Budd Rail Diesel Car
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other meanings of RDC, see RDC (disambiguation).
| Budd Rail Diesel Car (“RDC”) | |
|---|---|
 Budd RDC-1 #407 of the Cape May Seashore Lines. |
|
|
|
|
| Manufacturer | Budd Company |
| Constructed | 1949–1962 |
| Number built | 398 |
| Capacity | RDC-1: 90 passengers RDC-2: 70 passengers, baggage section RDC-3: 48 passengers, 15-foot (4.6 m) RPO, baggage section RDC-4 No passengers, 30-foot (9.1 m) RPO, 31-foot (9.4 m) baggage section RDC-5: 94 passengers |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | RDC-1/2/3/5: 85 ft (25.91 m) RDC-4: 73 ft 10 in (22.50 m) |
| Engine | RDC-1/2/3/4: GM 110 diesel, 2 off RDC-5: GM 110 diesel, 1 off |
| Power output | RDC-1/2/3/4: 550 hp (410 kW) RDC-5: 275 hp (205 kW) |
| Transmission | Hydraulic torque converter |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) |
| Braking system | Air |
The Budd Rail Diesel Car or RDC is a self-propelled diesel-hydraulic rail passenger car. In the period 1949–1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These cars were primarily adopted for passenger service in rural areas with low traffic density or in short-haul commuter service, and were less expensive to operate in this context than a traditional locomotive-drawn train. The cars could be used singly or several coupled together in train sets and controlled from the cab of the front unit.
The basic car was adapted from a standard 85 ft (26 m) coach. They were powered by two Detroit Diesel (then a division of General Motors) series 110 diesel bus engines, each of which drives an axle through a hydraulic torque converter, a technology adapted from military tanks of World War II. RDC trains were an early example of self-contained diesel multiple units, an arrangement now in common use by railways all over the world.
Contents |
[edit] Users
The Boston and Maine Railroad owned by far the largest number of these units, but they were also very popular for commuter and short distance service with the passenger heavy railroads such as the New Haven Railroad, New York Central, Reading Railroad, Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines, Baltimore and Ohio, and Jersey Central and Canadian railways such as the Canadian Pacific Railway (where they were known as Dayliners), the Canadian National Railway known as Railiners, and the former BC Rail. VIA Rail still uses RDCs for scheduled services on Vancouver Island and in Northern Ontario, and the planned Blue22 service connecting Toronto to its airport will use refurbished RDCs as well.
The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) service between Dallas, Texas and Fort Worth is currently using RDCs for commuter passenger during off-peak hours, with connections available at various points to Amtrak and the DART system. As well, the Alaska Railroad possesses five RDCs, with four in service and one for parts cannibalization. Three were from SEPTA, two were from the former New Haven Railroad, and one was from Amtrak. [1] RDCs are typically coupled and used for the railroad's Hurricane Turn service and the annual Fair Train. The Hurricane Turn is the last remaining flag stop service in the U.S. and is the only transportation to many summer (and year-round) cabins on a stretch of track between Talkeetna and Hurricane Gulch. (The Parks Highway, the nearest road, is several miles to the west on the other side of a mountain ridge.) The annual Fair Train takes fairgoers from Anchorage to the Palmer stop next to the fairgrounds. RDC's are also still used in tourist train service by the Cape May Seashore Lines, the Newport Dinner Train, and the Wallowa-Union Railroad Authority's Eagle Cap Train.
[edit] Variants
Budd manufactured five basic variants of the RDC:
- The RDC-1 — an 85 ft (26 m) all-passenger coach seating 90 passengers.
- The RDC-2 — an 85 ft (26 m) baggage and passenger coach configuration seating 70 passengers.
- The RDC-3 — an 85 ft (26 m) variant with a Railway Post Office, a baggage compartment and 49 passenger seats. Some had no R.P.O.
- The RDC-4 — a 65 ft (20 m) variant with only the Railway Post Office and baggage area. Some were all baggage/express.
- The RDC-9 (also known as the RDC-5) — an 85 ft (26 m) passenger coach seating 94, a single engine and no control cab.
Over the years, various railroads cars had slightly differing capacity due seating types and in some cases replacement of seats with a snack counter or even a galley.
The RDC-1 was powered by two 6-cylinder Detroit Diesel engines, each of 275 hp (205 kW).
[edit] Multiple unit
Near 1956, the New Haven Railroad ordered a custom-built, six-car RDC train set named the "Roger Williams". It consisted of 2-single-ended cab units, and four intermediate cars to make a complete train. The units even were fitted with third-rail shoes, electric traction motors, and associated gear for operation into Grand Central Terminal, though this was short lived. In the New Haven's later years, the set was broken up, and used with regular New Haven RDCs, and by Amtrak into the 1980s.
[edit] SPV-2000
In 1978, Budd offered a new RDC model, called the SPV-2000 (self-propelled vehicle), but only 24 of them were sold, as they proved unreliable and did not gain marketplace acceptance. The few remaining in service have long been converted to non-powered, locomotive-drawn coaches.
[edit] Jet engines
In what was billed as an experiment toward high speed rail, the New York Central (NYC) fitted a pair of jet engines atop one of their RDCs and added a shovel nose front to its cab. This RDC, which NYC had numbered M497, set the United States speed record in 1966 when it traveled at just short of 184 mph (296 km/h) between Butler, Indiana, and Stryker, Ohio. Most sources agree, however, that this was purely a publicity stunt on the part of the NYC, respectively a project which was soon abandoned after the difficulties of actual day-to-day operation became clear.
[edit] Australia
Three RDC-1s were exported to Australia to operate with the Commonwealth Railways. These cars ran between Port Pirie and various locations, and later by Australian National from Adelaide to Whyalla, Port Augusta and Broken Hill.
Five cars were built under license in Australia by Commonwealth Engineering for the New South Wales Government Railways. They were smaller than the standard RDC in all dimensions. One car was built with a buffet/snack bar accommodation in one end. The five-car set operated the South Coast Daylight Express between Sydney and Nowra.
The buffet car built by Commonwealth Engineering for the New South Wales Government Railways was the only non-powered version of these carriages.
[edit] Preservation
The two cab units and one intermediate car from the New Haven Railroad's multiple unit are fully restored and operational, and are on display at the Danbury Railway Museum in Connecticut.
[edit] References
- Scheurle, Bob, New York Central RDC3 #M497. Retrieved March 14, 2005.
- Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car Names, Numbers and Consists. New York: Wayner Publications.
