What makes
commuter operations unique in the world of railroading? Is it
the daily interaction between railroads and the general public,
or the ever-changing landscape of purpose-built rail equipment?
Perhaps it is the visual aspect of the experience, with the sleek,
modern
locomotive and gleaming stainless steel passenger cars gliding
effortlessly into station stops mere minutes apart.
Here at Atlas, we have always thrived on being able to replicate
the most unique and outstanding features of the railroad industry
in
miniature. In pursuit of those qualities, we do not need to stray
far from our home state of New Jersey, where NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations
has remained at the forefront of commuter rail development for
many decades. The NJ TRANSIT U34CH locomotives and Comet I
coaches, developed simultaneously in 1970, marked the first time
in American history that a locomotive and cars had been specifically
designed to operate together as a commuter trainset. Forty-two
years later, NJ TRANSIT repeated this winning combination with
the
development of the ALP-45DP locomotive and multi-level coaches.
Like our highly acclaimed HO scale models, you will find our newly-
tooled N scale ALP-45DP locomotive and multi-level coaches to
be faithful reproductions of their 1:1 scale counterparts. We
encourage
you to see and experience for yourself the operation of these
outstanding models, which represent the finest in todays
model railroading
quality and technology.
ALP-45DP Locomotive-Prototype Information
The ALP-45DP is a dual mode locomotive, capable of
drawing power from either overhead electrical wires or its own
pair of
12-cylinder Caterpillar diesel engines. These flexible locomotives
were designed to provide a one-seat commute from NJ TRANSITs
various diesel-only lines into the electrified territory that
leads to New York Citys Penn Station. This fulfills the
requirement of not operating
diesels through the North River Tunnels and within the subterranean
Penn Station complex. Produced by Bombardier Transportation
in Kassel, Germany, the first ALP-45DP locomotive entered service
on NJ TRANSIT on May 30, 2012. NJ TRANSITs 35 ALP-45DP
locomotives are commonly seen on commuter trains traversing the
Morristown Line, Montclair-Boonton Line, Raritan Valley Line,
and
North Jersey Coast Line. These lines do not have overhead electrical
wires for their entire length, necessitating a change of power
source somewhere en route. Previously, locomotives or entire trainsets
would have to be changed, inconveniencing riders. The ALP-45DP
alleviates this need, performing the switch from diesel to electric
power (or vice versa) in just under two minutes during a routine
station
stop.
Multi-Level Cab Car-Prototype Information
Concurrent with its purchase of ALP-45DP locomotives, NJ TRANSIT
also purchased 62 multi-level cab cars from Bombardier
Transportation. These cab cars are used on the opposite end of
the train from the ALP-45DP locomotive to facilitate push-pull
operations,
where the engineer in the cab car can control the locomotive pushing
from the other end of the train. A cab car provides an engineer
with all of the same controls as a locomotive cab, allowing the
train to reverse direction without turning around. Cab cars also
include all
standard locomotive safety features, such as a horn and bell.
The multi-levels fixed 2-2 seating arrangement provides
ample legroom and maximizes passenger comfort while increasing
capacity. All
of NJ TRANSITs cab cars also include toilets. NJ TRANSITs
multi-level cab cars have a capacity of 127 commuters (approximately
17%
more than its single-level counterpart, the Comet V). These cars
routinely operate over most routes on both the Hoboken and Newark
Divisions of NJ TRANSIT, carrying more than 300,000 commuters
daily to and from destinations all over New Jersey and into New
Yorks
busy Penn Station.
Multi-Level Trailers-Prototype Information
In addition to its multi-level cab cars, NJ TRANSIT operates an
additional 367 multi-level trailer coaches without cabs. Ninety-nine
of these
cars include a toilet and have a passenger seating capacity of
132 commuters. The remaining 268 trailer cars do not have a toilet,
and
feature seating for 142 passengers. The multi-level trailer cars
are always operated in matching sets (with a multi-level cab car
on one end
and a locomotive on the other), and these cars carry commuters
over 2.2 billion milesevery yea
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Features
Include: |
MULTI-LEVEL
TRAILER CARS FEATURES:
- Designed
from prototype drawings and field research with
the cooperation of NJ TRANSIT
- Interior
includes seat details and LED illumination
- Separately
applied lift lugs, end barriers, and rubber
diaphragms
- Free-rolling
metal wheels
MULTI-LEVEL
CAB CAR FEATURES:
- Designed
from prototype drawings and field research with the cooperation
of NJ TRANSIT
- Illuminated
directional LED headlight/ditchlights and red marker lights
- Interior
includes seat details and LED illumination
- Provision
for mounting a speaker
- Separately
applied air horn, antenna, lift lugs, end barriers, and
rubber diaphragms
- Free-rolling
metal wheel
ALP-45DP
FEATURES:
- Designed
from prototype drawings and field research with the cooperation
of
NJ TRANSIT
- Illuminated
directional LED headlight/ditchlights and red marker lights
- Pantograph
(non-functioning) can be positioned up or down
- Five
pole skewed armature motor with dual flywheels for optimum
performance
at all speeds
- Factory-applied
railings, air horn, and antenna details
- Grab
irons packed separately for customer application (includes
drilling template)
- Silver
version DCC read
GOLD
VERSION INCLUDES:
- ESU
LokSound decoder, supporting all DCC programming modes
- Flexible
mapping of function keys F0 to F28
- A
total of six DCC function outputs
- Follows
all NMRA DCC standards and recommended practices
DCC
& Sound Operation Features (GOLD LOCOMOTIVES ONLY)
• Supports all DCC-programming modes
•DCC includes RailCom and RailComPlus, with 14, 28 or 128
speed steps and with 2-digit and 4-digit addressing.
•Flexible mapping of function keys F0 to F28.
•A total of 6 DCC function outputs are available, and all
can be function mapped (disable, brightness, light effects)
individually
•Follows all NMRA DCC standards and recommended practices.
ESU
LokSound Features (GOLD LOCOMOTIVES ONLY):
•Over 20 sound effects are available, including engine start-up
and shutdown, prime mover sounds through all eight notches,
bell, air horn, air compressor, dynamic brakes and more.
•There are up to 16 user-selectable horns, 2 user-selectable
bells, and 2 user-selectable synchronized brake squeals.
•Manual and Automatic Notching modes with the ability to
change modes ”on the fly” are provided for true realism.
•Equipped with ESU's Exclusive "Full Throttle"
features for ultimate realism in prototype running.
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