rapidotrains

We had a wonderful day today - thank you to everyone who came out! We're trying to find the time to update the blog thread but it may be a day or two. Immediately following the event we tried to find a vegetarian restaurant that was open and ended up doubling back to Brum to go for a curry. Apparently all the vegetarian restaurants in the Midlands are closed on Sunday nights, because of course nobody goes out for supper on a Sunday... We then drove to Epworth, where we've just been enjoying a glass of whisky with the fellow who owns the inn. Tomorrow it's all about trolleybuses... Hopefully Gareth will be able to put together an update. Despite being the same day as Wimbledon and the Alton bus rally, we had about 150 people! That was way over our expectations. What a great day. -Jason

Hi all, I'm leaving from Toronto Pearson first thing tomorrow AM. We really hope you can join us at Wythall. It promises to be a fun event, and it is happening "rain or shine." Info from Wythall here: http://www.wythall.org.uk/eventdays.asp#scanday and our web page is here: http://www.rapidouk.com/rapido-bus-3d-scanning-event/ Thanks and regards, Jason

I have that book. I wish someone had taught the fellow how to scan images. Most of them are blurry/grainy or have a terrible screen pattern on them. -Jason

Actually, a lot of the infrastructure was in need of replacement and it would have cost a mint. As well, Orion was pushing its natural gas buses, and as Orion was at the time a crown corporation, the province went with the natural gas buses instead of upgrading the trolley system. Vancouver still has an extensive trolleybus system. But what I want to see is a really nice working 1:76 trolleybus system. My concern is that because the trolleybus era falls a bit before the steam-diesel transition era of British Rail, there would not be enough demand for anyone to bring out such a system. The development and tooling costs would never be recovered. -Jason

Actually that is my day off. I am driving a trolleybus for the day! Though wouldn't it be amazing if we could have a really well-designed working trolleybus system? -Jason

EDIT: Here are the links to the five instalments: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124274-jason-and-gareths-brilliant-british-adventure/&do=findComment&comment=2788855 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124274-jason-and-gareths-brilliant-british-adventure/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2789635 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124274-jason-and-gareths-brilliant-british-adventure/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2795306 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124274-jason-and-gareths-brilliant-british-adventure/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2803630 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124274-jason-and-gareths-brilliant-british-adventure/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2803638 Hi all, Gareth and I will be departing for the UK next week. As is par for the course, we will be posting updates in this thread. Because Gareth does not qualify for a BritRail pass, I will be driving us around the United Kingdom. Heathrow-Birmingham-Wythall-Sandtoft-Sheffield-Peterborough-Swamp-Heathrow. As I am doing the driving, you should be able to smell melting/burning clutch all the way across the Midlands. I look forward to sharing our adventures with you all, and I really hope you can join us next Sunday (16 July) at the Transport Museum, Wythall. We will have model trains on display - it's not just about buses! If you are a subscriber to our newsletter, we're sending one out in the next couple of days. You can sign up here: http://bit.ly/2tRHjFL Thanks and regards, Jason

That is fantastic! -Jason

I will definitely be adding that destination to one of my next UK visits. Wow! This trip I will be at Wythall and Sandtoft, where I am scheduled to drive a trolleybus for a day. That's my one "day off" on the trip... -Jason

Thanks for the suggestions! I've got a contact now at Bus & Coach Week. I will send out information to everyone else as well. -Jason

Hi guys, We'd like to get as many people out to Wythall on July 16th as we can. Can anyone give us suggestions as to where we should be promoting this event? We'd like to reach bus enthusiasts who are local to the West Midlands and surrounding area as they are most likely to come. While I love classic British buses, I am a bit of a lone wolf enthusiast being out here in the colonies. We've announced the event to several bus-related web sites and in Buses Magazine. Any other venues you can recommend? Thanks, Jason

Here's some insight into our bus launch from the horse's mouth, as I am (shamefully) the only British bus enthusiast at Rapido. I'm working to convert Bill, and then I will move on to the rest of them. I think that whatever we produce is bound to disappoint a lot of people as it's not "their" bus. Say we choose to produce a PD2, there are so many body variations that our MCW-bodied PD2 could bear absolutely no resemblance to an all-Leyland PD2. There really was such a huge variety. I can usually spot a PD3 or a Regent V or one of the other obvious buses at a glance, but with a lot of buses you actually need to know the fleet numbers in order to tell what the heck that bus is beyond it being a Daimler or a Leyland or whatever. The goal of this first model is to produce a slightly more obscure bus that will get us noticed in the British bus market, and then we can produce something with wider appeal. Say we did want to tackle a Routemaster, as one has never been produced from a 3D scan and I genuinely think we can beat every model except the 1:24 Sun Star (which is a work of art, not a model). If it were our first model, people would take a "wait and see" approach. But if we've already impressed the heck out of my fellow bus enthusiasts with something a bit less mainstream, then they would know to order our Routemaster when we announce it. Most British buses have been done in some sort of model form, so I won't pretend that our first model has never been done before. But, like the Class 156 we're making for RealTrack, Rapido is not afraid to say "we can do a lot better than the competition." -Jason

I sincerely hope ours would run better.....

