Comet (railcar)

Comet
A typical New Jersey Transit "tossed Comet salad", with a Comet III cab, followed by several Comet V's and Comet IIM's, with a Comet IV closest to the engine.
Manufacturer	Alstom Bombardier Pullman Standard
Constructed	1970 - 2005
Entered service	1970
Capacity	102-130
Operator	Metro North Railroad New Jersey Transit rail SEPTA Regional Rail MBTA Commuter Rail UTA FrontRunner Metrolink (California)
Line(s) served	all NJT lines
Specifications
Maximum speed	120 miles per hour (190 km/h)

The Comets are a class of locomotive-hauled railcars that was first designed in the late 1960s by Pullman-Standard as a modern commuter car for North American rail lines. Later, the Comet moniker was adopted by New Jersey Transit for all of its non-powered single level commuter coaches. Additional series of cars bearing the Comet name, based on the original design have since been built by Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The successful design was adopted by numerous commuter agencies.

History

Comet I

Comet I #5118 (ex-1518) in Ridgewood, NJ

These cars were the first of the Comet series, built by Pullman Standard in 1970-73 for the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad's diesel-hauled commuter services. These were considered state of the art at the time, due to their all-aluminum body shell construction as well as their use of head-end power (HEP). Their automated entrance doors, designed for use with low platforms only, earned them the nickname "Sliders".

In 1987, the fleet was rebuilt by Bombardier at Barre, Vermont, with the cab cars and a number of trailer cars receiving high doors, for ADA access and future compatibility with high platforms. They were given NJ Transit logos adjacent to the entrance doors at this time.

The cars that retained low doors were retired from service in 2005. Many of the cars were sold to Utah Transit Authority for the FrontRunner service and to Metrolink in 2008 to help with an acute car shortage there. The Comet I cars have become popular with western commuter lines as the low door setup is compatible with the low-platform stations in use. Eight Comet Is are also now operating with SEPTA.

New Jersey Transit retired the last of the Comet Is in early 2009.

Comet II

In 1983, New Jersey Transit purchased these cars from Bombardier, which had acquired the rights to the design from Pullman upon their folding. These cars feature high doors with traps for use at both low-platform and high-platform stations. The cars are near identical to the MBTA's BTC-1 and CTC-1 cars, built in 1978 by Pullman Standard.^[1] These cars were intended for use on lines formerly operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, operators of the famed Blue Comet train to Atlantic City. This led to the New Jersey Transit series of single-level cars being known as Comets. These cars have since been overhauled to make them esthetically and technologically similar to the Comet IV series.

Shorliner I and II coaches, purchased by Metro-North and the Connecticut Department of Transportation for use on non-electrified territories east of the Hudson River, are based on this class. Metro-North also purchased Comet II coaches for use on the Port Jervis Line. These have since been transferred to the East-of-Hudson pool.

SEPTA Regional Rail, and Agence métropolitaine de transport also purchased cars based on this class.

Comet III

The Comet III cars, ordered by New Jersey Transit in 1990, feature center doors and long end-doors, permitting end doors to open and close with traps open. The Metro-North Shoreliner III fleet is a variation without long doors.

Comet V in Suffern.

Comet IV

The Comet IV cars, ordered in 1996, are similar to the Comet III cars, except with no door by the engineer's cab. Metro-North's Shoreliner IV fleet are based on the same design.

Comet V

Main article: Comet V

These cars were ordered in 1999 by New Jersey Transit and Metro-North Railroad and delivered beginning in 2002. Unlike previous series which were built by Bombardier, the Comet Vs were built by Alstom. The major external differences are a stainless-steel exterior and larger windows.

"Comaro" coaches

Additionally, the "Comet" name has been applied to two distinct orders of coaches used on NJ Transit lines. As both orders had connections to the Arrow series of electric multiple unit (EMU) cars, they have become known as "Comaros", a portmanteau of "Comet" and "Arrow", and a play on the Chevrolet Camaro.

NJT Comet IB Cab Car #5166 operating on the Atlantic City Line.

Comet IA

Ten Comet IA cars (two cabs and eight trailers) were built in 1978 by Budd Company for the MTA from surplus shells remaining from the "Arrow III" EMU for NJDOT. They saw use primarily on the Port Jervis Line. These cars were retired in 2004.

Comet IB

The Comet IB cars were rebuilt from 30 former Penn Central Arrow I EMU cars originally built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1968-69. These cars suffered from chronic mechanical problems and were quickly replaced by an order of Arrow II cars. The car bodies had many decades of service left on them. Between 1986-1988 the cars were shipped to Morrison-Knudsen and converted into cab control and trailer coaches for non-electrified lines.

Agence métropolitaine de transport in Quebec leased 14 Comet IB cars in 2008^[2]. As of July 2010, these have been returned and are in storage.

See also

• Horizon Fleet— railcars operated by Amtrak similar in design to that of the Comets.

References

1. ^ http://mysite.verizon.net/rtspcc/MBTAroster.html
2. ^ Public Transit Discussion Board > Transit Discussion > General Railway Discussion

External links

• Railroad Information and Forms