Rapido HO E44 Release
Here comes the Rapido HO Scale E44 Electric Motor! This a new tooled plastic model from Rapido. These were a staple of east coast railroading for over two decades for four different railroads.
In case you didn't watch the video, click here to see Rapidos' video on their YouTube channel.
Accompanying this exciting announcement are 3D printed samples from 3D Central as well as 3D CAD renders decorated by Jeremy at Rapido.
The frame details are out of this world.
The Pennsylvania Railroad was well known for their use of electrified freight railroading. They took advantage of their main lines being electrified for passenger usage, from Washington to Harrisburg and New York. In fact, it was predicted that the wave of the future would rely on electrifying other routes for this type of service.
In the 1960s, the Pennsylvania needed a new electric motor to replace their aging P5a motors, which had been in service since the 1930s. After much experimenting and back and forth with Alco, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division, General Electric and Westinghouse, the PRR settled on GE's E44 motor.
The E44 was able to output 4,400 horsepower in a boxy shape, which ultimately helped gain its nickname of "brick".
Sixty class E44 Electric Motors were built from GE, with a silicone diode rectifier. Six more were built using the new ignitron rectifier systems GE instituted and classified as E44a motors. Later, 22 of these motors were upgraded with this feature during the Penn Central era. This program was halted, however, as PC would infamously hit their bankruptcy woes. Under Conrail ownership, some would retain their CR patchouts while a handful would receive the iconic blue dip scheme.
We will offer these for Pre-Order through our store.
If you want to Pre-Order any of these units here is our pricing.
*Prices may be subject to change depending on Tariff events.*
DC/DCC Ready: MSRP: $389.95 Our Price: $319.95 (18% Off)
DCC/DC/Sound: MSRP: $499.95 Our Price: $409.95 (18% Off)
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