Part of me

wanted to buy one of each Canadian set, but monetary reality only allowed for two.  After much deliberation, I decided on the early VIA and CP Action Red set #2.  I really contemplated adding the modern VIA set as well and picking up some F40PH-2's Rapido is releasing with them.  But the wallet wouldn't allow it.

Let's start with the CP Action Red set #2.  There are two book case-type boxes inside the white Canadian case, very similar to how Kato has done their passenger car sets.  Included is the Canadian manual, which is significantly shorter in length than the HO version.  

Pulling away the top foam cover, the first 5 cars (baggage/dorm, two coaches, Skyline car and dining car):

And the second box reveals the two Chateau sleepers, two manor sleepers and the Park car:

The first box includes the "Rapido wand" for turning lights and marker lights on or off.  The default state of the interior lights is on when power is applied and then you can turn them off if you wish.  Marker lights are only available where they are applicable, not my two Canadian models, though the Park cars have marker lights.  

They also include a package of grabs to add if you wish, including spares if you wreck the odd one.  I will leave them off until they are more permanently situated on a layout and wont have much 0-5-0 handling.

The manual says the minimum radius is 11" but that will require switching to medium shank couplers on one or both ends of the cars to do so.  I really like the close coupling as it is out of the box and plan to have a 15" minimum radius on my future N scale layout with all visible curves at 19" radius.  However, on my Scenic and Relaxed, the most inside curve radius is 11" so it will not navigate that without at least one medium shank coupler on one end of the cars.  

VIA

Next is the VIA set.  I chose the original scheme set as my chosen era is late 70s when there would be some CP and VIA cars on the Canadian.  In theory, I can combine the sets to have one really looooong prototypical consist. They are the same cars as the CP set, of course:

Above, the Baggage/dorm, two coaches, Skyline and Diner.

And here are the two Chateau sleepers, two Manor sleepers and the Park car.  

These cars really are great looking and have amazing detail for N scale.  

Prestige

Some of you may have picked up the strange goings on of my getting both Prestige sets when I clearly model a much earlier era.  Why did I get these?  Honestly, I'm not entirely sure myself, other than this is likely the closest I will ever get to being in one of those cars.  It is likely they will remain in their boxes as collectors' items, much like my Royal Hudsons in HO scale.  Still, they are great looking cars:

You can immediately see the larger windows in the Prestige cars but its harder to see the darker stripe than the VIA blue.  The picture above is as far as they have come from being out of the box at this point.  As I said, they are mostly for collecting at this point.

They look lovely.  Makes me

They look lovely.  Makes me wish I was Canadian.

Some photos

OK, so I cleaned up the track and got out my only passenger loco (so far) for some photos.  This section is the only part of my little layout that you can have the entire set of cars in view.

 Probably could use another loco on this consist.  That will have to wait until the FP9s arrive.

 Dinner time!  I loved eating in the dining car while riding the Canadian. Such fancy microwave meals.

 The Park car just emerges from the tunnel.  These are the two chateau and two manor sleepers in front of the Park car (Chateaus are the ones with the offset windows in front).

 This would be the helicopter view (drones weren't a thing in 1979).

One more in the dark

Not a great photo in the dark, but here it is anyway...

The verdict

I think if I put a photo of some of the N scale Canadian cars and some of the HO Canadian cars, you would have to really look to figure out which was which.  The detail on these cars is nothing short of amazing.  I only had one set out on the layout but I did have one of the cars derail at a turnout.  I'll go back and check the wheel gauge once I find my NMRA gauge.  Why is it that the NMRA gauge always goes missing when you need it?

I will likely get some medium shank couplers on a few of the cars so I can run them on the Scenic and Relaxed until I get around to building the bigger layout.  That could be a year or two away yet, so leaving these in the boxes doesn't seem like the right thing to do.  

While I'm very pleased with these cars, I would be remiss to not include my minor critiques.  For those who got the N scale LRC cars, Rapido included a capacitor for the interior lighting so they were flicker free.  I expected that in the Canadian, but alas, they do not.  I'm not sure why Rapido didn't include this with the Canadian but I'm sure cost is the most likely culprit.  I may ask them sometime, but they never advertised that it would be included, so I have no real complaint, just a bit disappointed.

The only other nit is similar to the above - it isn't a real critique of the product as it is similar to most others but I may add a little bit of weight into each car.  After overweighting many of my HO scale cars, these seem fairly light.  I think they would benefit from a touch more weight (as all of my N scale cars would).

