Recent Rapido Newsletter

[conrail1973]

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Rapido-News-103---New-Videos-and-Product-Updates-.html?soid=1101318906379&aid=BVpZpCBkHnc

As I was glancing through the recent newsletter, I was happy to read that the 8600 coaches might be on my layout by the end of September.  What caught my interest after that was the fact that Rapido announced a "surprise N scale passenger car announcement in a forthcoming newsletter."     While I would guess that it could be the NH Parlor Cars, I really hope that it would be the Budd Coaches they released in HO.  I would snap up the Metro North coaches to go with my FL9 and B23-7 

Thanks,

Adam

[Angus Shops]

Would those Budd coaches you refer to be the CPR Budd Canadian coaches? I could get behind that! And then the rest of the train...
Geoff

[thomasjmdavis]

We will have a surprise N scale passenger car announcement in a forthcoming newsletter.
(Rapido News 103)

Well, that ruined the surprise.  Maybe trying to get us to speculate, to see what we actually want.

So.... that being the case.... in terms of something I might actually buy....

1954 "Green" sleeper. 

I might also go for an Osgood Bradley painted in CN- a stand in at best, but might go for it.

[thomasjmdavis]

Aside from the "announcement" of a coming at some point "surprise" announcement, there was some interesting commentary in the newsletter.  One of the better explanations I have read on manufacturing in China-

The industry of super-detailed model trains was entirely home-grown. Home grown in Dongguan, China, that is. It never existed here. If you're about to shout "Kadee" tell me how many locomotives they bring out. And if you're about to shout "Micro-Trains" or "Accurail" tell me how many parts are assembled on their models compared to the super-detailed models made in China. These jobs can't come back to the USA or Canada because they never existed here.

This explanation probably applies more to Rapido than to, say, Atlas, just due to the "superdetailed" nature of Rapido's products.  Giving this some thought, what I would say from my own point of view is that Rapido products made in China (and other "high detail" Chinese production) have not replaced US (or Canadian) production in the marketplace.  What it has replaced in the marketplace is brass from Korea and other Asian countries.  How many brass K4s are likely to be produced now that there is a BLI K4?  Would a brass Osgood Bradley coach be better than  Rapido's model of that car, even if 3 times the price? As models, in terms of accuracy and detail, I would rank Rapido passenger cars as better than any of the brass cars I own (not to mention having interiors included).

[garethashenden]

Aside from the "announcement" of a coming at some point "surprise" announcement, there was some interesting commentary in the newsletter.  One of the better explanations I have read on manufacturing in China-
This explanation probably applies more to Rapido than to, say, Atlas, just due to the "superdetailed" nature of Rapido's products.  Giving this some thought, what I would say from my own point of view is that Rapido products made in China (and other "high detail" Chinese production) have not replaced US (or Canadian) production in the marketplace.  What it has replaced in the marketplace is brass from Korea and other Asian countries.  How many brass K4s are likely to be produced now that there is a BLI K4?  Would a brass Osgood Bradley coach be better than  Rapido's model of that car, even if 3 times the price? As models, in terms of accuracy and detail, I would rank Rapido passenger cars as better than any of the brass cars I own (not to mention having interiors included).

And super detailed plastic locomotives actually work!

[Davep]

Well, that ruined the surprise.  Maybe trying to get us to speculate, to see what we actually want.

So.... that being the case.... in terms of something I might actually buy....

1954 "Green" sleeper. 

I might also go for an Osgood Bradley painted in CN- a stand in at best, but might go for it.

By Green sleeper, do you mean CN 1954? If so, George's Trains in Markham Ontario have a selection.

https://www.georgestrains.com/product/91075-rap-sleeper-cn-1954/
https://www.georgestrains.com/product/98326-rap-sleeper-cn-1954/
https://www.georgestrains.com/product/98327-rap-sleeper-cn-1954/
https://www.georgestrains.com/product/98329-rap-sleeper-cn-1954/

Dave


Oops!!! I just realized I was thinking N scale.

