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Budd announced the RDC in 1949. Some are still in use. |
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Welcome to our "Budd Rail Diesel Car" WebSite
Here's a preview of some of the exciting projects we have put together for you: Our feature articles are the Budd RDC and Budd RDC's in Connecticut . See our Budd RDC Reference Material and read about the continuing saga of the Budd RDC . We have a picture of a Budd RDC in the snow and an RDC in Quebec's Eastern Townships Section . Read about the RDC in Cape May and did you know some RDC's went to Cuba? . We talk about other types of rail cars as well as some comments on the Colorado DMU . Find out what happened to the SPV ? Do you know the types of RDC's ? Some photos: Cuba has RDC's !!! ? Lehigh Valley Budd RDC ? Take a quiz on Which One of These People Hurt New York City the Worst? We hope you enjoy your visit to our WebSite. We offer a wide range of great sites. We have a great "Portal to the World", excellent weather, reference, golf and tourist sites. As well as great WebSites on trains run for the President of the United States (and for Royalty too). We are not "FLASHy" like many WebSites, but we offer you, among other things authentic railroad history material. Much of this material is not available elsewhere on the Internet. It was painstakingly collected over many years from such sources as Yale University. We never knowingly link you to any WebSites that contain a virus, collect your personal information, or are those machine-generated sites rampant with "Ads by Google". For some of our material, there is a small nominal charge. You can talk back to us on our BLOG and see our eBay Store too. |
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| M-497 Jet Powered RDC New York Central at Bryan Ohio in 1966 courtesy of Wayne Koch |
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Now that they are disappearing, many of us tend to forget about Rail Diesel Cars (RDC). Budd announced its RDC in 1949. Self propelled passenger equipment had been tried in the 1920's and 1930's. Models used had inadequate power, involved maintenance and were fire hazards. Railroads wanted out of short-haul and commutation service. By 1949, passenger car orders had fallen to 109 units from 2993 in 1945.
Budd had built some equipment before 1949 that helped pioneer the concept. Representative of early self propelled equipment was the Burlington "Zephyr" of 1934 and the Rio Grande "Prospector". American Car & Foundry had built some "Motorailers" which Susquehanna and a few others used. World War II made the engineering of the RDC possible. Detroit Diesel's V-6 had been made for tanks. They were a modest investment at $160,000. RDC's never reached their full potential because they were caught in the timeframe when railroads were cutting back passenger service. Some features of the RDC: o Simple to service o Comfortable o Doesn't require turntable or wye. o 64 cents/mile (1953 prices) o Can be used as a coach. o Can be run with a two-man crew on many railroads. In 1966, the New York Central even made a RDC jet-powered. It got up to 183.85 mph between Indiana and Ohio. AMTRAK made use of RDC's in the Northeast for several years. When it was first formed and searching for equipment, AMTRAK found 24 RDC's from Penn Central and Burlington Northern including half of Budd's experimental "Roger Williams" production. REGISTER to see full story. |
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Meandering from Devon on the Northeast Corridor, through Derby to Waterbury is a
32-mile Metro-North branch usually protected by Rail Diesel Cars which are almost
forty years old. About three RDC's are available for use on the branch.
They were used by AMTRAK until the State of Connecticut purchased newer-model SPV2000's for AMTRAK.
REGISTER to see full story. |
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Google Earth© Consultants Google Earth© streams the world over wired and wireless networks enabling users to virtually go anywhere on the planet and see places in photographic detail. This is not like any map you have ever seen. This is a 3D model of the real world, based on real satellite images combined with maps, guides to restaurants, hotels, entertainment, businesses and more. You can zoom from space to street level instantly and then pan or jump from place to place, city to city, even country to country. Google Earth© is a tool that could be useful in your business. If you have a travel agency or real estate business, there are many applications. Google Earth© presentations can be done on your computer or be sent to a prospective client. U Buy Vacations can help you prepare presentations in Google Earth©. We offer professional consulting in creating Google Earth© applications. Contact us today! See some examples of our work If you have "GOOGLE EARTH©" installed on your computer, you can "fly" these routes with these "PLACEMARKs" |
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| New Trams for Nice |
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On May 11, 2007, a new tram is on the way to Nice. It was parked near the airport waiting for lighter traffic to travel into the city. Rear end of car Click here to see more of these trams and read about the new Tramway in Nice, France |
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These articles appeared at various times in the BRIDGE LINE BULLETIN of the
Bridge Line Historical Society. and
the CALLBOARD of the
Mohawk and Hudson
Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
Material researched in these articles was done by the author at the Yale University Library and other credible sources. |
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If you've found this site useful, please link to us so that others can benefit and enjoy |
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Budd-RDC.org An unofficial website providing information on the Budd RDC, the classic North American streamlined self-propelled passenger rail car (aka Diesel Multiple Unit/DMU) built by the Budd company of Philadelphia between 1949 and 1962. Read on for more information on these rugged and resiliant machines that sought to slow the decline of local passenger rail services in North America. |
