Rapido News 175 - The Big Announcement! Locos, Freight Cars and more!

Rapido Newsletter Vol. 175

Email not showing the whole message? Click here to view as webpage.

Dear Rapido Customer,

Hot off the press, we have some new announcements. Let's get right to them.

New Announcements!

HO Scale EMD SD7, SD9 and SD10 Locomotives
HO Scale Enterprise Covered Hopper Car
HO Scale 1937 AAR Boxcar
HO Scale H21 Hopper Car
HO Scale Comet Commuter Cars

NEW! EMD SD7, SD9 and SD10 Locomotives

Rapido is proud to announce the Electro-Motive Division's SD7, SD9 and SD10 Locomotives! We wanted to give the first 6-axle "Special Duty" locomotives the works and with it we also give you the Milwaukee Road Shop's SD10 rebuilds. Each model will be packed with genuine road-specific details, lighting and much more!

The SD7 was General Motors Electro-Motive Division’s first foray into 6-axle power. The “SD” stood for Special Duty, while the 7 was carried over from the 4-axle GP7 series. This new series of locomotives provided extra tractive effort and weight distribution across the 6-axles trucks. While the carbodies from the SD7 and SD9 were very similar, each road ordered customized options, resulting in some very unique details. Here are just some for each roadname:

Bessemer & Lake Erie

Unique "B&LE" style sand fill door hatches
Long hood forward operation
Extra large pilot step and corresponding additional stepwell step (First time done on a plastic model!)

Denver & Rio Grande Western

Correctly replicated side sill reflectors
Short hood forward operation

Southern Pacific

Steam generator equipment details on short hood
Correct Mars style 'ash can' light on both ends of the locomotive

As an aide, here is the SP version as a 3D CAD render.

Steam generator, ash-can Mars light and Black Widow paint. What more could you ask for?

3D CAD renders subject to revision.

The other end of the Southern Pacific SD7.

In January of 1954, the first SD9 rolled off the assembly line with production lasting until June of 1959 – 471 examples were built for North American roads with another 44 going to export operations. The SD9 was similar to the SD7, but featured an upgraded 567C prime mover and distinctive class lights, pointed on an angle outwards whereas the SD7 was more prominent towards the center of the nose. Just like the SD7, the SD9 also features a plethora of road-specific details.

Baltimore & Ohio

Correctly oriented cab interior for long hood forward operation
Single fuel tank (First time done on a plastic model!)

Burlington Northern

Former CBQ units (Phase IV, first time for a plastic model!)
Correct 5-step, BN walkway

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy

Phase IV (First time for a plastic model!)
Higher short hood with corresponding cab height
Cornered-off section on the long hood behind the cab
Two 48" radiator fans as opposed to the normal (four) 36" fans
Conduit pipes removed from top of radiator
No ladders on short hood end

Chicago & North Western

Rebuilt at the Oelwein Shops with chopped down nose - a first in HO Scale!
Modified panels on side sills of locomotive
Modified/plated over details of dynamic brake blister (Smooth plating over where grilles once were)

Below we have the CB&Q and the C&NW 3D CAD renders to show off.

Always pretty on the eyes! The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy SD9 never disappoints.

The chop-nose Chicago & North Western SD9. Note the blanked out dynamic-brake blister.

Unusual and unique models? That's a staple at Rapido! With that said, we will also be offering a true first in HO Scale plastic models: The Milwaukee Road SD10 Locomotive. Most of their SD7s and SD9s were rebuilt in the mid-1970s at the Milwaukee Road Shops in Wisconsin. The idea was to extend the life of these venerable engines with their front high short hood chopped down, cab modified and Horst air intakes added. These could be found working in Chicago all the way to the western end of the Milwaukee Road in Seattle. They also lasted through the SOO Line merger, right on into CP Rail and eventually onto shortlines and regional roads.

Milwaukee Road

SD10 model designation given by the Milwaukee Road for their capital rebuild program of their old SD7s and SD9s
A first in HO Scale plastic models
Single fuel tank
Chopped short hood and modified cab
Later style Horst air intake
Rotary beacon

SOO Line **Conditional Announcement**

Ex-MILW units / same features

Dakota Minnesota & Eastern **Conditional Announcement**

Ex-SOO, nee-MILW units - same features

**Please note that the SOO Line and Dakota Minnesota & Eastern SD10 Locomotives are a Conditional Release – This means these will be produced only if we receive enough preorders for them.

And of course, we are happy to show you The Milwaukee Road 3D CAD render, below!

For Milwaukee fans, it doesn't get much better than the SD10.