Bottom line, these sets are stunning and I'm so pleased Rapido did these and I'm glad I sold off a few HO things to get both sets.  I can't wait for the FP9s now to pull them around.  

Jim

You certainly don't have to be Canadian to model Canadian.  I know of several American and European modelers that model Canadian prototypes, not to mention all the Aussie modelers who model North American prototypes.

Still, very tempting.

Dave, oh, I know.  I just can't afford to have everything.  These ain't cheap but they look worth the price.

I missed out on the Kato California Zephyr when lots were available but now I can't find them anywhere at a reasonable price.

Coupler Trip Pins

From one Dave to another, don't forget to check the coupler trips pins (although I'm sure you already have). I didn't check first myself and had one hanging low.

I picked up a modern VIA HEP equipment minus the Prestige set and a 14 car train stretches out to almost 8 feet minus engines.  I've got 3 F40s on order; who knows maybe I'll get one of the $10 bills they are putting in with some of the 6403 engines.

If I can find another 3 car add on set for a decent price I may grab one to give myself a 4th coach to run a decent Corridor train. Yes I know Corridor trains are either LRC or HEPII equipment but most people cannot tell the different.

I agree with you 100% on the lighting. I thought there wouldn't have been as much flicker as there is but I only have one or two cars that seem to have a problem.

One complaint I have right out of the box, and this was the same with the LRC cars, is that some of the cars do not roll as well as others. Some will roll a couple of feet with a little push and others roll a couple of inches.  Now I have not tried to tweak anything or check wheel gauge so my complaint may go away.

Cheers,

Dave

Dave

The rolling properties were certainly more suspect on the LRC cars, but yes, I did notice a couple cars didn't roll as well as others.  They are a different design of truck, though, so it may just be wheel gauge or be a little tight in the truck.  One thing I'm going to try is putting a touch of graphite onto the metal inside the trucks that pick up power to see if I can get that to improve not just the electrical pickup but perhaps rolling quality as well.  I've been trying to think of a downside to doing that and I don't see anything obvious.

Rolling

I have noticed that the outside axles appear to be contacting the sills

I'll have to take a look

I have been busy so haven't had a chance to do much with them, but when I get some time, I'll have to check that, Robert.  

Rapido’s N scale Canadian & FP9A’s - Problems

I acquired Rapido’s 10-car “The Canadian” set earlier this year (2021), and just purchased two full-sound FP9A’s to haul it two weeks ago.  I chose the early maroon colour scheme.

The coaches and the locos are nothing short of beautiful, gem-like, museum-quality specimens that are truly wondrous to behold.  Appearance-wise, they are far and away top of class.  Performance-wise, not so much.

The coaches had worse “rollability” than ANYTHING I had ever purchased in the last 15 years.  My best-running Kato 6-axle heavy hauler was spinning it’s wheels with the 10-car line.  I deduced the main problem right away (wheel sets rubbing against undercarriage structural members) and returned the set to Rapido, who machined two “divets” into the frame to provide clearance above each bogie (ie - four divets per coach).  But it turns out that there were other friction points as well - see the Rapido web site for troubleshooting details.  They did all the corrections for me (I live less than 10 miles from their facility here in the Toronto area), but there was still one car that wouldn’t roll.  This one I corrected myself (one wheel would rub against a tiny underbody detail piece on certain turns … enough to lock up the wheel … I ground off the wee plastic thingy and the problem disappeared).

The coach lighting is so-so … too much flicker.  And the red markers at the rear of the observation car are configured as normally off, meaning that you have to wave the magic wand thingy over the rear of the car to switch them on.  This would be ok if they stayed on, but like all the other cars they frequently flicker, and when they flicker off, well, they stay off … they’re a flicking pain in the nuts!

The point is, at this price point, shoddy oversights of this nature are inexcusable.  Even after all the “make right” repair work, my Rapido “The Canadian” 10-car set still only rolls half as nicely, and not nearly as reliably, as my Kato “Morning Daylight” 12-car set, but the Rapido cost was three times higher.

Now, on to the two FP9A locomotives.  As mentioned, stunningly beautiful renditions.  Great sounds.  One of the two units seems to frequently jitter, sputter and die, needing a wee kick in the ass to get moving again, but eventually gets it together … hoping it’s just break-in pains (but I’m not holding my breath).  Individually they run well … consisting was another story.

Don’t get me wrong- they were very nicely speed-matched right out of the box, and my NCE system did the back-to-back consist setup in short order.  The problem was that the prime mover sounds disappeared as soon as the consist was formed … toggling F8 did nothing.  Endless hours of fiddling with cv’s, royally screwing up some cv’s, getting things back to original etc never did resolve the problem; Rapido never answered emails; I gave up and regrettably accepted that I would never have engine sounds in consist mode.

