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Post by mdvle on Mar 18, 2020 18:38:41 GMT -8
Lets see what happens. My recollections/interpretations for anyone interested from their Facebook session tonight, could be errors in my scribbling.
First - hold off sending any models in to Rapido for repair at the moment - Canada Post has suspended deliveries to them due to Covid-19 fallout, thus anything sent will just sit in a Canada Post warehouse. They also can't guarantee that they won't be forced to close their office (even so many staff currently working from home with the problems that creates).
Second - product is still crossing the border, they are shipping out to hobby shops/direct orders - volume is up, those hobby shops offering online sales might be doing okay at the moment.
Third - things are fluid given Covid-19 and it's fallout, possible stuff gets delayed.
PA1/2 - hopeful tooling done in a month or so.
Horizon cars in production
PS Dining Cars have left factory
SW1200 samples followed by new video and final order deadline next several months, production over summer
CP D10 - design completed, tooling not yet started.
Icons of Steam Line - maybe 15 years to late, demand doesn't seem to exist, will be rethought.
M420 tour delayed due to travel/group restrictions
USRA Box Car - left factory (except for TH&B)
SD50F/SD60F - probably at some point
Comet Cars - samples delayed by Covid-19, tooling vendor still have trouble getting staff back Comet Cars - middle door version likely as sales so far good.
P30CH - lukewarm, Amtrak struggles to sell at times.
Stations needed for Jason's Kingston sub layout - limited edition lasercut kits in the future.
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Post by jonklein611 on Mar 18, 2020 18:42:00 GMT -8
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Post by thelastspike on Mar 19, 2020 1:35:10 GMT -8
Really enjoyed that. Nice to hear that new Budd's will be coming as well as the RSC-14. I think the price of Prime Mover BC Rail Dash 8's and steam generators just took a hit on eBay as well!
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Post by stevewagner on Mar 19, 2020 2:32:37 GMT -8
mdvie and jonklein611, thanks VERY much for your posts. I have been required to work from home since yesterday, almost surely for quite some time. I joined Facebook a couple of years ago to see hobby announcements but have very rarely used it. I do use e-mail regularly. I'll be sure to watch the Rapido video using the link when I have time.
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Post by gevohogger on Mar 19, 2020 3:35:50 GMT -8
P30CH - lukewarm, Amtrak struggles to sell at times. [/quote]
I obviously missed when they announced a P30CH.
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Post by riogrande on Mar 19, 2020 3:40:19 GMT -8
Re: P30CH, My guess; the reference is probably people asking Rapido about making one. Has there ever been a brass P30CH made to help satiate the fan base?
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Post by gevohogger on Mar 19, 2020 3:55:04 GMT -8
Re: P30CH, My guess; the reference is probably people asking Rapido about making one. Has there ever been a brass P30CH made to help satiate the fan base? Perhaps a 70s-era Alco Models hunk of junk maybe? I can't recall anything newer.
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Post by Colin 't Hart on Mar 19, 2020 4:54:21 GMT -8
P30CH - lukewarm, Amtrak struggles to sell at times. Weird. Certain Amtrak items attract record bids on eBay.
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Post by jonklein611 on Mar 19, 2020 4:55:34 GMT -8
Someday I'll have a completed Canadian consist to run! That will be exciting.
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Post by Colin 't Hart on Mar 19, 2020 4:57:37 GMT -8
My recollections/interpretations for anyone interested from their Facebook session tonight Any update on the Flexiflo's?
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Post by slowfreight on Mar 19, 2020 5:35:48 GMT -8
Re: P30CH, My guess; the reference is probably people asking Rapido about making one. Has there ever been a brass P30CH made to help satiate the fan base? Yes, a decent one from Overland, which of course means volumes were low enough that it doesn't scratch the market itch.
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Post by markfj on Mar 19, 2020 6:22:33 GMT -8
My recollections/interpretations for anyone interested from their Facebook session tonight Any update on the Flexiflo's? Briefly mentioned at about time index 6:01; bottom line, they're in production and they got color samples. Thanks, Mark J.
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Post by peoriaman on Mar 19, 2020 6:35:11 GMT -8
Re: P30CH, My guess; the reference is probably people asking Rapido about making one. Has there ever been a brass P30CH made to help satiate the fan base? Yes, a decent one from Overland, which of course means volumes were low enough that it doesn't scratch the market itch. On a whim, I looked for them on the 'ol Google. Brass Trains had photos... Typical lousy Overland mesh screens and super-shallow etched carbody details, and the lettering (at least on the Ph. II version) looks grossly oversized. No thanks. I don't need a P30CH, but recognize there is probably a lot of people who do. Hopefully they get one someday.
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Post by mdvle on Mar 19, 2020 6:36:03 GMT -8
Whether entirely accurate or a bit of a joke difficult to know, but one comment last night was that BC Rail outsells Amtrak.