The prominent figure of the Horst filters are evident just behind the cab.

The Rapido HO Scale SD7, SD9 and SD10 Locomotive features:

Measured from a living SD9
Road-specific details for each model variant
Separate grab irons and handrails installed at the factory
Operating headlights, rear lights, white class lights AND beacons (where appropriate)
Highly detailed cab interior
Correct fuel and water tank arrangements per road
Multiple styles of stepwells
See-through, etched steps
Multiple dynamic-brake hatches
High short hood and modified ‘chopped’ short hood where appropriate
Appropriate cab or nose headlights
Mo-Power DCC capacitor system
DC/Silent (21-pin DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/ESU LokSound
And much, much more!

Check out the paint schemes below.

Here's the HO Scale SD7, SD9 and SD10 sales catalog. Click the photo and it will open as a PDF.

Well, Matt's been busy! Two MAJOR EMD projects for 2023 and maybe more to come? I think we should give him off next Saturday and Sunday, don't you think?

Anyways...the HO Scale SD7, SD9 and SD10 Locomotives will sure be a big hit. Once we have actual samples we will announce an order deadline. Until then, keep checking back for exciting updates to this series!

NEW! HO Scale Enterprise Covered Hopper

Ed: “We’re building a model of the Enterprise! Beauty way to go eh?? Arm photon torpedoes!!!”

Well, not quite THAT Enterprise... This is the HO Scale Enterprise Covered Hopper Car! Since we have neato samples for these beautiful cars, that means we can also announce the preorder deadline of February 15th, 2024.

During the early development of covered hoppers, the New York Central built several different groups of “Enterprise” covered hoppers both for its own use and for its subsidiaries. At the same time as the New York Central was building their first group of cars (referred to as "lots"), the Canadian National also built 150 cars to a similar design. The Canadian National cars differed from the New York Central’s in the design of the roof panels, side panels, hatch spacing and construction details.

Below we have early painted samples of the cars. These are not 3D renders. They are 2D photos of real, 3D models!

The New York Central version.

Flo-Sweet!

The Canadian National version.

The New York Central Enterprise Covered Hopper Cars would last well into Penn Central's tenure and cars would receive jade green or gray repaints. The jade green cars would be repurposed as company sand cars. The Canadian National cars remained in service for many years, with some being later converted to ballast cars for maintenance of way use.

Here is an Enterprise Hopper still in service today on the Barrie Collingwood Railway!

A Rapido train you can model! (Sort of.) A cut-down Enterprise hopper in the foreground and two mill gondolas now being utilized as flatcars.

The different styles of rooftop hatches are shown in this photo.

The end cages with an insane amount of details.

The bottom, showing off the chutes and gates.

Rapido is offering correct versions of both the New York Central Lot 747H cars and CN’s home-built versions.

All Rapido Enterprise covered hoppers feature:

Designed from original blueprints and field measurements
Both NYC and CN versions available
Fully detailed body and underframe
Rapido semi-scale metal couplers
Free-rolling trucks with turned metal wheels
Accurate paint and decoration
Multiple road numbers per scheme

Below are the paint schemes for the Enterprise Covered Hopper car.

Below is the sales catalog. Clicking the photo will open the PDF file.

The HO Scale Enterprise Covered Cars will be your go to car for bulk commodities. With February 15th, 2024 as the preorder deadline, you have lots of time to start rolling those orders in!

The whole group! 3D CAD render, subject to revisions.

NEW! HO Scale 1937 AAR Boxcar

The 1937 AAR Boxcar was one of the most widely produced freight cars in history. From the start of production in 1936, nearly 94,000 cars were built for 64 railroads. Through various secondhand owners, rebuilds and upgrades they continued in service well into the 1980s.

The unmistakable logo of the New Haven.

Canadian Pacific spans the world...literally. Did you know CP and CN accounted for more than 28,000 of these cars?

Courteous service? That was a staple of the Seaboard Air Line.

The Erie Railroad with the diamond logo.

Rapido’s HO Scale 1937 AAR Boxcar model was designed for the MOST combinations possible! And believe us, there is a lot of variation. Our cars include square and round post ends (with correct sides) as well as Canadian NSC-2 and 5/5 rib ends. We’ve made Murphy raised panel, flat panel and Viking roofs with either wood or photo-etched steel running boards in multiple patterns. Access to the roof is by seven or eight rung ladders. Canadian cars include ladders with integral sill steps. Youngstown and Superior 6’ doors are available, as are multiple styles of brake wheels and housings.

High end level of detail that includes separate roofwalks and highly detailed roof patterns.

And of course, the insane level of underbody details!

