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is more than enough for a prototype length train with a 4.2 ounce coach and the 6.0 ounce dummy No. 2 power car. Con-Cor offers an extra center coach


car for the Comet. The original Comet never ran with more than its original three units, but the New Haven did consider adding two additional seven car trains for Boston to New York ser- vice. These did not advance beyond cost estimates from Goodyear-Zep- pelin. The New York Central also ex- pressed interest in leasing a train, but Goodyear-Zeppelin could not accept these terms. The firm also approached the Delaware & Hudson with no re- sults. Con-Cor recommends that no more than two additional coaches be added to the train. The Con-Cor Comet has full-width diaphragms between the power cars and the center coach. They are made of rubber over a rigid plastic form, so the rubber is not called on to flex as the train passes through curves. The di-


oriented for forward operation with the No. 2 dummy power car leading. I did not encounter any problems operating a train with an extra car with the pow- ered unit pushing the train. The Comet has no exterior handrails, but does come with very delicate windshield wipers on both power cars. The sample reviewed included the optional DCC sound decoder offered by Con-Cor. The decoder is a DigiTrax SDH14 with a speaker sized to drop into the speaker housing built in the engine compartment area of the No. 1 power car. It connects via an NMRA standard 8-pin plug to the socket in the overhead printed circuit board. The only other task is to find an empty seat (literally) for the decoder’s capacitor. The most difficult part of the instal-


lation was removing the power car su- perstructure. It is attached by four locking tabs behind the lower side pan- els. Con-Cor recommends using flat wooden toothpicks to both pry up the


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aphragms are loosely pivoted and ro- tate into recesses at the end of the cars on curves. The train uses small mag- nets in the diaphragms to hold the cars together. To couple, the modeler first aligns the miniature 8-pin electrical connectors mounted near the top of the diaphragm and then lets the magnets snap the cars together. All of the cars are lighted by LED’s


with a slightly bluish-white color. These come on when power is applied to the train, as do white classification lights at both ends of the train. DCC function 0 illuminates the directional headlight, two red marker lights outboard of the class lights at the opposite end of the train, and the cab interior lights in both cabs. All wheels on the cars have track current pick ups, and these are bussed together through the car-to-car electri- cal connectors. One can pick up the loco- motive and adjacent car, and the motor continues to run on power fed from the No. 2 power car. The prototype Comet had upward aimed spotlights above both cabs for nighttime visibility at grade crossings. Con-Cor does not mod- el these spotlights. All of the cars have one-piece interi-


ors with rows of coach seats cast in a maroon color. Each seat has a painted white antimacassar, although interior publicity photos of the new prototype do not show these. The No. 1 power car has a raised semi-cylindrical cover over the motor and flywheels with just partial seats along its sides. The seat backs are RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN


sides without scratching the paint and hold the tabs open while the remaining tabs are unlatched. Once the tabs are loose, it is necessary to slide the chas- sis back about ³/₄″ so the front of the chassis can drop clear of the pilot which curves around underneath from the front of the superstructure. Be very careful of the fine wire leads from the overhead PC board to the rear power truck. There was almost no slack in these wires on the sample we re- viewed. Once the chassis is free, the miniature plugs connecting the motor and two power trucks to the super- structure can be disconnected, allow- ing complete separation of the chassis. In the d.c. mode, the train will “wake


up” and the sound will come on at about 5 V. The train starts to creep at about 7 V, and maintains a steady 0.1 s.m.p.h. with a current draw of 0.1 A. At 12 V the speed is 115 s.m.p.h. at 0.25 A, just about perfect for recreating the prototype’s record run. A top speed of 154 s.m.p.h. was reached at 15 V and 0.3 A. Current draw was 0.4 A at 12 V with wheels slipping. When oper- ated with a DigiTrax DCC system the train begins to crawl at 0.5 s.m.h.p. at factory programmed speed step 3 and speed step 99 produces 123 s.m.p.h. Operation was smooth and quiet in


both modes. Con-Cor recommends a minimum radius for the train of 22″. Operation was smooth on that curva- ture, and there was still extra play in the trucks and diaphragms to allow for


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