There are a few great inventions that have come along over the years that have changed the way we do things: the light bulb, the telephone, the automobile, Aristo-Craft’s CREST Train Engineer...Aristo-Craft’s CREST Train Engineer? Yes!

For years now, anyone who has operated model trains has been tied down to the power supply to control his trains. This has prevented people from getting up and walking around their layout to view their trains.

With free time being as short as it is these days, you deserve every right to enjoy your hobby as much as possible. That’s why we invented the Train Engineer!

With Aristo-Craft’s CREST Train Engineer (CRE-55470), you can walk around your model railroad layout and remotely control your loco, switch track, lights, sounds, and operating cars up to 100 ft. away!!!

Simply connect the Train Engineer receiver between your power supply and the track. Then, use the convenient hand-held transmitter to gain full control over your locomotives and accessories. The transmitter uses all of the controls available on most power packs plus you can remotely operate accessories such as switch tracks, lights, smoke, and sounds with the CRE-55474 and CRE-55475 remote accessory receivers.

Never again be anchored to your power pack! Take control of your layout with the Train Engineer!

Reprinted with permission from FineScale Railroader Magazine. Subscription information follows this review.

In our June/July 1994 issue, we wrote, "Aristo-Craft’s remote control throttle may help to revolutionize model railroading. It is the most exciting concept in train control we have tested to date. We think virtually anyone who tries Aristo-Craft’s ‘Train Engineer’ radio control throttle will never again want to use only a traditional stationary power pack." Today, more than two years later and after reviewing the latest version of the Train Engineer, we feel even more enthusiastic about it.

Two components make up the system: A transmitter/throttle and a receiver. You also will need a d.c. power pack; whatever you now own is probably fine. Turn it on, set the throttle knob to full power, and forget about it. The Train Engineer is a remote control track power (rather than battery power) throttle requiring absolutely no modification to your locomotives, rolling stock, power pack, or accessories.

The transmitter uses a 27 megahertz f.m. signal with pulse code modulation (Aristo-Craft now calls it "pulse width control") to eliminate any signal interference. Its signal travels up to 300 feet, including through walls. We controlled trains running in the backyard from the most remote room inside the house. The trains responded perfectly. The throttle will reportedly handle a sustained output of 10 amps; the limits of our equipment made it impossible to test the output beyond 9 amps. The latest throttles have adjustable momentum and Aristo-Craft can re-program some more recent models to include that feature.

The controls are buttons. Depressing "Fast" is the same as turning the knob on a traditional power pack to increase speed. Depressing "Slow" is the same as turning the knob on your pack to decrease speed. Depressing "Emergency Brake" stops the train immediately. And depressing the "Direction" buttons changes the direction of the travel. On the lower half of the transmitter is a five button keypad and the accessory mini-receiver for it should be available later this year.

The throttle also has a "Track 1-2" switch. "Track 1" lets you start a train on one electrically isolated section of track, then switch to "Track 2" and control a second train independently with an additional receiver. Since the system has a memory, the train on either track will continue to do whatever you last told until you order it to do something different.

The transmitter is about the size of a small cellular telephone; it has a short flexible antenna, will fit in a shirt pocket and comes with a belt clip.

The receiver measures about 4 by 5 ¾ by 2 inches. The optional cooling fan adds another inch to the height. The receiver has terminals for input and output wires, a thin limp wire antenna, a "Linear/P.W.C." switch, a power connection terminal for the fan, an "On-Off" switch, a "Code-Set" button, and a replaceable 10 amp fuse. The internal dip switches are gone. Now if you select either the "Track 1" or "Track 2" setting on the throttle, the receiver will recognize it. Twenty signal combinations now are possible. In addition, the Train Engineer comes in eight frequencies so, altogether, 72 Train Engineer systems can operate in close proximity.