The Ajax brakewheel on the left and the Champion style on the right.

An Equipco brake wheel on the left and Universal on the right.

The Rapido HO Scale 1937 AAR Boxcars feature:

Accurately scaled from prototype blueprints and photos
Multiple end, roof and door variations
Correct brake wheels and housings
Correct running boards
Full underbody detail
Rapido semi-scale metal couplers
Free-rolling trucks with turned metal wheels
Accurate paint and decoration
Multiple road numbers available for each paint scheme

Now, there are MANY paint schemes on this offering. In fact, we'll bet you'll need at least three of them!

The catalog houses all of the info you need. Click the photo to open the PDF.

Once we have factory samples of the HO Scale 1937 AAR Boxcar, we'll announce the preorder deadline. Until then, keep checking back for more updates!

NEW! HO Scale H21 Hopper Car

Want to hear a wild stat? There were more than 39,000 H21 Hopper Cars on Pennsylvania Railroad's system at one point in history. To put that in perspective, that's more freight cars than the Missouri Pacific had in TOTAL. But what does that mean? That means EVERY modeler needs to own at least 200 of these cars! OK, maybe that's a stretch.

This four-bay open-top hopper took construction cues from the smaller GLa hopper. Originally built as coke cars (H21 class), it was realized that these cars would be excellent coal cars and thus the H21A was born. Below we have the 3D CAD renders of the H21A variants. Check them out!

The H21A hoppers have the short reinforcing rib, just below the top of the car

The straight interior braces with cross supports were a staple to the H21A cars.

Fully detailed underframe.

Note the Carmer cut lever, vertical brake staff, early interior bracing and the original center sill.

In the late-1940s, the Pennsylvania Railroad began to rebuild the H21As with strengthened center sills and power hand brakes. These cars were reclassified as H21E Hopper Cars and many would last well into the advent of the Penn Central era and even into early Conrail! Many would become ballast or other work-type cars, including a tunnel clearance car. This is the first time that the numerous H21E class has been offered in plastic!

Want to see the H21E 3D CAD renders? Scroll on down to see them.

The H21E cars have the long reinforcing rib across the top.

Check out the one-piece interior braces, without cross supports on the H21E hoppers.

The H21E hoppers have the underslung cut levers, power hand brakes, one-piece interior bracing and the reinforced center sill.

Our HO Scale H21 Hopper Cars will feature:

Accurately scaled from prototype blueprints and photos
K or AB brake systems as appropriate
Die-cast chassis for great operating weight
Full inside and outside rivet detail
Separate wire grab irons
Correct detail variations for each sub-class, including center sill, sides, ends and details
Rapido semi-scale metal couplers
Free-rolling trucks with turned metal wheels
Accurate paint and decoration

Below are the paint schemes being offered.

Below is the H2 Hopper catalog. Click the photo to open it as a PDF.

Ready to order these cars by the hopper-full? The HO Scale H21 Hopper Car will close out on March 15th, 2024. We are expecting samples of these any day now so check out our Facebook page for photos when they land.

NEW SCHEMES! HO Scale Comet Commuter Cars

The HO Scale Comet Commuter Cars are back! One of our most popular passenger cars returns with new schemes and ditch light combinations to satisfy your needs. Let's check out some of the detail photos of the previous run.

Yes, our model actually includes properly colored interiors!

The Rapido HO Scale Comet Car features:

Designed from field measurements as well as original blueprints and documents.
Full interior detail including individual seats, and unparalleled underbody detail including all pipes and boxes
Extremely free-rolling inside-bearing trucks with metal wheelsets
Tinted windows and accurate painting and lettering
All-wheel electrical pickup and advanced circuitry for flicker-free lighting on both DC and DCC layouts
Coaches feature controllable interior and end marker lights using the included magnetic wand
Cab Coach lighting controlled also using the included magnetic wand on both DC and DCC layouts

Below are the paint schemes for the newest run.

Below is the sales catalog. Click the photo below to open the PDF.

The HO Scale Comet Commuter Car is ready to fill up your coach yards. The preorder deadline is February 15th, 2024, so make sure you have all of your orders prepped and ready to go.

That wraps up today's announcements -- live from Essex, Connecticut, at the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat. We would like to thank them for their hospitality and putting up with us!

We'll be back in November with, yes, even MORE exciting news! Until next time, enjoy the rest of October and have a Happy Halloween!

All the best,

Bobby Allard

Newsletter über maestro

Rapido Trains Inc.

USA: PO Box 796, Higganum, CT 06441

Canada: 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, ON L3R 5H5

Check out our Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube pages!