Rapido Trains Inc.

04/29/2025

Here's a look at the CAD renders for our upcoming HO scale Drop-Bottom Gons in HO scale! Shown here are the Northern Pacific standard and high-sided wood chip versions which are exclusive for the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association.

Standard drop bottom gons can be reserved through dealers or direct from our website. Click here for the full list of first run schemes: https://bit.ly/3H8YJ4B

NPRHA exclusive gons can be ordered through the company store here: https://bit.ly/3TwnsqU

The final order deadline is coming May 15 so make sure to order through dealers or direct today!

04/28/2025

May 15th is the final order deadline for our latest release of HO scale X3 tank cars including the "Breadbox" insulated versions! More info: https://bit.ly/42SuTMr

Modelers interested in accuracy know that most boxcars are painted red and most tank cars are black. That’s just the way it is – and was. When discussing tank cars from the 1920s through the 1970s, there can be no more important car than the Union Tank Car (UTLX) X-3 design. And yes, they were almost all black!

The X-3 cars were built in various capacities and configurations, including 6,500 gallon, 8,000 gallon and 12,000 gallon tanks. They were also built with single, double and triple compartments. These latest versions include the numerous general service 8,000 gallon cars, including the ‘Skellysolve’ cars with silver tanks, cars modified in the 20s and 30s through the addition of insulation and jacketing, and perhaps the most unusual X-3 variants: the “breadbox” (or pick your own analogy!) cars for hauling transformer oil. The X-3s traveled EVERYWHERE!

Rapido’s model has been developed with the help of noted UTLX tank car expert Steve Hile. We offer distinct versions for K-brake equipped cars, good before 1953, and AB-brake equipped cars good from the 1940s onwards. In addition to brake equipment, our models will feature correct handbrake and coupler cut bar arrangements which differed depending on the brake equipment installed.

The Rapido UTLX X-3 Tank Car features:
• Designed from original blueprints
• Correct tank bolster pads
• Correct diameter domes and dome fittings
• Correct UTLX-style warning placard holders
• Andrews or “Bettendorf” cast steel trucks
• Full underbody detailing with two distinct brake systems offered
• Correct end platforms
• Correct coupler cut bars and hand brake mountings
• Semi-scale couplers and coupler boxes
• Free-rolling turned metal wheels
• Accurate paint and lettering

Order through your dealer or direct today for delivery in 2026! Link in bio for more info.

Previous release models and preproduction art shown. Details are subject to revisions.

04/28/2025

Just in are the first renders of our CN Engineering RDC 1501 in HO scale!

Stay tuned, we'll be posting more updates on this project along with the other announced HO RDC models in the coming months! A final order deadline will be announced once we have tooling samples in hand and these are ready for production.

04/27/2025

Rapido News 204 is out now! Click here to read: https://conta.cc/3SbJPjv

04/26/2025

Available to pre-order now are Port Stanley Terminal Railway Balloon Top coaches 51 and 52 exclusively from Otter Valley Railroad!

Order through OVR today! https://bit.ly/4lJ03hT

Don't forget, we're also making PSTR 44-tonner "Winnie" for OVR as well. https://bit.ly/4joETUt

04/26/2025

Just added to our new run of HO scale RDCs are the rebuilt VIA cars which continue to operate today!

In the early 2010s, VIA Rail Canada rebuilt several of their RDC models to extend their service lives. Assigned specifically to remote service trains 185 and 186, this service is an essential lifeline for people living in the Algoma district in Northern Ontario as well as supply lines and transport for visitors is the summer months.

The Rapido VIA Rail rebuilt RDCs feature:

• 6105 — RDC-1
• 6217 and 6219 — RDC-2
• Many 2010 rebuild details such as e-bell, blanked-out windows, modified ends, different steps and much more
• Operating VIA-style xenon light and ditch lights
• Rapido’s acclaimed “stainless steel” finish
• Separate underframe piping and conduit
• Loads of roadname-specific details
• Fabricated or cast truck sideframes (as appropriate)
• Separate grab irons and front door chains
• Etched-metal roof grills and fan covers
• Lit number boards and class lights
• Correct engine sounds (as appropriate)
• MoPower capacitor
• Suggested minimum radius: 22"

Reserve through dealers or direct today for estimated delivery in 2026. More info: https://bit.ly/4cQsWVk

Note the renders shown are preliminary and subject to revisions.

