Model Railroading > Rapido Announces HO Amtrak F40PHs!

Rapido Announces HO Amtrak F40PHs!

http://rapidotrains.com/f40amt1.html

There goes the hobby budget.. again.. =)

Cheers,
Harry



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/14 13:45 by tracktime.

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Finally a manufacturer who can get the pilot right - note the stepped silver sill around the front bottom above the plow. The plow looks a little funny to me - like it's tipped forward. But this should be the best F40PH ever produced.

I may finally own a product by Rapido but likely only one since funds are very tight!

Cheers, Jim Fitch

tracktime Wrote:
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> There goes the hobby budget.. again.. =)

You mean you actually had some left? :-)

Rick Selby
Redmond, WA
Pacific Northwest RPM

Got the horn right too. The low 200s had Nathan P5s.

Regards, Jim Evans

After the Genesis GP40-2's hit soon, my hobby budget will be shot for a while. Now all I need is for ER to announce another run of D&RGW Bethlehem 3483 quad hoppers! And of course Athearn to announce the SP SD40 I've been waiting patiently for!

Cheers, Jim Fitch

Humanity cries out for an SDP40F and Rapido brings forth the flanged wheel! PS: " I do like the "ghetto grates" though! Anyone know if F40s or SDP40Fs were used on the Springfield section of the Amtrak's Fast Mail & Express?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/14 14:24 by railwaybaron.

Very nice Jason they will nice with the VIA Rail ones once those arrive.

Now we just need VIA to release that exclusive agreement with you so you can go ahead and work on doing all the VIA Rail specialty schemes.

Kris

Awwwwwesome !!

IMO, the best looking locos Amtrak had! Yes, I remember the SDPs and photographed them but they were freight engines and looked it.

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> IMO, the best looking locos Amtrak had! Yes, I
> remember the SDPs and photographed them but they
> were freight engines and looked it.

Yes, Amtrak's SDP40Fs were basically drag engines in "drag" but they were not "girlie-men" like those F40s!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/14 19:39 by railwaybaron.

I wonder if this what the Des Plaines Hobbies announcement was supposed to be, or is there something else in the works......

Center horn needs to be slightly higher, not on the same level as the lower two.

Michael

FiveChime Wrote:
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> Got the horn right too. The low 200s had Nathan
> P5s.
>
> Regards, Jim Evans

ROTFLMBO!

railwaybaron Wrote:
>
> Yes, Amtrak's SDP40Fs were basically drag engines
> in "drag" but they were no "girlie-men" like those
> F40s!

OK Mr. Schron; I want to know what you are going to call this new line of Meriken locos? They cannot go under the banner "True North".

Oh the tragedy of it all .... you've sold out to the Merikens. Alas, we will never see an RS23 once you taste the wealth from south of the border.

Rick

railwaybaron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Humanity cries out for an SDP40F and Rapido brings
> forth the flanged wheel! PS: " I do like the
> "ghetto grates" though! Anyone know if F40s or
> SDP40Fs were used on the Springfield section of
> the Amtrak's Fast Mail & Express?


Certainly in the late 1980s/early 1990s, long after the SDP40Fs were gone, F40PHs were on everything Amtrak ran north and east of New Haven, including Nos. 412 and 12. I don't remember ever seeing an SDP40F in that part of the world, but that doesn't mean it never happened. The original 30 units were mainstays on that part of the system for a long time, whereas the next batch, 230-254, were rarely if ever seen in New England.

I believe AMTK 203 was the last F40PH to wear Phase II paint, by the way. I started noticing such things in 1988, and by that time it and the 258 were the only ones I saw in that scheme; the 203's paint was in considerably better condition. In some cases, I suspect Amtrak merely wrapped a new Phase III decal around the engine and removed the big numbers from the rear of the cowl, rather than doing a repaint.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/14 07:01 by toledopatch.

chs7-321 Wrote:
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> I wonder if this what the Des Plaines Hobbies
> announcement was supposed to be, or is there
> something else in the works......

These are the engines to be shown at Des Plaines. Come see them in person!

-Jason

I expect to get at least one of the Phase Is, along with one or two more if/when Rapido does later phases. I suppose I may also pick up an un-numbered Phase I in the "Phase II" paint -- man, that's potentially confusing -- to number as AMTK 203. (Based on their general absence from the Northeast, I'll avoid the phase that includes AMTK230-254.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/14 07:02 by toledopatch.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> railwaybaron Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Humanity cries out for an SDP40F and Rapido
> brings
> > forth the flanged wheel! PS: " I do like the
> > "ghetto grates" though! Anyone know if F40s or
> > SDP40Fs were used on the Springfield section of
> > the Amtrak's Fast Mail & Express?
>
>
> Certainly in the late 1980s/early 1990s, long
> after the SDP40Fs were gone, F40PHs were on
> everything Amtrak ran north and east of New Haven,
> including Nos. 412 and 12. I don't remember ever
> seeing an SDP40F in that part of the world, but
> that doesn't mean it never happened. The original
> 30 units were mainstays on that part of the system
> for a long time, whereas the next batch, 231-255,
> were rarely if ever seen in New England.
>
> I believe AMTK 203 was the last F40PH to wear
> Phase II paint, by the way. I started noticing
> such things in 1988, and by that time it and the
> 258 were the only ones I saw in that scheme; the
> 203's paint was in considerably better condition.
> In some cases, I suspect Amtrak merely wrapped a
> new Phase III decal around the engine and removed
> the big numbers from the rear of the cowl, rather
> than doing a repaint.

Patch

Two SDP40F's were assigned to New Haven around the early 1975 time frame. Even received the ghetto grates. 600 and 601 come to mind. By 1976 they were transferred to Hialeigh.

Posted from Android

Hi guys,

We've had some questions about whether or not we are doing later phases. Here's what I have been telling customers.

Let's see how the Phase 1 sells and that will determine whether or not we do a Phase 2 or 3.

To do 2s and 3s requires a lot of new shell slides and three or four new underbody and roof detail molds. That's a significant investment in tooling.

If we sell enough Phase 1s, that cost doesn't scare us. If our sales figures are lower than expected, then we'll probably stop with the Phase 1s.

If we exceed our target for Phase 1s, we could even look at tooling some vegetables. ;-)

-Jason

Ok here is the fly in the ointment for me, a western modeler. It appears from the website:

"The Phase 1 F40PH comprises units 200 to 229 delivered starting in 1976. These locomotives feature 1500 gallon fuel tanks mounted toward the rear of the frame with air reservoirs and battery boxes to the front. The Phase 1 F40PH also has low-profile roof details to clear the low bridges and tunnels in the northeast as well as a Nathan P5A horn."

The version I would like doesn't appear to be in this production run - eastern, low profile, fuel tank mounted to the rear. Most of the F40PH's I've seen on the Amtrak California Zephyr were from latter phase II and phase III series and had the fuel tanks mounted to the front. Story of my life! If I'm lucky, I'll get my favorite version some day! Oye-vey.

Cheers? Jim Fitch



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/14 07:59 by SPDRGWfan.