| A great picture from British Columbia |
| From Bob's Garden Railroad |
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Continuing Saga of the Budd RDC The RDC-4 did not carry any passengers, with the exception of some customized RDC-4's, they were designed to carry baggage and mail only. There is only one RDC-4 that I know of that is still in opreation. VIA RDC4 6250 in use on the Sudbury-White River RDC run. Here's the list of all 14 that were built: New Haven (3), 135, (first RDC-4 blt. 5/53), 136, 137 CN (6), D150, D151, D451, D452, D4401, D402 CP (3), 9200, 9250, 9251 M&StL (2), 32, 33 |
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In 2005, commuter rail came to Duluth, Minnesota (briefly)
From KARE-TV 11 Unlike the light rail line in Minneapolis, Duluth's Lakefront Zephyr is costing taxpayers almost nothing. But it's just running long enough, promoters say, to prove it's a feasible alternative to cars. The Duluth and North Shore Scenic Railroad will use a single "Budd car" that carried commuters for decades in the Chicago area. It's self-propelled passenger coach, with a diesel engine in the middle and operating controls on both ends. The idea is to help commuters who live in east Duluth, where traffic from Lake Superior's North Shore funnels in with city drivers for what can be an aggravating three-mile, stop-and-go drive along two-lane London Road. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is planning a traffic study for London Road to consider solutions such as widening the street or pushing one lane up a block to Superior Street. Maybe MNDOT is overlooking the best idea. There is a set of perfectly good railroad tracks that extended from downtown Duluth right along London Road, out to Lakeside, Lester Park. The tracks are publicly owned and used now by the North Shore Scenic Railroad. And the railroad already has the Budd car. The demonstration is a partnership between the Scenic Railroad and the Duluth Transit Authority, which has rearranged an east end bus schedule to meet the rail commuters. The train ride will take about 30 minutes. The railroad acknowledged the demonstration is really intended to make a point -- to prove there are other ways to get around beyond cars. See a picture of the RDC. |
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| Budd RDC's running in snow. See more about trains and snow. |
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Head End Railway Express and Railway Post Office |
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On passenger trains, railroads operated lots of equipment other than
sleepers, coaches, dining cars, etc. This equipment was generally
called
'head-end' equipment, these 'freight' cars were at one time
plentiful and highly profitable for the railroads.
In the heyday of passenger service, these industries were a big part
of the railroad's operations, and got serious attention. We have text and pictures not found elsewhere on the Web. |
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RDC in Quebec's Eastern Townships |
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JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing On site containers become residential accommodation, offices and much more! Services we provide are: Transportation to your site. Site preparation for your portable shelter. Assembly of your portable shelter. Subsequent enhancements or moving of your portable shelter. |
| REFERENCE |
| List of Boston & Maine RDCs |
| The Budd Rail Diesel Car List |
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| Garbage Trucks |
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There is no "brrreeeport" in Connecticut, but there are plenty of towns
that are served by freight railroads. Search them out! |
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The Colorado DMU...some comments
Colorado's DMU is now being experimented with in Florida.
What do you think? Any opinions on the new DMU? I say it's about time......look at Europe, they have really advanced DMUs.....over here refurbished RDCs, are the only thing available, as good as they are. They had the DMU in New Jersey too. The engineers claim the studied the Budd SPV-2000 for it pluses and many faults. They use available standard diesels, nothing special. The transmissions are the same as used on European DMU's, so those are also proven reliable units. The trucks only have one powered axle each, the inboard ones. They claim the powered unit can haul one trailer. One interesting thing is that there is only one unit and it is a single ended cab, the other end has a door. The electronics used to control everything is home built. They tested the unit at the Railroad test facility at Pueblo. The design has been approved for use on freight lines. The prototype that they displayed is designed to show off many possible seating arrangement, seat types, interior designs and window types. It is interesting that they didn't construct a cab trailer so that they can run it in either direction. It is a design that is being seriously considered here in Bergen County NJ as a less expensive way to reactive passenger service on light service freight rail lines. |
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How many gallons of foreign oil does it take to fill this thing? Trains can be powered by electricity generated by home-grown coal. |
| The purpose of the Budd RDC Yahoo! Groups list is to provide railfans and railroad modelers of BUDD RDCs a forum for where they can share information, ideas and photographs related to these cars... and work towards keeping the memory of these cars alive. |
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July 23, 1966 In a combination publicity stunt and
test of how track functions under high
speeds, a New York Central jet powered Rail Diesel Car
hits 183.85 mph near Stryker, OH
M-497 still holds the record as the fastest passenger car to travel on a US railway system. |
| RDC's at Cape May |