04/26/2025

Our HO scale Greenbrier 72' IL 7780 Re**er order deadline is May 15! These distinctive freight cars are a must for modern modelers all across North America and are all-new from the ground up.

More info: https://bit.ly/3ZxprhQ

Reserve through your dealer or direct today for delivery late this year or early 2026!

Note renders and samples shown are preliminary and subject to revisions before production.

UP photo courtesy of Bobby Allard.
Lineage photo courtesy of Craig Walker.

Our N scale versions are also in tooling now! Stay tuned for updates coming soon.

04/25/2025

A historic occasion!

On April 24, 1955 a new train departed from Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Canadian Pacific Railway's flagship passenger train, "The Canadian", featured new stainless steel cars, domes and diesel power. Today VIA Rail's "Canadian" continues the tradition, with many of the same cars, on "some" of the same route.

Here we see the "Canadian" approaching Melville, SK on June 16, 2024 with Glacier Park on the tail end. Photo by Steve Boyko.

04/25/2025

Just announced are wrapped lumber loads for both our HO and N scale NSC Centerbeam Flats!

HO scale: https://bit.ly/4kZoNlB
N scale: https://bit.ly/4cbs2m0

The HO Scale Centerbeam Wrapped Lumber Load features:
• Accurately sized for modern, 73’ centerbeams
• Loads feature prototypically small see-through gaps between rows, a FIRST for molded centerbeam loads
• Four rows of product, matching the most common modern bundle sizes
• Each row is separate allowing endless combinations
• You can arrange each load pack differently on both sides
• Loads are held together by mini magnets
• Acquiring multiple loads will create many combination opportunities!
• Adventurous modelers can cut their loads creating new combinations, much like the prototype

The N Scale Centerbeam Load features:
• Accurately sized for modern, 73’ centerbeams
• Four pattern designs, two designs per package
• Loads are held together by mini magnets
• Acquiring multiple loads will create different combination opportunities!

Paint schemes in both HO and N scale include:
• Canfor
• Domtar
• Georgia Pacific
• Idaho Forest Group
• Irving
• Sierra Pacific
• Tembec
• Tolko

Order your HO and N wrapped lumber loads along with our matching NSC centerbeam flats by the May 15th order deadline! Delivery is TBA.

Note centerbeam flats and lumber loads are sold separately. See your dealer or order direct today.

04/24/2025

Join the Rapido team for a no holds barred live stream. Ask whatever you want! We will do our best to answer, but we reserve the right to say "We don't know!" or "We know, but we're not telling you!"

04/24/2025

Join us tonight for the our rescheduled Livestream event here on Facebook! Jason, Bill, Jordan and Nat will be here to discuss our latest new models, upcoming order deadlines and the state of the industry.

Just visit our page tonight at 7:30 to watch. See you then!

04/24/2025

Here's a series of cool night switching shots from Kevin O'Brien of his Rapido 44-tonner! Thanks for the submission!

04/22/2025

Arriving this summer are our all-new N scale ATSF RR56 MTC (Mechanical Temperature Control) reefers!

Reserve through dealers or direct today! https://bit.ly/4dbQC6e

In 1955 The Santa Fe Railroad introduced the RR-56 class of Refrigerated boxcars. Based on the previous RR-54 class of Boxcars, the RR-56 class incorporated lessons learned from the older series of cars to build & operate its 1st large fleet of Mechanical Re**ers.

The RR-56 were classed as “All Purpose” MTC (Mechanical Temperature Control) cars by the Santa Fe Railroad. The fleet numbered 200 cars numbers 2000 – 2188, 2500 – 2510 in the series. Delivered with SFRD reporting marks, these were changed in 1963 to SFRP but retained their original car numbers.

In 1958, Santa Fe built the RR-60 & RR-61 class of Re**ers. These were additional cars built to the same external standards as the RR-56 class but carried different insulation & so were identified as Super Insulated "All Purpose" Mechanical Temperature Controlled cars.

04/18/2025

A reminder that our deadline video is out! It might be a little after the deadline, but please still squeeze those orders in while you can!

Today, April 15, 2025, is the official order deadline for four projects. That said, you can still place preorders until the P.O. for each is finalized and se...