The cooling fan is necessary if you run 5 or more amps of power in pulse width mode or 3.5 or more amps in linear mode. Our fan came without mounting screws. Aristo-Craft’s President, Lewis Polk, says the company will correct that immediately. We removed the grille from the top of the receiver, used the original screws to install the fan over the resulting open area, and snapped the grille onto the top of the fan. Installation was difficult because we had to twist the screws at an angle and because the grille failed to register precisely on the fan. Also, as we just described, we lacked a second set of screws to fasten the grille permanently. On the positive side, the fan works perfectly and pushes plenty of air through the receiver.

How well does the new Train Engineer run trains? Better than ever. Using the Train Engineer with our usual power pack resulted in far better slow speed performance than using the pack alone. What is more, our oscilloscope readings indicated virtually no variation from the ideal flat line meaning the Train Engineer essentially passed pure filtered d.c. through its circuitry. Specifically, at the slowest speeds where a pulse power type pack would show the greatest variation from a flat line, our scope indicated a .3 volt peak "switching noise" at the receiver’s output terminals—and that decreases as you increase the voltage (speed).

Our resident electronics engineer, Chuck "Electro-Man" Haverlah, says those results indicate amplitude modulation rather than true pulse width modulation. In practical terms, that means the system is safe to use with any manufacturer’s d.c. powered locomotive, sound system, or other sophisticated electronic device regardless of scale and gauge.

The new Train Engineer allows you to adjust momentum in five pre-set increments. Depending on the setting, if you depress the "Fast" button and keep it down, you may attain full speed in anywhere from five to twenty seconds and you may come to a full stop within five to thirty seconds. You set the rate of momentum by pressing a "letter" key on the transmitter while holding down the "Code Set" button on the receiver. "A" sets acceleration and deceleration at the fastest rate, "E" at the slowest. That is an excellent feature. The Train Engineer’s degree of control was better than that of any throttle knob we have tested.

In P.W.C. mode, pulses occur about 40 microseconds apart, or at about 25,000 pulses per second. That is far above the range of the human ear and, consequently, the Train Engineer’s output produces no motor chatter, whistling, or other form of noise. Also, motors typically run cooler, smoother, and be less susceptible to potential damage than with other kinds of "pulse" power. It is a very sophisticated system. Our test locomotives began to move when the pulse frequency reached about .000005-seconds.

We also noticed the rate of momentum now is constant and, at the factory default setting, were you repeatedly to press the "Fast" button, it would require about 75 presses to reach full-throttle from a full stop and vice versa. In linear mode, the self-adjusting momentum feature of the original units has given way to the same constant rate of momentum as in P.W.C. mode.

The receiver output showed a .5 volt drop at full throttle meaning it requires .5 volt to operate. That is twice as efficient as the original throttle.

The original Train Engineer would sustain only about 3.5 amps of continuous power. We were able to confirm the new version sustains 9 amps at about 17 volts of input to the throttle and about 12.5 volts of output to the track. Our instruments are unable to test beyond that but Aristo-Craft claims the units will handle 10 amps sustained output in P.W.C. mode, 7 amps in linear mode.

The original Train Engineer had no safety feature to stop a train before it reversed direction. The new unit creates a pause between forward and reverse if you forget to stop the train in between. That eliminates any possible damage to your locomotives, another excellent feature and one all throttles should incorporate. Also, you may use any power pack, even one with "crude pulse power", together with the Train Engineer and probably still avoid damaging motors and sound systems. Why? The wave forms of most such packs flatten out (become "safe") at top speeds, and that is the throttle setting the Train Engineer requires.

The quality of the components and workmanship of our sample are excellent. Everything functioned perfectly during our tests. The Train Engineer provides better speed control that we have achieved with any traditional power pack and that control appears perfectly safe for any manufacturer’s products at any speed setting. Aristo-Craft has improved virtually every minor shortcoming of the original Train Engineer. Overall, we consider Aristo-Craft’s Train Engineer radio control throttle superb; it receives our highest rating.

- Gary Raymond, Chuck "Electro-Man" Haverlah, and Russ Reinberg.

FINESCALE RAILROADER MAGAZINE 

 Westlake Publishing Company, 1574 Kerryglen Street, Westlake Village, CA 91361

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