Regarding the P30CH, as said they were lukewarm about the idea of making one when someone on the Facebook event asked.
Given that they were very open about the possibility of other models, and there were interesting reactions to other questions that gave a hint that they may/may not be in development, it is a reasonable guess that the P30CH isn't coming from Rapido anytime soon (with the usual disclaimer that only Rapido really knows).
It may well be a model from someone else designed and built to a lower price could succeed. It could also be the the right portion of the Amtrak market still is unaware of Rapido and that things could change. And Jordan has a brass P30CH so...
As for eBay, never a good indication of demand for a product. Just because 10 people at any time are willing to spend crazy money to bid up an item does not mean there are the thousands of customers required to make a new tooled item viable.
In many respects the Amtrak Turboliner should have been an easy sell - Rapido have been stealth promoting it for years, it is a unique train that sort of ticks the box as a collectable, it was used in the north-east, and it is from what is likely the prime modeling era currently (late 70s/1980s based on those who are currently in their 50s). Yet while it may yet get be made it is struggling, and that doesn't encourage more Amtrak models.
The Flexi-Flos were briefly mentioned, I think in the first 30 minutes. Didn't fully catch what was said.
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Post by riogrande on Mar 19, 2020 6:44:47 GMT -8
I don't need a P30CH, but recognize there is probably a lot of people who do. Hopefully they get one someday. yeah same. We seemed to be in an age for while where supposed lesser engines were being made, but I've seen about as many wishes for P30CH'es as SDL35's.
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Post by SOMECALLMETIM on Mar 19, 2020 7:06:02 GMT -8
It's a SDL39 not 35. I don't need a P30CH, but recognize there is probably a lot of people who do. Hopefully they get one someday. yeah same. We seemed to be in an age for while where supposed lesser engines were being made, but I've seen about as many wishes for P30CH'es as SDL35's.
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Post by riogrande on Mar 19, 2020 7:22:21 GMT -8
It's a SDL39 not 35. yeah same. We seemed to be in an age for while where supposed lesser engines were being made, but I've seen about as many wishes for P30CH'es as SDL35's. See, your mind was able to unscamble it and you got it anyway. Of course it's not a droid I am looking for and that's pretty evident eh? Obviously I am not a man of valor
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Post by cp6027 on Mar 19, 2020 10:36:35 GMT -8
Excited about the SD50F/60F possibility; that's one of the few locomotives not yet offered that I can really use on my layout (and I may never get around to my Kaslo kits of them). New Budd cars and SGUs will also be nice! Sad about the Icons of Steam. I was hoping we'd at least see the standard (non-Royal) Hudson since I assume it would use most of the same drive components etc. Way out of my era but was hoping to pick up a few of the unique Canadian steam locomotives that finished their careers on the Prairies.
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Post by slowfreight on Mar 19, 2020 11:13:04 GMT -8
Yes, a decent one from Overland, which of course means volumes were low enough that it doesn't scratch the market itch. On a whim, I looked for them on the 'ol Google. Brass Trains had photos... Typical lousy Overland mesh screens and super-shallow etched carbody details, and the lettering (at least on the Ph. II version) looks grossly oversized. No thanks. I don't need a P30CH, but recognize there is probably a lot of people who do. Hopefully they get one someday. Need?....Welll....I *want* one, anyway. I think the challenge for Rapido is that the Amtrak models it's made were on the fringe of Amtrak. The Budd passenger cars were foobies, if nice, and were steam-heat phase Is. The RDCs are not core to most Amtrak modeling, nor are the Turbos, nor are the (short-lived) LRCs. I expect the Horizons and F40s sell far better. I'd find the original Turboliner more interesting, as it ran in the midwest, but the later one is a little bit of a tough sell for many of us that don't run Empire Corridor layouts. Funny, though, I found myself jonesing for a Tempo train, which I equally don't need. What's the difference between Tempo and Turbo? The Tempo set sold really well.
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Post by mdvle on Mar 19, 2020 12:39:34 GMT -8
Sad about the Icons of Steam. I was hoping we'd at least see the standard (non-Royal) Hudson since I assume it would use most of the same drive components etc. Way out of my era but was hoping to pick up a few of the unique Canadian steam locomotives that finished their careers on the Prairies.
Icons of Steam isn't dead, just being rethought.
At a guess, certainly the announced line up is far to ambitious for what the market (at least at the moment) is willing to buy.
The standard CP Hudson is still a possibility because, as you say, relatively little new tooling required.
As for anything beyond the Hudson's and D10, a case of wait and see.
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Post by bdhicks on Mar 19, 2020 16:55:10 GMT -8
Well I'm still interested in getting the CP 2816 H1b Hudson, and while it doesn't really fit my modeling I'd also be interested in the 4-4-4 just because it's an interesting prototype.