| Thanks to Tom Moran for sending me a lot of information on the new RDC operation near at Cape May, NJ. For the first time in 15 years, 1950-style Rail Diesel Cars are running alongside Route 9 north of Cape May. They currently operate 10 miles of track (owned by NJ Transit) between Cold Spring Village and the Cape May County Zoo in the town of Cape May Court House. Aim is to continue south into the city of Cape May and north to Tuckahoe (total 27 miles). Beyond that is a "stretch" goal of another 26 miles to a junction with the Atlantic City rail corridor at Winslow Junction. Among other things, the bridge over the Cape May Canal needs repair. It is designed to serve mostly tourists, but could start to gain regular riders as it expands. They acquired eight of the Budd RDC's that once served the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Line (another one is owned by Central NY NRHS and leased to the BattenKill). Expansion may see some old Pennsylvania coaches in operation as well as a dinner train. The Cape May Seashore Lines Inc. is a private operation but did receive some aid, including local communities fixing stations. The county has 100,000 permanent residents (including some NIMBY's making noises about harmful diesel fumes and irritating noises), but can see 650,000 on a busy summer weekend. Having been a visitor to Cape May in the '80's (I walked the line a couple of times) as well as an RDC fan, this venture is exciting to me and I hope to visit whenever I can get East. |
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Old Railway Express Agency Booklet from Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition in 1933-1934
Find out more about the Railway Express Agency. and about the Chicago Rail Fair. |
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Other Types of Railcars Mack made them too! Ex Sperry Rail Services, exx Remington Arms #2, originally New Haven #15. Built August 1954 by Mack in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Sold to Remington Arms of Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 1962. Sold to Sperry Rail Services of Danbury, Connecticut, July 1985. Donated to the Danbury Railway Museum, September 7, 1996. |
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Copake Station on a rainy day in March 1932. Heyward Cohen Collection These gasoline powered rail buses were used in place of steam trains for the last few years of passenger service. They ran to Poughkeepsie in the morning and returned in the afternoon. Rail Bus #9020 was a Brill car built in 1925 that had a 120 hp gasoline engine and a manual transmission similar to trucks. Service was discontinued by the NH RR in September 1933. See more about the railroad this doodlebug ran on. |
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Brill gas car #9022 at Millerton station ready to depart for Poughkeepsie as train #917 due out at
7:50am. Photo taken prior to Apr., 1928 when this train was cut back to originate from Copake
instead. Lee Beaujon collection See more about the railroad this doodlebug ran on. |
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Did you know some RDC's went to Cuba? 5 ex-VIA Rail RDCs made it to Cuba in 1998. No .2302 - 2306. In early 2006: Of those five, currently only 2303 is working. Usually on Havana - Moron express service. But due to maintenance, it is frequently canceled. 2304 is now stored at Moron Station with window grazing and some parts stripped. Probably to be demotered (as of early March 2006). At least until December 2004, 2305 was also running. 2303 and 2305 had been spotted MUed on Havana - Moron service. But now 2305 is waiting for repair at Moron works along with 2302 and 2306. According to "Cuban National Railways Volume 2" (by Wilfrid F. Simms, published in UK), the history is as follows. 2302: RDC-1, Built 1955, Works # 6222, Ex-Chicago & Eastern Illinois, then CN 6109, then VIA 6109 2303: RDC-3, Built 1957, Works # 6703, Ex-CN 6120, Converted to RDC-1 configuration by CN, then VIA 6120 2304: RDC-1, Built 1955, Works # 6220, Ex-Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, then CN 9049, then VIA 6124 2305: RDC-1, Built 1953, Works # 5924, Ex-CN 9055, then VIA 6132 2306: RDC-2, Built 1955. Works # 6014, Ex-CN 9307, Converted to RDC-1 configuration by CN, then VIA 6147 Another source stated that 2304-06 are former CP RDC's. 2304=ex-CP 9049, 2305=ex-CP 9055, 2306 is ex-CP 9307 and was rebuilt to an RDC1 by CP. |
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Welcome to the RailSpotters mailing/e-mail discussion list hosted by the
Northern Indiana Railfans internet page! This mailing list is for all railfans out there to mainly discuss general railroad/model railroad questions. |
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Find out more about Weather around the World Ominous Weather is about more than weather. Its about our environment. Its about our social issues that need to be surfaced if we want to save our environment. See Champions of our Environment like Al Gore SAS le Prince Albert II de Monaco John R. Stilgoe Ralph Nader. We have addressed several railroad-related projects that will conserve fuel and lessen pollution. Our Window on Europe spotlights projects that can help the rest of the World. |
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Antibes, plus Biot, Juan-les-pins, Golfe-Juan, and the Vauban Fort
Antibes was a Greek fortified town named Antipolis in the 5th century BC, and later a Roman town, and always an active port for trading along the Mediterranean. Today it's an attractive and active town, popular with "foreigners" from Paris and the north of France, with non-French, and with the local population. |
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See Menton and it's surrounding area
Thanks to a beneficial subtropical microclimate (316 cloudless days a year), winter is practically unknown in Menton. Therefore, you can enjoy a beautiful sea and the nearby sunny mountains all year round. Menton is on the borders of Italy, the Principality of Monaco and the Comté de Nice. |
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Beausoleil is a neighboring town of the Principality of Monaco. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea just above Monaco and has a beautiful year-round climate. Beausoleil is situated between the beaches and the winter sports area of the Alps. |
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Ominous Weather on the Mediterranean Sea.
The sea is always beautiful at Nice, France - even when a storm is approaching. |
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