Some talk going on around some of the FB sites that a Rapido Trains trailer has been stolen. It contained HO Procar tank cars and N scale FP9 locomotives. So far nothing from Rapido on this matter as far as I can see.
Jason posted about it on TrainOrders.
They just issued a news release on their FB page.
If they are lucky, the trailer will be found abandoned somewhere, with that portion of the load intact. The perps are looking for something they can sell quickly, like iPhones or televisions.
Was it a type of trailer that I see dealers towing to train shows (Wells Cargo type) or are we talking about a commercial common carrier’s shipping container?
My computer doesn’t connect to this facebook thing.
Cheers, Ed
Here is the text of the Facebook post:
Hi guys,
We’ve got some unfortunate news to report this afternoon regarding the shipment of HO scale Procor tank cars and N scale CP FP9A locomotives to two of our US distributors. We have just been informed by our carrier that a trailer containing these shipments destined for the US was stolen from a local trucking yard sometime in the last couple of days and is still missing as of this afternoon. An investigation has been launched, but as of now we don’t know where these shipments are and whether or not they will be recovered.
While it is believed the models were stolen here in Canada, it’s possible they could appear in the US as well and that the thieves may try and sell the product to either a dealer or otherwise sometime in the near future.
With that in mind, we’re asking dealers and the modeling community to please keep a lookout for any suspicious offers or shipments of these models and please contact police should anything come about.
Thanks, Rich [Y]
What confused me was the reference to “Rapido’s Trailer” as I’ve seen the one used by Scale Trains and the like thinking it was something custom-made that Jason and crew hauled to train shows and such.
Regards, Ed
It’s just your regular 40 or 53 ft cargo trailer, the kind you see on the highways everyday. Nothing special or unusual.
There are some pretty dumb thieves around.
Imagine their disappointment on cracking open that trailer…
Reminds me of the contrail gang that stole at least a hundred trailers full of electronics out of conrail intermodal yards.
It was the trucking carrier’s truck and trailer, not one specifically for Rapido. I’m sure that the shipment of Rapido product to two US dealers is not the whole truck and there was a lot of other US less-than-truckload shipments in there. I’m sure they got something they can “fence” easily, and the Rapido stuff might be found dumped in a ditch somewhere if they can’t unload something so specific.
But model RR shops and dealers should be on the lookout for someone suspiciously trying to unload a bunch of “surplus” brand-new Rapido stock.
I’m surprised you didn’t check Twitter that’s where I read about (17 hours ago). I checked this morning for a funny post but ran into serious situation.
I suspect Rapidos container was only a 20’ and one of two on the trailer, so the scumbags may have been after the other container that had bars gold-pressed-latinum in it.[swg]
Something like this, but with a different type of trailer of course.
If it was a sea can on a flat bed, I can understand why it went missing. The perps didn’t care about the contents. SEA CANS, themselves, are so scarce that it was the prize. [(-D]
I hate to see such things happen, especially to our small hobby, and of course to our Canadian pride, Rapido. Some trucking firm’s insurance is gonna have to dig deep.
Why are you guys assuming it’s a sea container, and that the entire container is filled with Rapido?
It’s not Rapido’s shipment from China. It’s shipments FROM Rapido to 2 of its US dealers. Consolidated LTL in a trucking company’s trailer with other things, not just model trains.
From a post in another forum, it sounds like the trailer has been recovered. And while much of the other contents were stolen, the thieves didn’t know what to do with the trains and left them behind.
That would be predictable. They are hoping to find boxes labelled SONY or Apple. Find a shipment of 1000 iphones and Christmas just came early. They are looking for something they can sell quick and make a tidy sum in the process.
If only they knew the extent of the model railroad equipment shortages there really are… what a missed opportunity for some street corner sales.
It is very good that Rapido was able to reclaim possession of their property.
Stealing a 53 foot dry van trailer is exceptionally easy to do if it is not attached to a highway tractor. There are no effective anti-theft items on these, and most have no distinctive markings.
Once it is gone, it is just another unimpressive white dry van rolling down the road. Very difficult to catch.
We had one that was stolen out of our lot in the middle of the day. The guys pulled up to it, hooked up, attached the air lines, retracted the landing gear, and disappeared. They did not act suspicious, so we all just thought it was an owner’s agent with a rented tractor. The guy even got out of the cab with a piece of paper and inspected the trailer before he hooked up.
They took it because the refrigeration unit was running, so they assumed it was full.
All it had was a couple of cases of Russel Stover candy on board.
-Kevin
Back in the 1970’s my father was a regional manager for CAROLINA FREIGHT which was at the time the largest trucking company east of the Mississippi.
One of the highest value loads they carried was Polariod instant camera film, a 40’ van leaving the Polaroid factory was worth a LOT of money. High jackings and trailer thefts became such a problem that various security measures were put in place to conceal the info that might identify the shipment, including taking the load just picked up to the local terminal and transfering the load into the building for the night, then loading it onto a different trailer right before it was scheduled to leave.
And using coded descriptions on the bill of lading so only a few people knew what the shipment was.
Sheldon