Turbos are here!

[peteski]

Mike, thanks for your reply!

Yes they will be! As a matter of fact, the diaphragm parts are the only spare parts I have at the moment! I have complete assembled diaphragms in the various paint schemes, and I have a lot of them. We anticipate that some of them might get lost or damaged 

That is a good news!

The compete diaphragm assemblies are fairly robust, so I don't expect too many to get broken, but losing them is a possibility.  But those little black equalizers (not sure if that is a correct name, but that  seems to be their task) will likely get mangled often. They are very delicate and hard to see against the black diaphragm.  Hopefully you sell them as a separate piece (not only in complete diaphragm assemblies).

You might also consider getting a good stock of those little stabilizing rods at the ends of each car. Like @C855B  (mike) mentioned, those are not made form a flexible engineering plastic and are just waiting to be broken!  I bent few of them already (and I'm careful). Thankfully most of them did not crack so I was able to straighten them.

Changing the default announcements to American can be done easily with just a few CVs (we should have put this in the manual!)

CV Changes are as follows:

• CV31 = 16
• CV32 = 3
• CV309 = 128

That's easy -  thanks.

[nickelplate759]

Finally got mine today.  Oh my goodness it's a beauty.

[nickelplate759]

I thought it would be fun to compare the Rapido Turbo with one of my old Bachmann's.

Here they are nose-to-nose:
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

And a closer shot (blurry, alas)
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

What a difference 45+ years makes!

[peteski]

Thanks George - I was hoping some would post this comparison.
I wonder what's up with those extra "skylight" windows on the Bachmann dome?  They are also depicted on the boxart of the Rapido unit.  Was that a preliminary design feature which did not survive into the production version?

[wcfn100]

Was that a preliminary design feature which did not survive into the production version?

Probably.



Jason

[Point353]

I thought it would be fun to compare the Rapido Turbo with one of my old Bachmann's.

Here they are nose-to-nose:
(Attachment Link)

What a difference 45+ years makes!

Which one has the faster top speed?

[peteski]

Which one has the faster top speed?

If the Bachmann actually runs, then it probably beats the Rapido model. Otherwise Rapido has the edge. 
Speaking of the top speed, the factory-default decoder settings give Rapido's set a very reasonable and realistic top speed.  I don't have a speedometer or have timed it, but I suspect it is around 90 MPH.

[nickelplate759]

Which one has the faster top speed?

The Bachmann (I'll bet you expected that  ).  It's also is louder, even when the Rapido has the turbine sound turned on.

By the way, I've been trying for years to figure out how to turn the Bachmann into something halfway decent.  Even bought TWO to have parts to work with.  With the arrival of my new Turbo, I've officially given up!   Anyone want some Bachmann parts?

[Philip H]

By the way, I've been trying for years to figure out how to turn the Bachmann into something halfway decent.  Even bought TWO to have parts to work with.  With the arrival of my new Turbo, I've officially given up!   Anyone want some Bachmann parts?

Get some 89' flatcars, mount the Bachmann bodies without trucks all blocked and strapped down ( and really weathered) and you have a very cool scrap train.

[CNR5529]

Get some 89' flatcars, mount the Bachmann bodies without trucks all blocked and strapped down ( and really weathered) and you have a very cool scrap train.

Weather/melt the carbodies. 

[peteski]

Wow!  I didn't realize that a Turbo Train caught on fire!  Looks like it spread to other cars easily. Not much fireproofing? Ouch!

[C855B]

[Albersala]

I´ve just received my PC 3-set Turbo Train and must say it´s awesome. It runs flawlessly and can cope with really tight curves which was what I was most worried about (my broadest radius is 225.6mm = 8.88"). Sound is great also and thanks to a tip mentioned before, I´ve changed the default announcements to American. 
But I need some technical advice and may be any of you guys can help me. On my layout I´m using an old E-Z Command Control from Bachmann with just 8 function buttons. That means I can´t enjoy most of the announcements that are included. I´d like to swap a couple of functions (F11 or F12 instead of F4 and F14 or 15 instead of F7) but I don´t know how to do it. 
Does anyone know what I can do?

[thomasjmdavis]

Wow!  I didn't realize that a Turbo Train caught on fire!  Looks like it spread to other cars easily. Not much fireproofing? Ouch!

Looks like CN got to do the cleanup, Amtrak markings notwithstanding. (New England?)  The photo search dated the photo as 1973.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2948/15303186079_e3f42f2ee9_z.jpg

[nickelplate759]

Looks like CN got to do the cleanup, Amtrak markings notwithstanding. (New England?)  The photo search dated the photo as 1973.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2948/15303186079_e3f42f2ee9_z.jpg

If memory serves, the accident happened in Canada, and the train had been purchased by Amtrak from CN but not delivered yet.