Rapido HO 128544 P-S Comet Commuter Coach, Boston MBTA #308

Prototypes for the Rapido Trains HO Scale Comet Commuter Cars wereintroduced by Pullman-Standard during the early 1970s as a replacement foraging commuter cars. Soon nicknamed Comet cars were first built between1970 and 1973 for the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad's services out of NewJersey. Given their success with the EL and successor New Jersey Transit,the Comet cars quickly spread to other commuter agencies. Boston'sMassachusetts Bay Transit Authority MBTA received their first cars in 1978,Metro-North and Connecticut DOT (or ConnDOT) in 1983, Philadelphia'sSoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority SEPTA in 1987 andMontreal's AMT (Agence metropolitaine de transport) in 1989. As early carswere replaced, some have found work on other lines. In 2008, SEPTA and UtahTransit Authority's Front Runner received original EL-NJT Comet cars tobolster their fleets. Additionally, Los Angeles Metrolink leased the FrontRunner cars from 2008 to 2010 due to a fleet shortage.
The original Comet cars built for the EL were designed strictly for lowplatforms, but evolution of the car design by Pullman and later Bombardier(which purchased the designs) evolved the Comet design to support bothhigh- and low-platform boarding, on-board washrooms, accessible seatingand, after 1990, a wide center door for high-level platform boarding. TheComet Cab Coach is based on a standard coach with a train control cab inone. The cab cars eliminate the need to turn or run-around consists at theend of their run. Long-distance, intercity variations of the basic designwere also constructed for Amtrak as its Horizon Fleet.
The Rapido HO Scale cars feature the same attention to detail of theirother passenger cars including free-rolling wheels, detailed underbodies,interior lighting and more. Comet Commuter cars are available in two-coachand cab car sets with printed car numbers and additional unnumbered coachesare available to match.
Rapido Comet cars feature:
Controllable interior and cab car lightingFull underbody and interior detailCorrect inside-bearing trucks with metal wheelsetsAccurate painting and letteringTinted windowsConstant interior lighting in DC and DCCMetal side grab irons

To haul your commuter trains, check out the Rapido HO Scale EMD F40PH diesels.