projects. However, we still think this project has legs. In fact, we have a new H16-44 video just for this event. Click here or the photo below to watch. Once you've watched, we can explain why sales have been slow.

Normally on any new product launch there is a lot of activity in the very beginning, and as the preorder deadline nears. We thankfully had not finished the tooling design for the H16-44 when we launched this model, and those initial orders that we always get just didn't come in. So we postponed the tooling just in case the orders picked up. They didn't.

We've decided to relaunch the model and add three NEW schemes: Canadian Pacific (Action Red), CN (Noodle) and the New Haven one-of-a-kind Alpert scheme. We're now adding a hard deadline to see if this project can go ahead. That deadline is September 15th. If you have been on the fence about ordering the H16-44, it's time to take the plunge! Please reserve your H16-44 by September 15th, 2021 to make sure we can make this model.

The F-M H16-44 Locomotive is too important in history to ignore. A staple of early transitional era diesel power, many roads turned to this locomotive soon after they retired their steam fleets. The shape was very reminiscent of their larger family member, the H24-66, but with four axles.

Just in case you forgot EVERY feature of the F-M H16-44 Locomotive, we thought we would list them all here:

Let's see some more of those neat 3D renders!

Here's the current listing of F-M H16-44 Locomotive schemes being offered on this run. Remember, we added three new schemes - they're the last three at the bottom.

Go ahead, check out that H16-44 catalog/catalogue. It's newly updated for your viewing pleasure. Click the photo below to download it.

September 15th is the deadline to order the F-M H16-44 Locomotive. We won't be able to proceed if we do not have enough orders, so make sure to get yours in by then! Please tell your friends and family and help us make this wonderful, unique locomotive!

Great news! The orders have come in and all of our announced F59PH paint schemes are ready to go. And now for the even better news: ALL, yes all schemes, including all Metrolink Ribbons and as-delivered are a go! This is great news!

Production is starting soon and we expect delivery to start late this year or early next year. The PA/PB production is SO HUGE that the F59s will take a little bit longer to finish.

If you haven't ordered yet, we always make a handful of extras. Please speak to your dealer or visit our website by clicking here.

The July 15th order deadline for the HO scale RS-11 and D10 steam locomotive has been postponed to later this year, exact date TBA.

Continuing Rapido's trademark approach of being brutally honest with our customers, we received our first tooling samples of the RS-11 and the second tooling samples of the D10, and both still require corrections. The RS-11 air filter details in the long hood were not properly recessed (you can see it in the photo above if you squint) and the D10 had a couple of fit-and-finish issues that our engineers need to fix. Based on how long it will take to make these corrections, our guess is the D10s will probably be ready before the RS-11s.

There is no point in sticking with an order deadline if we aren't ready to enter production. We appreciate that this can be frustrating for our dealers and distributors, but ultimately our goal is for as many people as possible to enjoy these models. And to do that we need to show off good samples before the order deadline.

Three new unboxings all in one new video? Say no more, we did it! Our newest video includes the HO Scale 53' Well Cars, HO Scale New Look Buses and the HO Scale SW1200 Locomotives. And we have two special guests helping Jordan out: Robin and fan favorite, Janet! Click here or the photo above to watch!

As we start into the summer season, we want to remind everyone to be patient, since the circuit board shipping delays are starting to take effect on the model train industry. For the July newsletter, we should have a better picture of what will be arriving for the latter half of the year.

For the immediate future, we have the HO Scale GARX Meat Reefers in the warehouse now and the second half of the HO Scale SW1200 Locomotives arriving in the middle of July!

Join us Thursday the 24th, at 7pm EST, when we go live on Facebook to discuss the new product launches and the July product deadlines. Our host, Jordan, as well as other Rapido team members will answer any questions you might have and maybe even have some other surprises!

See you at 7pm, sharp on Facebook. The replay of this event will appear on our YouTube channel at a later time.

No essay this month? Yes, we spared you! This was a quick and to the point newsletter. July isn't far away, and we have even more announcements in July's newsletter. This U25B has been in development since late 2019, and it was a real pleasure to finally be able to share it with you.

Until next time,

Bobby