Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0

We’re changing things up for our latest product review video. Trains.com Director David Popp took the Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0 on the road to run on Gerry Leone’s Bona Vista RR. Learn more about the full-size United Aircraft TurboTrain and our review sample, decorated in early Amtrak colors. Then watch the five-car train pass through […]

Read More…

Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0

Color image of man with goatee wearing glasses and blue shirt standing in front of an HO scale model railroad with trains and structures. Title bar is visible in upper left corner.

We’re changing things up for our latest product review video. Trains.com Director David Popp took the Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0 on the road to run on Gerry Leone’s Bona Vista RR. Learn more about the full-size United Aircraft TurboTrain and our review sample, decorated in early Amtrak colors. Then watch the five-car train pass through […]

Read More…

Rapido Trains HO FM H16-44 review

Color photo showing front of HO scale diesel painted orange and black on white background.

A Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 diesel locomotive, based on a Phase III prototype, is now available from Rapido Trains. The HO scale model features injection-molded plastic and die-cast metal construction, prototype-specific details, and body-mounted Macdonald-Cartier metal couplers. Prototype history Fairbanks-Morse, and its Canadian subsidiary Canadian Locomotive Co., produced the H16-44 from April 1950 until March 1963. During […]

Read More…

Understanding N scale couplers

Color photo of N scale freight car truck with Micro-Trains Line Co. Magne-Matic knuckle coupler

Q: I have gone to train shows and garage sales and bought many N scale cars with all sorts of different couplers. I am trying to create my own standard and stick with the majority of people with N scale rolling stock. I know there are many vendors out there. Can you help me sort […]

Read More…

Rapido Trains HO Fairbanks-Morse H16-44

Color image of HO scale diesel painted orange and black on scenicked model railroad with blue and white title bar in lower left corner.

The Rapido Trains HO Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 recently arrived at our offices. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of the full-size unit and Milwaukee Road No. 435; points out the plastic, cast metal, and etched-metal detail parts on the model; and demonstrates the sound and light functions on our […]

Read More…

Rapido Trains HO TurboTrain 2.0

Futuristic toy train painted in red, white, and black colors on a model base with green grass and a tan concrete culvert in front of a blue sky backdrop with white fluffy clouds.

Rapido Trains Inc. has released an updated version of its highly detailed HO scale model of United Aircraft’s TurboTrain. The firm is calling this release TurboTrain 2.0. Much like the real high-speed train sets developed and built in the late 1960s and then upgraded through their service lives, Rapido’s own HO scale model of the […]

Read More…

Cody’s Office | August 2025

Image of man with brown hair, glasses, and gray shirt holding a book with two model trains in foreground and HO scale layout in background.

Welcome to the August 2025 Cody’s Office! Perhaps we should have called this the Consolidation episode, as we’re on program number 2-8-0. This month the show starts with an exciting lineup of products. First up is the HO scale Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 from Rapido Trains. Features on the four-axle road unit include an injection-molded plastic body, […]

Read More…

Cody’s Office | August 2025

Image of man with brown hair, glasses, and gray shirt holding a book with two model trains in foreground and HO scale layout in background.

Welcome to the August 2025 Cody’s Office! Perhaps we should have called this the Consolidation episode as we’re on program number 2-8-0. This month the show starts with an exciting lineup of products. First up is the HO scale Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 from Rapido Trains. Features on the four-axle road unit include an injection-molded plastic body, […]

Read More…

Rapido HO Procor tank car

Color photo of HO scale tank car painted black with yellow, blue, red, and white graphics on white background

Rapido HO Procor tank car Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single car, $59.95; three-pack, $179.95; and six-pack, $359.95 Manufacturer: Rapido Trains, 382 High St, Buffalo, NY 14204; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Rapido Trains HO Procor tank car features: Detailed vent stacks, loading hatches, air tanks, and brake equipment Early style features 70-ton trucks, 33” wheels, and exposed drain […]

Read More…

Rapido HO PFE R-40-28 refrigerator car

Color photo of HO scale refrigerator car painted orange and black on white background.

Pacific Fruit Express class R-40-27 and R-40-28 ice cooled refrigerator cars are now available in HO scale from Rapido Trains. The models, offered for the first time in plastic, are scaled from prototype blueprints and field measurements. Product features include wire grab irons; prototype-specific brake wheel, running boards, and cooling fan housings; and body-mounted Lincoln-Washington […]

Read More…

Rapido HO FM H16-44 diesel

Color photo of HO scale diesel painted orange and black on white background

Rapido HO FM H16-44 diesel Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model, $225; with ESU LokSound V5 sound decoder, $335 Manufacturer: Rapido Trains, 382 High St., Buffalo, NY 14204; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Rapido HO FM H16-44 diesel features: Carbodies with and without dynamic brakes Dofasco or Fairbanks-Morse trucks as appropriate Illuminated number boxes, headlights, and green and […]

Read More…