I was planning on giving them all to my five year old along with a box of crayons. I was overruled. -Jason

So Bill... Have you got used to saying "factory fitted" yet? This is a constant source of trans-Atlantic translational issues at Rapido. In North America we say "factory installed," and in the UK we say "factory fitted." (We also put punctuation inside the quotation marks in "Canada.") Unfortunately a few "factory fitteds" have found their way into American adverts, and one or two "factory installeds" made their way into UK adverts. I wonder what the American readers thought of factory fitted... "I should hope the parts bl**dy well fit. What kind of a selling point is that?" -Jason

Right - tried to "love" Chris's post and ended up thanking him for being friendly. Nice photos, Chris! -Jason

Hi all, Great to see this thread is still going. I never thought it would be this long-lasting... -Jason

I was thinking about that yesterday when the guys and I were working on my layout. It's based in 1980, which is considered "modern" to most North American modellers. The 1950s are still the most modelled decade over here. But there are new generations of modellers born in the 1990s who see 1980 as ancient! -Jason

Hi guys, I just sent out a newsletter and I forgot to encourage everyone to vote for the APT-E for Model of the Year. I have no shame and I don't mind begging. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote for the APT-E as Model of the Year. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/poll/index.php?sid=16428&lang=en Thanks, Jason

Interesting thoughts from everyone. When it comes to visible track in layouts, people often aim for broad radius curves and amazing realism. Then as soon as the train leaves the scene, it's #1 radius to get those trains round to the fiddle yard as quickly as possible. And there has been no attempt to fix that from the model press - I still see track plans with graceful curves on scene and what is clearly (if not labelled) #1 radius and short radius crossovers immediately off scene. Modellers have to recognize that their trains are limited by the tightest curves on their layout, even if those curves are hidden. You may not be able to see that massive overhang from your full-length coaches or the deflection on tight crossovers, but it is still there. And engineering for those curves is a nightmare. We have to leave off a lot of details that are essential for the operation of a real two-car DMU when we allow for the crazy tight curves that the models will be subjected to. As for switching from 16.5mm to 18.83mm track, I agree that this is a step too far for most people. We've all invested heavily in our models. We can't toss them all away for a new standard, even the new standard is more accurate. We simply can't afford it. That being said, I really think that the UK needs to embrace DCC with much more gusto. DCC is worth the expense and the time to learn, even if you do have 25 locos that need to be fitted. That there are still new layouts being built today that are DC is like buying a new phone system for your office and then only using rotary/dial phones. They are lovely, they work well, but there are a whole bunch of phone numbers you can't call because the computer receptionists no longer give you the option not to press a button. (I own and use four different rotary phones, incidentally, including one at the office.) Many models today worldwide are designed for DCC first, DC as an afterthought. In North American HO scale, DCC now has about 75% of the market. In the UK, it's more like 25%. But as the model railroad technology moves further and further away from 1930s DC control, it will get harder and harder to make the models backwards-compatible to DC layouts. We've been hearing of people trying to operate a sound-equipped APT-E with a home-built DC controller they bought secondhand 30 years ago. You don't expect to run today's computer software on a BBC Micro, but people expect that today's top-of-the-line models will operate using 1950s-built model railway control. Best regards, Jason

The way things are going I'll be managing Rapido from upstairs in my BMMO D9..... I was at the Great British Train Show here in the Toronto area yesterday and my purchases comprised two Routemasters in two different scales, a Travel West Midlands Volvo (outside my era of interest but what the heck) and a London trolleybus. Also picked up the massive history of Leyland for $5 and some bus annuals and other miscellaneous colour Ian Allen bus books for $2 - $5 each. What I wouldn't give for a Rapido-quality BCT Daimler CVG6 with "new look" tin front and proper raised bands between the decks... It would be even better as a 1:24 SunStar model! Apparently Bill and Thomas scoped out the bus books before I got there and tried to hide a bunch of them so as not to feed my addiction. -Jason

Hi guys, I sent out the latest North American newsletter on Friday, which includes an essay on my recent China visit as well as Rapido's role/identity. Even if you have no interest in North American trains, you might find the essay interesting. Have a look: http://conta.cc/1rzd1m6 Thanks, Jason

There's nothing wrong with talking... Not that we're going to reveal anything, but I'm certainly finding the discussion interesting! -Jason

I'm sorry to hear that! The best thing to do is to email Rapido through our web site and have Dan email or ring you back on Monday. What with it being the weekend and everyone at the York show, your best bet is to speak to Dan. Unless you can bring it to the York show and have Bill or Thomas look at it in person. A short can be caused by all sorts of things. It could be an axle bearing, it could be a connector, it could be an error in connecting the cars. It could be one of about 20 different reasons. "It has a short" is not enough information for Dan to diagnose the problem. You'll need to give him much more info. Best regards, Jason

While I can take some of the credit, I can't take the majority of it. Thanks need to go to Bill, Dan, Zhou, Kit, Legomanbiffo and the rest of our design team for making this train happen. I wanted an APT-E, but they turned that into a real model that looks, sounds and operates well. Thanks also to Gareth for the gorgeous book. I will, however, take the credit for writing the instructions. If you find them offensive you can place the blame squarely at my door and noone else's. Best regards, Jason

Thanks, Andy for the great photos and to everyone for the very kind words! A lot of hard work has gone into this model - more so than almost any other project we've done. Today Bill described it to me as "The Canadian" for the UK market in terms of its ambition and complexity. It certainly took over our whole factory for a few months like The Canadian did back in 2012. I'm delighted that the initial reaction is so positive. -Jason