Long story short - while breaking in the locos in consist mode the other night, I noticed in the Rapido instruction sheet that F4 is for “Steam Generator”, so, out of curiosity, I turned it on.  Nothing happened, but I left it on anyway.  Forty seconds later, both locos were suddenly emanating the prime mover sounds!  In the end, I serendipitously discovered that the only way to get engine sounds in a consist is to turn on F4 first, then toggle F8.  F4 can be turned off thereafter, and the engines will sound until F8 is pressed again.  To fire them back up, push F4 and then F8 again, and so on.  WHY this is so, is beyond me.

For a long time, I have tried really hard to really like Rapido Trains.  I like their sense of humour, I love their attention to detail, and I have the utmost admiration and regard for Jason Schron and the wonderful business he has fostered and grown.  But I had a bad experience with their N scale Turbo train two years ago (it was the only thing that never once completed a circuit of my layout without constantly derailing or stalling - I had no choice but to return it).  And now The Canadian and it’s locos have already caused me all kinds of grief - the old “once bitten twice shy” thing.  
 

I’ve concluded that at Rapido, appearance and detail are everything, with functionality, durability and reliability taking a back seat.  It’s too bad, because at the higher-than-average prices they command, customer expectations are, and rightfully so, equally higher than average.  But in my experience, they are falling somewhat short.

Apologies that my first contribution to this board was such a long one, but sheesh, I do feel better getting some of that off my chest!

Dwight

I haven't even taken all 32 of my Canadian cars out of their boxes for a run around the track.  I worked on the VIA set I had to get it up to better rolling conditions but it still needs some tweaking on a few cars.  I absolutely agree about the light flickering, especially after they put capacitors into the LRC cars - I was a bit surprised they didn't include these in the Canadian because it would have made a huge difference and I hope to add that in somehow on my Canadian cars.

I just got 5 of the 7 FP9's I ordered (the multimark scheme didn't come in the original shipment). Three of them ran like champs right out of the box and I was so pleased, until the other two went on the track and run like you describe - hesitant, jerky and stall regularly.  I've run them both for more than 2 hours and it hasn't changed.  I did find the wheels on the two in question were quite dirty, but that only made a minor difference in the running quality.  I think I'm going to contact Rapido about the two but I'll wait to see how the two CP locos run first.  

I have a different experience with the Turbo - my Turbo is, I believe, the best running train I've ever had in N scale.  Right out of the box, it ran beautifully and I have not had a single hesitation or stall with it ever.  Such a beautiful train, I can't gush about it enough.  Same with the Prairie Shadows FPA4 Rapido made - I only have one, but it has been a fantastic runner, right up there with any Kato I've owned.  My GMD1, though, is only average. Mostly runs OK, but seems much more sensitive to tiny imperfections in the track than anything else.

But I'm not done with Rapido yet.  These issues are a nuisance and I'm not really happy about them, but the passenger cars are certainly fixable and hopefully the engine issues will be, too.  I'd never have had the opportunity to have such great looking models otherwise, so I'll put in the work to get them up to speed.  But I do think we need to politely prod Rapido about these issues and try to get improvement because it will hurt them in the end if things aren't improved.  They are passionate about their products and I know they don't want to give us stuff that doesn't work, but action needs to follow.

Switching scales

About nine years ago I made the switch from N to HO scale for the very same reasons you outlined Dave. I also backdated my era. I really miss the Kato Amtrak Acela passenger train I had though and if we ever get to build our new house, I'll probably end up with some N scale stuff again or I might go in the other direction and get some On30 or both...I can see my wife rolling her eyes now

A bit more poop re: Rapido etc

Hey Dave - holy smokes, that’s some substantial investment you’ve made in these latest Rapido N scale offerings!

I’m just curious - have you tried making up a consist with those new F9’s?  Have you had the problem of disappearing prime mover sound while in consist mode?

I really like what you said about never being able to acquire such super-detailed models if it weren’t for Rapido’s passion.  I agree completely, which is why I genuinely try to support them.  However, I was pretty damn ticked off at the deplorable rollability of The Canadian coaches, but like you, I was willing to do whatever it took to make them better, because they are indeed THAT special.  But after my disappointment with the Turbo, all I could think was “hoo boy … here we go again … stellar looks/cellar performance”.  At that price, they should have been perfect in all aspects, not just appearance.

