Trackside  “Tid-Bits”  Product Review

Buy Rapido Passenger Cars

Canadian National Railways back in the 1950’s decided to upgrade their passenger car fleet with some new equipment.  Using Canadian Car and Foundry as well as a few other builders they acquired new coaches, diners and sleepers.  In turn these cars formed the backbone of their passenger roster.  To this day some of these cars are still seeing service throughout North America. With the standardization of passenger car fleets throughout North America, it was not uncommon to see the CN-like style of car in various

configurations on different railroads such as Great Northern and the Erie Lackawanna.

The Rapido Trains Inc. Super Continental Line has produced a series of museum-quality passenger cars in HO scale.  They are based on some of the Canadian National prototypes. The car examined for this review is a lightweight coach done as Erie Lackawanna #1305. 

Upon removing the car from its protective packaging we observed that the car had an appropriate heft and feel to it.  The car seemed to match the overall dimensions of its prototype.  The trucks are based on a GSC/ Can-Car design and have free rolling metal wheels. The car comes equipped with an extra pair of long shanked couplers to accommodate radii smaller than 24 inches.  The couplers can easily be replaced by using a small Phillips screwdriver.  When you remove the roof off the car, you must do so gently.  The car when opened up has a finely detailed series of seats and rest rooms consistent of the floor plan of the car when it was produced.  When you examine the underside of the roof you will find that Rapido has employed battery power to light their passenger cars.  A  magnetic wand is included to turn the lights on and off in the car.  Instructions are provided for the proper installation of the batteries. 

The tooling of the car is crisp, and well executed. Other details such as the tanks, steam lines, and underneath apparatus are molded with utmost accuracy.  Even the markers on the ends of the car are done nicely.  The Erie Lackawanna paint job was painted professionally with a smooth application of EL maroon and EL yellow over the light gray carbody.  Overall weight of the car is approximately 8 ounces.  Although the cars will operate on an 18" radius, a minimum radius of 28 inches is recommended for the ultimate operation. 

Rapido Trains is offering over 36 different paint schemes for this car.  Rather than list them all here, consult the Rapido website and if you wish to order any of them check the Trackside Sales website for pricing and availability.   As time goes on we hope to review some of the other cars from Rapido as well as the upcoming new United Aircraft Turbo Train.

Buy Rapido Passenger Cars