[thomasjmdavis]

Davep- Given the CN 1954 "green" paint scheme and the 1954 purchase of "Green" sleepers, I should have been more clear.  The Green sleepers I meant were those named "Green ____" that were purchased in 1954 and painted in the green-black CN scheme.

There were several orders of sleepers placed by CN in the early 1950s (many in 1954).  In N scale, Rapido made the "E" series (all names start with E) which is a partial duplex roomette (I forget the exact room arrangement) and "Bay" series (all names include "Bay") which is a 10-5 (different from the earlier "Cascade" 10-5 cars used on several roads).

The "Green" cars (all names include "green") were 6 section, 4 double bedroom, 6 roomette cars (bedrooms in the middle of the car) used almost exclusively (at least in mid 1950s) in service on the CN-GTW trains that ran between Chicago and Toronto (and on to Montreal). Very similar (give or take a lavatory window) to cars used by L&N and its partners on the Georgian and Hummingbird.
Rapido has made this car in HO, but not in N scale. 

I did purchase 1 or 2 each of the E and Bay sleepers, but these seldom saw service on the Chicago trains in my 1950s time frame- so they are more or less stand ins.  I have painted some Kato 6-6-4 (model of an earlier car widely used in the US) sleepers and lettered as Green sleepers as stand ins.  Not many people notice the difference.

I have done a lot of study of marketing- just speculating that the reason a market savvy company would "pre announce" a "surprise announcement" would be to get some conversation started on what people want them to announce.  So, I figured I would ask for the car I want most, of cars that seem to be in their ballpark, and which I know they have done research on and produced in another scale.

[Davep]

Davep- Given the CN 1954 "green" paint scheme and the 1954 purchase of "Green" sleepers, I should have been more clear. . ,

Thanks for the education Tom. I thought your request for Green sleeper product was too easy. 

I joined TRW to learn about model railroading, and trust me, I'm learning a lot! 

Thanks again.
Davep

BTW, I singled out George's Trains because I live ten minutes from them, and have made purchases there. The staff there have always been helpful to me.

[OldEastRR]

If Rapido's looking for suggestions on what to "surprise" us with, I vote for the NH Parlor cars like they did in HO. Far from just selling them as [parlor cars, they are perfect fodder for kitbashing into the other types of NH streamlined cars, most of which had only one vestibule. So they would sell more than as just parlor cars.
The 8600 coaches are not suitable for such bashing because not only the window placements are off, with vestibules at both ends means a lot of extensive reworking to achieve the car type wanted.

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Aside from the "announcement" of a coming at some point "surprise" announcement, there was some interesting commentary in the newsletter.  One of the better explanations I have read on manufacturing in China-
This explanation probably applies more to Rapido than to, say, Atlas, just due to the "superdetailed" nature of Rapido's products.  Giving this some thought, what I would say from my own point of view is that Rapido products made in China (and other "high detail" Chinese production) have not replaced US (or Canadian) production in the marketplace.  What it has replaced in the marketplace is brass from Korea and other Asian countries.  How many brass K4s are likely to be produced now that there is a BLI K4?  Would a brass Osgood Bradley coach be better than  Rapido's model of that car, even if 3 times the price? As models, in terms of accuracy and detail, I would rank Rapido passenger cars as better than any of the brass cars I own (not to mention having interiors included).

Sing it brother!

Joe

[Point353]

Giving this some thought, what I would say from my own point of view is that Rapido products made in China (and other "high detail" Chinese production) have not replaced US (or Canadian) production in the marketplace.  What it has replaced in the marketplace is brass from Korea and other Asian countries.

I haven't had to worry about any of my brass locos possibly being damaged by using them with an MRC 1300-series power pack - unlike locos from Rapido.
Is @rapidotrains ever going to provide any details about the failure mode of their decoders?

[peteski]

Is @rapidotrains ever going to provide any details about the failure mode of their decoders?

At this point I highly doubt it.
Also, since it is an ESU decoder, I wonder why nobody reached out to ESU for a statment or explanation.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Wouldn't it be great if they offered a PS/Bombardier Comet II/Horizon commuter car.