Oh, how I wish that Turbo had worked out.  I have fond memories of watching the real Turbos on the Toronto/Montreal corridor as a teenager.  I also had that long-ago Bachman Turbo Train on my layout in my parents basement back in the late 70’s.  It too looked purdy (for it’s time), but it too ran like crap!  In fact, I still have that set.  Knowing that yours runs so well is encouraging, and I have seen written testaments from others saying the same thing, so maybe one day I’ll try to pick one up again. 

Just an aside re: The Canadian … I distinctly remember taking that train, as a five year old lad, with my mom and my younger sister, from Winnipeg to Toronto.  It would have been around 1960, and I can still recall the layout of the roomette, the elegance of the dining car, the excitement of the dome cars, and even the unusual smell when passing between coaches through the vestibules.  I truly believe that trip ingrained my lifelong interest in trains.

I was enormously impressed when I first saw Rapido’s HO “Canadian” on a club layout quite some years ago, and have waited patiently all this time for them to duplicate that achievement in N scale.  So, finally, here we are … a few warts and hiccups perhaps … but thankfully, here we are all the same.  In time, we may even see a ‘B’ unit - wouldn’t that be nice!

Dwight

I was breaking them in to get them speed matched and then I was going to put them into consists, so I'll have to do that in the next couple days and report back to you here.  I'm very curious to see if I get that behavior as well.

And, yes, the B unit will complete the set, so hopefully that will come.  Jeremy kind of hinted to put in your requests on the Rapido website so he could convince them to get the B units.  Nice to have another N scale on the inside at Rapido.

Michael

I met a guy who is building an On30 layout and got a bit of a tour.  I can see the temptation there.

More ramblin’ on …

Just a couple of asides:

I had sent an email to a contact at Rapido the day after getting the locos, singing their praises and saying thanks for making them.  I asked about the tiny pieces in the wee plastic bag that was packed with the locos.  The vestibule diaphragms were obvious, but fwiw, they explained that the other pieces were sun visors for above the cab windows, grab irons for the leading edge of the roof, and a set of steps meant to be attached to, and just aft of the pilot.  Some pieces were left off because, in time, they were removed from the prototypes (the diaphragms and the grab bars); others were left off because they would have been too fragile and obstructive to have fit in the foam jewel box cradle (sun visors and pilot steps).

I also asked “what the heck were those spot lights on the roof, aiming up at the sky, actually used for”.  Turns out that these were a bit of a public relations gimmick - the lights were used to illuminate cliff faces, mountain scenery, tunnel features etc for passenger amusement while traversing the Rocky Mountains after dusk.  These rooftop spotlights were also eventually eliminated.  Who knew!

One more aside …

Forgot to mention - I also asked “why no B unit.”.  They said that they will be revisiting that, once they see how the response to the A units pans out.  Also, they knew that B units were already available from others (eg - Intermountain, I believe), and since they are fairly generic, they weren’t sure that Rapido had a lot of latitude to make them super-detailed.  I guess we’ll see!

Consisting

Well, I took a couple hours today to speed match the locos as best I could and then try a couple consists.  I managed to speed match four of the engines, but the 5th is just too finicky (stalls a lot) to do, so I will likely contact Rapido about that one once I get the CP ones to see if there are any issues with those.  

I first tried to consist the two CN units and noted that the engines both started up by just pushing F8, so no issues there.  However, the one CN unit I had a few issues with after speed matching OK, would not run reliably in the consist in reverse.  So, I'll add that one to the list to send Rapido as well.

Finally, I consisted the two VIA units that are running great and they also responded to F8 as they should and ran beautifully around the layout for a half hour before I added four Panorama line (VIA blue) passenger cars to them, and they continued to run beautifully hauling them around.  

So, short answer, Dwight, no I'm not having any issues with consisting them on my NCE system.

Rollability?

So good to hear that your consists worked without incident.

Just curious - have you had a chance to check the rollability of all the coaches you bought?  Every single one of mine needed as many as three different procedures to make them acceptable.  The way they came from the factory was such that a single loco could not pull them.  They even would have put a horrible strain on a dual-loco consist.

I haven't

taken every car out of the box (remember, I have 32), but I've found some were OK, some were less than OK and a few were brutal.  I really should get to work on them to get them to a better operating standard, but I don't have a lot of incentive because I have an 11" radius curve on my little N scale layout right now that is too tight for them to navigate.  I've put some medium shank couplers on a few cars to run that tight radius, but I don't have enough couplers to make them all that way and I do want to go back to closer coupling once my other planned layout gets going (with minimum 15" radius).

I should maybe just get a 15" radius oval to run them on so I can get them to operating standards.