Rapido RDCs? I think so!

[daniel_leavitt2000]

/>
Last 15 seconds of the video. That is a pretty big hint.

[greenwizard88]

I hope so. I don't want anything fancy. A Kato one will do. But with their insistence on not re-running them, I'll take one Rapido Diesel Car please.

[garethashenden]

Oh dear, that's going to get expensive!

[wazzou]

If memory serves, KATO didn’t run any more because they likely overestimated demand for them.
There were many, many being dumped at prices well below the original sale price, for a few years.

[peteski]

If memory serves, KATO didn’t run any more because they likely overestimated demand for them.
There were many, many being dumped at prices well below the original sale price, for a few years.

If they issued them in Boston & Maine livery, they could have sold lots more than they did.
I did get a bunch undecorated ones, when they had that fire sale. They will get painted . . . B&M. 

[wcfn100]

I wonder if I could convince them to do a Blackhawk.

Jason

[garethashenden]

The Kato RDC is 21 years old now. I certainly couldn't afford to buy a fleet when I was 14. Things are different now.

Assuming B&M paint, which Rapido did in HO, and more reasonable DCC arrangements, again factory sound isn't too unimaginable, I'll be in for a bunch of these. In my era and location the only passenger trains are excursions. 6, 8, 10 car trains of RDCs.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I just hope they will follow up with some Boisie Budds.

Did any other roads run them besides MBTA?

[woodchip]

I sure hope not. The n scale community tends to keep a close watch on their wallets. If Kato who make a pretty decent product had to dump their remaining inventory and even that took  some time to get done how well is a RDC with current world pricing with sound and DCC going to sell.  They're going to do a HO FM road switcher do it in N.

                                                                                                      Hugh M



Always remember when you point a finger there are 3 pointing at you

[garethashenden]

I just hope they will follow up with some Boisie Budds.

Did any other roads run them besides MBTA?

Yes. VRE in Virginia had some, plus a whole bunch of tourist lines. A lot of them have lost their humps by now, but a good number of B&M RDCs are still in service thoughout the country. The B&MRRHS Bulletin has had a series of articles recently chronicling the history of each unit.

[garethashenden]

I sure hope not. The n scale community tends to keep a close watch on their wallets. If Kato who make a pretty decent product had to dump their remaining inventory and even that took  some time to get done how well is a RDC with current world pricing with sound and DCC going to sell.  They're going to do a HO FM road switcher do it in N.

                                                                                                      Hugh M



Always remember when you point a finger there are 3 pointing at you

There was an HO RDC is the display case to the left in the video. The camera kept hinting towards it in a very suggestive way. If they didn't want to imply RDC they could have put a different model there.

[BCR 570]

I watched the video earlier but didnt notice that he looked at the RDC twice . . . interesting.

I have suggested the RDCs to them several times and the response has improved from "Kato did them" to "we are getting numerous requests for them".

The Kato ones did not do well in part because at the time the Con-Cor ones were around in large numbers, and while they looked better they did not run much better.  They also failed to offer the Phase II version which eliminated many road names they could have offered which Con-Cor couldnt do as theirs was also Phase I only.

If Rapido can offer a Phase II car which looks great and runs well they should do well with it.  The BCR and CPR versions would be well received in Canada.  While the region I am modelling did not see passenger service in my era, I would have to get some BCR versions for charter runs which did get up north.

All I can say is if you would like to see Rapido RDCS, let them know!

Tim

[thomasjmdavis]

IF they actually do an RDC, I hope it is successful.  But, that said, I have the 1 and only RDC (Kato) I need for my layout plans.  Already spent the bucks for a decoder.  I'll assume (hope) that IF Rapido does the RDC, they've done the research to determine that a profit will be made. This is one unit I would recommend they do as an undec (at least the coach version) in addition to whatever paint jobs they slap on. While a very few railroads bought them in some numbers, they tended to go in ones and twos.  If produced as an undec, the modelers of those roads will be more interested than if they have to strip paint from a highly detailed model with a ton of little breakable parts.

[CBQ Fan]

The Kato issue was of their own making. Japan did not listen to Kato USA and as a result the run was not successful. I forget the exact details but it was all internal to them and how they went about it. @ncbqguy may have the details.

[peteski]

The Kato ones did not do well in part because at the time the Con-Cor ones were around in large numbers, and while they looked better they did not run much better. 

I'm really surprised that Kato's proven wire-free chassis, low-friction truck design and a motor with flywheels did not run better for you than the old Roco (Con-Cor) mechainsim with high-friction trucks with wheel-back wipers, and internal-bearing trucks with noisy plastic gears. Plus the rat's nest of wiring in those Rocos.

One thing about Katos is that the universal couplings on the motor shaft were prone to splitting which I suppose could have caused them to slip on the motor shaft.  But that is rather an easy fix.