Shopping Cart
The Roco 70402 is the power car set for the ICE 1 Series 401 of DB AG in HO scale, presented as a comprehensive upgrade of the classic tooling. The most significant news is twofold: for the first time on this mould, the motorised power car features a Glockenankermotor coreless, with smooth start-up and linear running and both power cars come factory-fitted with independent speakers, enabling a synchronised stereo digital sound system across both ends of the consist. The result is a unit that sounds and runs very differently from previous versions of the same prototype.
Synchronised sound at both ends of the set
Sound management in the Roco 70402 is what defines this release. The PluX22 decoder (NEM 658) coordinates the speakers in both power cars motorised and dummy to reproduce in sync the hum of the IGBT traction inverters, pneumatic compressors, air conditioning, station announcements and the departure whistle. On the layout, with the intermediate coaches placed between the two power cars, the acoustic effect runs the full length of the train: sound does not come from a single point but is distributed along the consist, reinforcing the visual scale of a high-speed set stretching over 400 mm of track.
Motor, running gear and cab detail
The motorised power car runs on 2 driven axles and 1 axle with traction tyres, with fine polished metal wheels. The minimum curve radius is 358 mm (R1), and the inner coupling ends feature NEM 362 pockets with KK-Kinematik for a short, natural coupling through curves. On the exterior, the pantographs are separate metal parts with fine filigree detail, and the front windscreen wipers are moulded independently over the cab glazing rather than raised on the plastic body. The finish reproduces the satin ice-white of DB with a RAL 3020 red stripe, in Era VI condition corresponding to the Redesign 2005, with number 401 018-7.
Starting point for the complete ICE 1 consist
The Roco 70402 is the foundation for building the full ICE 1 set in HO. The two power cars define the ends of the train; between them sit the intermediate coach sets Roco 74028, 74029, 74030 and 74031, which include first and second class coaches, a service car and a restaurant car. With all elements on the layout, the consist gains a length and visual rhythm that make the train occupy the track in a highly recognisable way. The directional LED lighting 3 white front lights and 2 red tail lights, switchable according to the direction of travel also allows the red tail lights to be suppressed when the unit runs coupled in a double consist.