Rapido Trains - 501042 - Passenger Car, Lightweight, Pullman, Duplex Sleeper Plan 4124 - Chicago & North Western - "Northern Forests"

Model Information: The Duplex Sleeper is available with partial skirting or with fixed steps, as appropriate.

• Super-detailed underbody
• Body-mounted Micro-Trains(r) couplers
• Fixed steps or partial skirts, as appropriate
• All air, steam and electrical lines represented Insulated 36″ metal wheelsets (no pizza cutters!)
• "Easy-Peasy" battery-powered interior lighting
• Flush windows with painted gaskets and shades
• Full interior detail including armrests and headrests
• Diaphragms with etched brass end gates
• Painted metal roof grab irons applied at the factory
• Multiple car names and/or numbers per paint scheme
• Will operate smoothly on curves down to 9-3/4″ radius
• Super-detailled 41-N-11 Inside Swinghanger or 41-BNO-11 Outside Swinghanger trucks as appropriate for each roadname and car type.

Prototype information: The Rapido Trains Inc. Duplex Sleeper is everything you need for your overnight passengers, from your branchline, backwater mail train to your hot Limiteds. It features the three most common forms of overnight accommodation - open sections for the budget-minded, roomettes for private day and night travel, and double bedrooms with comfortable seats. Bedroom seats have see-through armrests, and roomettes have curtains for privacy. Public restrooms at the A end of the car include a vanity for the ladies and dental bowls for hygiene.

The Duplex Sleeper is Pullman plan number 4124, a CN and Great Northern prototype with 4 sections, 8 duplex roomettes and 4 bedrooms. Several railroads throughout North America had similar duplex sleepers, and our car is painted in a variety of paint schemes.

Prototype History: The Pullman plan 4124 duplex sleeper is everything you need for your overnight passengers, from your branchline, backwater mail train to your hot Limiteds. It features the three most common forms of overnight accommodation - open sections for the budget-minded, roomettes for private day and night travel, and double bedrooms with comfortable seats. Bedroom seats have see-through armrests, and roomettes have curtains for privacy. Public restrooms at the A end of the car include a vanity for the ladies and dental bowls for hygiene.

Pullman plan number 4124, was used by both the CN and Great Northern railroads. It featured 4 sections, 8 duplex roomettes and 4 bedrooms. Several railroads throughout North America had similar duplex sleepers, and this car was painted in a variety of paint schemes.

Road Name History: The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (reporting mark CNW) was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s.

Until 1972, when the company was sold to its employees, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway. The C&NW became one of the longest railroads in the United States as a result of mergers with other railroads, such as the Chicago Great Western Railway, Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway and others.

By 1995, track sales and abandonment had reduced the total mileage back to about 5,000. The majority of the abandoned and sold lines were lightly trafficked branches in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Large line sales, such as those that resulted in the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad further helped reduce the railroad to a mainline core with several regional feeders and branches.

The company was purchased by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in April 1995 and ceased to exist.

Brand/Importer Information: Rapido Trains Inc. is a high-end manufacturer of model trains and accessories in HO, OO and N (North American 1:160 and British 1:148) scales. The firm's mission is to recreate the entire rail travel experience, from fully-detailed interiors and under-frames on models to fully-wired telephone poles for model railroads.

The name RAPIDO was introduced by Canadian National in 1965 to headline the railway's high-speed intercity passenger services. Until the mid-1980s, RAPIDO stood for fast schedules, frequent trains, and superb service.

Today, Rapido Trains continues the RAPIDO concept with state-of-the-art models and attention to fine detail. This company is not related to the venerable (and now defunct) German manufacturer Arnold Rapido, nor the present-day Arnold (which is owned by the United Kingdom's Hornby), Canadian based Rapido Trains was founded in 2003.