Rapido Trains Delivers Detailed D&RGW Steel-Riveted End-Cupola Cabooses in HO

Rapido Trains has put the Denver & Rio Grande Western's 01400 series steel-riveted end-cupola caboose into HO scale plastic for the first time, with models now available at hobby dealers carrying an MSRP of $129.95 each while supplies last.

The 01400 series has a long prototype history worth knowing before you pick a version. D&RGW built these cabooses in-house at its Burnham shops in Denver starting in 1940, and the cars stayed in service for over 45 years, working the Moffat Line before finally being retired in the early 2000s. Rapido developed the models with assistance from the Colorado Railroad Museum and the Colorado Railroad Society, whose access to prototype documentation shows in the finished product.

Four distinct body styles cover the caboose's long service life: "As-built" with four-pane window sashes, Early Mods, Post-War Mods with sealed windows, and "Late Mods" with blanked side windows. Rapido is offering six versions total, spanning every era and modification the cars underwent while on the D&RGW roster. Liveries include black, a "Switch Caboose" scheme in black with an orange cupola, single-stripe yellow and silver, and the orange "Action Road" schemes where prototype-appropriate, with multiple road numbers per scheme where applicable.

The most detail-rich example in the lineup is the D&RGW 01420, Rapido's "Late" version representing the caboose as it looked from 1981 onward. That specific model gets plated-over side windows, wand-activated illuminated red end marker lights, interior lighting, modified cupola windows, a Sinclair radio antenna atop the cupola, and roller-bearing trucks with an axle-mounted generator.

Across all versions, the feature list is serious for a ready-to-run model at this price point. Every caboose includes a super-detailed underbody with all separate air and brake piping, see-through etched metal steps, etched metal running boards and walkways, full end detail with uncoupling levers, separate grab irons installed at the factory, Barber-Bettendorf trucks with friction and roller bearings where appropriate, metal wheels, all-wheel electrical pickup, and metal knuckle couplers mounted at correct height. Rapido also includes a polybag of etched metal "hardware store" style caboose numbers so you can apply your own road number if the factory-printed one isn't the one you want on your layout.

The project moved into tooling before December 2024, and Railroad Model Craftsman reported the models as available at dealers on March 3, 2026. At $129.95 each, and with the etched metal detailing and factory lighting that Rapido has built into the package, these fill a gap that brass and scratchbuilders have owned for decades on Rio Grande-themed layouts.