Model Railroading > Rapido's Budd Gallery Cars - A quick review.

Rapido's Budd Gallery Cars - A quick review. A set of Rapido's new Budd Gallery Cars appeared on the layout and these cars are simply impressive. The cars are very well tooled, details a plenty and applied well. I found no loose, crooked or bent parts. Paint is crisp and perfectly applied. The detail on the underframe is insane. The trucks are unique and cast well. The interior is well detailed as well. If you peer through the windows you can see the painted interior with properly colored seats. There are interior railings and it looks like they even nailed the upper luggage rack. The stairways actually look as if they go where they are supposed to go. The lighting is extremely well done especially in the seating section. It's not too bright and looks about perfect through the green tinted windows. I don't care for the way the cab control compartment was handled. First, I'd like to see the bright cab light dimmed considerably and then I would like the ability to turn off the cab light separately. I know the train operator wouldn't like to be sailing down the track with a brightly illuminated cab... Especially at night.Speaking of the lighting, the headlights, Gyralite, Markers and Ditchlights are well done and without DCC they can be controlled by a magic wand. Keep in mind that in order to have animated effects like blinking ditchlights and the animated Gyralite, you must install a DCC decoder. Programming the decoder may be a problem if done on a programming track as I believe the installd capacitor's play hell with the decoder programming process. I used a Lok Tester/Programmer to program the decoder and then installed it in the model. The car comes with a built in speaker so there is no need to add one. The factory speaker sounds good for the limited amount of noise needed to make the car come alive. I did have one issue that would probably result in a returned product for most. After the installation of the LokSound FX decoder I found that the Gyralite and left ditch light seemed tied together. I was 98% sure the dcc decoder wasn't the issue because it worked fine on the decoder tester. Upon further review, I found the AUX 1 and AUX 3 pads on the onboard circut board were bridged by sloppy solder. Impossible to catch in QC unless a decoder was installed.
The car rolls as if it is on glass. Smooth as silk. I found my four car set operated fine both being pushed and pulled and equally through switches.If you are a fan of Chicago commuter railroading or just passenger trains in general these cars are well worth a look.

Andy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/24 10:54 by wheel_slip.

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Awesome!
jb

Thanks for the very positive review and I am delighted you like them! 

Jeff did a great job on these. 

-Jason
 

Thats a beautiful car, wish Rapido would make Superliners. This photo shows how they would be the best looking ever produced.

I wish they would make the former ATSF hi-levels that were converted to HEP as well.

This is all just fine but how long do we have to wait to get the as built BURLINGTON cars.    

Car looks fantastic.The truck detail is terrific!

I don't do commuter trains but those do look fantastic!

ATSFSuperCap Wrote:
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> This is all just fine but how long do we have to
> wait to get the as built BURLINGTON cars.    

Looks like you can get painted but unlettered cars right now. Just add decals.

ATSFSuperCap Wrote:
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> This is all just fine but how long do we have to
> wait to get the as built BURLINGTON cars.    

Well since Rapido has BN and Burlington E units, I imagine your wait wont be to long, but then, I dont know how many mods have changed the body over the years. Like Jim, commuters just arnt my thing.

A member of our model RR club recently received his 5 BN commuter cars by Rapido  .
They look great !  They run well , too , even at high speeds .
 Would like to see Rapido make  ATSF High Level cars .

Well, Rapido does do a lot of passenger cars. Surfliners, California cars, Superliners, ATSF hi-levels, lots of stuff to sell to make money. 

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO

I picked up a pair of coaches in the current Metra scheme, one with BURLINGTON and the other with BNSF RAILWAY in the letter board. These are indeed exquisite models. My only gripe is that the individual coaches are not numbered and no decals were included.

Now to track down some Atlas Nippon-Sharyo galleries…

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