The Book

About the book:
TurboTrain: A Journey is the first book ever to tell the story of the TurboTrain through hi story, stories and photographs.

136 full color pages with over 220 photographs, the majority of which have never been published before.

Unsurpassed archives:
o The only surviving original internal files from Canadian National's TurboTrain project.
o Documents and photos from the Sikorsky archives.
o Interviews, films and documents from many of die designers, suppliers and engineers.

About the author:
Jason Sharon is the founder and president of Rapido Trains Inc., manufacturer of HO-Scale passenger cars and trains.
Obsessed with the TurboTrain since he was 2; he started the company, in part, to produce a model of the train for his own layout.

List Price: $24.95
136 Pages, Full Color!

AVAILABLE NOW!

On December 20, 1967 the United Aircraft TurboTrain rocketed to an amazing 170.8 MPH on the Pennsylvania Railroad in New Jersey. To this date, this is still the fastest speed ever achieved by a production passenger train in the United States or Canada.

On April 22, 1976 a Canadian National TurboTrain reached a speed of 140.6 MPH between Montreal and Toronto. This is still the Canadian speed record.

This year, Rapido Trains Inc. finally brings you the first ever accurate model of the TurboTrain - North America's fastest train.

Now you can relive your memories of seeing this train roar past. Both engines are sound-equipped, so your TurboTrain will roar at the front and the rear just like the real thing.

TURBOTRAIN FEATURES:

REALISM IN LOOKS AND SOUND - Two powered Power Dome Car engines, each with a 5-pole, skew-wound motor and flywheel, as well as one Intermediate Car with accurate windows and interior. - Each Power Dome Car has its own Sound Decoder and Speaker. Click Here to listen to a sample. - Sounds include turbines, bell, doors, stations announcements, and That Turbo Horn. If you remember the TurboTrain, you will remember that horn. - Sounds are 100% accurate. They have been sampled from 90 minutes of behind-the-scenes, crystal clear TurboTrain video footage recorded by Bill Morisson.

 

 

 

 

ACCURACY AND VARIETY - Correct interior and exterior detail for each paint scheme - Constant, directional headlights as well as forward and rear Gyralites - Full-width, operating diaphragms and guidance arms (24" radius or greater) - Decal sheet with destination signs and optional logos

 

 

 

DETAIL AND RELIABILITY - The most detailed interior ever produced in HO scale: "Padded" armrests, faucets in the bathroom sinks, and a microwave in the cafe car! - Numerous factory-applied detail parts - Constant interior lighting throughout - Reliable operation on DC or DCC layouts - Hand-held controller to operate sounds in DC - Minimum 18-inch radius - Additional coach, club and cafe cars available separately

 

 

 

 

 

NEW HAVEN / DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
In this first paint scheme, the TurboTrain achieved its phenomenal 170.8 MPH speed record on standard tracks in New Jersey. 1967-1968

PENN CENTRAL
Although it was a New Haven initiative, the TurboTrain entered regular service on the Penn Central on April 9, 1969. 1968-1971


EARLY AMTRAK
In 1971, the TurboTrain was given this striking new paint scheme for a showcase tour of the USA. 1971-1973


LATE AMTRAK
This was a unique application of Amtrak's Phase 1 paint scheme and was very distinctive as it roared past. 1973-1979


CANADIAN NATIONAL
CN owned the largest fleet of TurboTrains and operated them between Montreal and Toronto and Montreal and Ottawa. 1967-1976


VIA RAIL CANADA
In this paint scheme, the TurboTrain achieved the current Canadian rail speed record of 140.6 MPH on April 22, 1976. 1976-1982

The Rapido Trains Inc. TurboTrain will be equipped with a wide variety of accurate TurboSounds sampled from the one of the only existing sound-equipped videos of the TurboTrain. Train sounds have been carefully cleaned up using the latest in Macintosh sound-editing software.

YouTube Video Files Below

Model Sound Test

Model - Passing Train

Click Here to take a short audio trip on the Canadian Turbo.

This is what you will hear:

• TURBO STARTUP
• TORONTO UNION STATION ANNOUNCEMENT
• ALL ABOARD / EN VOITURE
• STAIRS FOLDING UP AND WARNING CHIME
• BELL AND ACCELERATION
• CRUISING SOUND AND HORN
• GUILDWOOD ON-BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT
• BRAKES
• STAIRS FOLDING DOWN AND WARNING CHIME
• WIND DOWN

MSRP $499.95
Additional Cars $39.95
Turbo TwoPack $69.95
Available Early 2008