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Rapido Q/A
Mar 20, 2020 19:38:17 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by thebessemerkid on Mar 20, 2020 19:38:17 GMT -8
I'd be in for a couple of Undec P30CH's.
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Post by thebessemerkid on Mar 20, 2020 19:58:05 GMT -8
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Post by Colin 't Hart on Mar 20, 2020 23:17:03 GMT -8
Maybe the 8857xx series was decorated differently from the 8858xx cars?
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Post by markfj on Mar 21, 2020 5:06:13 GMT -8
That’s a good catch; better forward that info to Rapido for comment. Thanks, Mark
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Post by rails4dmv on Mar 21, 2020 6:03:31 GMT -8
On a whim, I looked for them on the 'ol Google. Brass Trains had photos... Typical lousy Overland mesh screens and super-shallow etched carbody details, and the lettering (at least on the Ph. II version) looks grossly oversized. No thanks. I don't need a P30CH, but recognize there is probably a lot of people who do. Hopefully they get one someday. Need?....Welll....I *want* one, anyway. I think the challenge for Rapido is that the Amtrak models it's made were on the fringe of Amtrak. The Budd passenger cars were foobies, if nice, and were steam-heat phase Is. The RDCs are not core to most Amtrak modeling, nor are the Turbos, nor are the (short-lived) LRCs. I expect the Horizons and F40s sell far better. I'd find the original Turboliner more interesting, as it ran in the midwest, but the later one is a little bit of a tough sell for many of us that don't run Empire Corridor layouts. Funny, though, I found myself jonesing for a Tempo train, which I equally don't need. What's the difference between Tempo and Turbo? The Tempo set sold really well. Slowfreight, you bring up a good point. Outside of the F40PH project, Rapido has pretty much tackled mostly Amtrak's east coast locomotives and has yet to tackle the well known Amtrak locomotives that traversed the entire US over the decades, which is why possibly someone might conclude Amtrak doesn't sell. The Athearn SDP40F seems to have sold well, which was a locomotive that ran on both coasts and the Midwest. Same goes for the Atlas Dash 8-32BHW. If Rapido was to announce an E8 (which they have been hinting at) in all Amtrak phases, or a P30CH, IMO they would sell by the dozens. Same goes for the P42 (P32AC-DM), which I think they should consider tackling. Because both of those old locomotives ran across the country on a daily basis for years, the appeal to have one should be broader than the FL9, which only ran on the east coast. I remember the E8 and the P30CH locomotives in brochures, postcards & magazines just as much as the F40PH was. And besides, who couldn't use more Phase III power besides the F40PH, Dash 8-32BHW and the old Athearn P42 and foobie F7. I know I plan on purchasing a pair of SDP40F's in Phase III when they hit the streets (May?) We've been getting the passenger locomotives we've been asking for years for. NOW, if we can only just get the passenger car situation straightened out. For every purchase of a new locomotive in 2020, we are now scrambling, searching far ends of the earth, and paying high dollars for old retired 920 & 932 series Walthers & Athearn Bombardier passenger cars that are in some cases 12 TO 15 YEARS OLD!!! I remember years ago when the Amtrak Phase II 932 series Budd passenger cars came out, only an old Bachmann yellow box Phase II Bachmann E60CP and F40PH were available. Fast forward to the present, we have a top of the line Genesis Phase II SDP40F & a high quality Rapido F40PH, and no one is currently making matching Budd or Pullman passenger cars, Let's see what happens when Walthers releases their Amtrak FP7A-B locomotives later this year, with no matching Phase I passenger cars on the streets. I can hear the chirps now, "Amtrak doesn't sell"
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Post by jonklein611 on Mar 21, 2020 7:45:21 GMT -8
+1 for a Rapido P42. I am in need of some in Via schemes.
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Post by amtrakfl9 on Mar 22, 2020 20:52:41 GMT -8
+2 for a Rapido P42. With proper HEP humming sound at 900 rpm!
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cvacr
Full Member
Posts: 123
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Post by cvacr on Mar 23, 2020 5:41:27 GMT -8
The standard CP Hudson is still a possibility because, as you say, relatively little new tooling required. And everyone saw the restored CP 2816 when it did all its touring around the country about 10-15 years ago, so even modern modelers/collectors might be convinced to grab a model of that one. Sadly the workaday branchline units that actual steam era modelers need aren't of much interest to the general collector types that don't have the specific knowledge of those classes.
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Post by markfj on Apr 10, 2020 14:54:08 GMT -8
Looks like Rapido got the artwork correct based on this photo of car #885836 which is just 5 numbers removed from car #885830 shown on the order page. Very eager to get these cars! Thanks, Mark
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