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Post by ztrack on Nov 24, 2012 9:05:46 GMT -5
John Bartolotto posted this photo of an Amtrak RDC on Trainboard. It is on his wish list for future runs.  Anyone have photos of RDCs on their wish list? Please post them! Rob |
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Post by smr on Jul 8, 2015 16:22:41 GMT -5
Yes, Rob, B&O would be great! Best, Sven    |
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Post by markm on Jul 8, 2015 17:17:09 GMT -5
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Post by smr on Jul 9, 2015 7:57:40 GMT -5
I think this would be a great idea, Mark, I found this engine when hunting for a C&O or Chessie Budd RDC. That looks like a combination of baggage and passenger car......? Best, Sven  |
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Post by markm on Jul 9, 2015 10:35:25 GMT -5
The Budd Co. built 398 diesel self-propelled cars they called Buddliners, and commonly called rail diesel cars (RDC). They produced 5 basic models:
RDC-1 : 85 ft. 90 passenger coach
RDC-2 : 85 ft. baggage and 70 passenger coach
RDC-3 : 85 ft. baggage, RPO and 48 passenger coach
RDC-4 : 75 ft. baggage, RPO
RDC-9 : 85 ft. 94 passenger coach without control cabs
There are also a number of modified units, usually identified with an m added to their original model. These were generally the repurposing of one of the control cabs.
Sven, It appears you found a pair of RDC-4s. I'm not familiar with C&O myself, but it looks like a combination Railway Express Agency (REA) and Railroad Post Office (RPO) train.
As a final note, a Buddliner held the world rail speed record until the start of the Japanese "Bullet Train." NYC's M-497 modified with a scoop nose and an added Convair B-36 jet engine, reached the speed of 183.85 MPH.
Mark
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Post by markm on Jul 11, 2015 10:52:28 GMT -5
Well, I promised to post some of the historical info I have on the AZL model. Here's my attempt. Feel free to comment or add to it. If there is a real interest, say so and I'll add info for other models.
Mark
Western Pacific RDCs: “The Zephyrettes”
Road # Budd # Build Date AZL # Disposition
375 5008 5/15/50 62204-1 WP 9/15/50 to 1962 To NP B-31 to AMTK 31 1971. Wrecked 1974
376 5010 7/7/50 62204-2 WP 9/15/50 to 1962 To NP B-32 to AMTK 32 1971. Fire 1979, parted out
After the successful inauguration of the California Zephyr, Western Pacific found that the secondary train on the route, the Royal Gorge, had become essentially a local and a financial burden on the railroad. As they looked for ways to economize, the Western Pacific chose the Budd RDC-2: a passenger/baggage/freight car to provide replacement service for the Royal Gorge.
While the WP wanted to run the RDCs on a Sacramento-Salt Lake route, the PUC required them to provide full replacement for the Oakland-Salt Lake train, ultimately making this route the longest regular route for an RDC at 924 miles. By 1958 the RDC’s had clocked over a million miles of service.
The units as delivered sported the winged passenger nose used for the Zephyr locomotives. The first compartment was remodeled, reducing the number of seats from 22 to 18, converting to reclining seats and adding a woman’s restroom. The units were “hardened” for the route, with motor compartments being sealed from dust and robust body mounted pilots added. In order to run on the Southern Pacific shared track in Nevada, a white/red oscillating light was added to the doors, as were the oil burning marker lights. Few if any changes were made to the cars after they were put into service.
The trains ran three times per week. The eastbound leaving Oakland in the evenings Monday, Thursday and Saturday and stopping for breakfast in Portola, CA and lunch at the Stockman’s in Elko, NV. The westbound left Salt Lake City in the morning and stop in Elko for Lunch and Portola for dinner.
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Post by dazed on Sept 15, 2015 13:16:03 GMT -5
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Post by dazed on Sept 15, 2015 13:34:25 GMT -5
As an aside, my gripe about not having RDC1 shells would be greatly diminished if some TRE RDC1's were produced. :-)
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Post by belencalh on Nov 6, 2015 4:47:12 GMT -5
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Post by smr on Nov 27, 2015 5:43:24 GMT -5
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Post by markm on Dec 9, 2015 8:28:47 GMT -5
Just a note that the current issue of Trainline (the publication of the SP Historical & Technical Society) has a cover story of the SP RDC-1. While you'll learn that the current AZL model is somewhat in error (I think every model of the SP-10 in every scale was done wrong at least once), there are some great photos of interior and exterior detail including the initial SP mods, the changes made for the NWP and the repair after it's accident.
I saw this car only once on the SP: just west of Davis from U.S. 40 (now I80). That young boy was amazed as it looked like a Vista Dome without and engine.
Mark
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Post by domi on Dec 12, 2015 14:50:15 GMT -5
As a final note, a Buddliner held the world rail speed record until the start of the Japanese "Bullet Train." NYC's M-497 modified with a scoop nose and an added Convair B-36 jet engine, reached the speed of 183.85 MPH. I guess it's untrue: as soon as 1955, 2 french electric locomotives, BB9004 and CC7107 were modified with a higher gearing ratio and with somme aerodynamic improvement. Both of them rolled at 331 km/h (205,7 mph) with 3 cars in tow, respectively on 1955-28-3 and on 1955-29-3. Then these units were retrofited back to their standards and continued to soldier on until 1973 (BB9004) and 1999 (CC7107). The only issue with that record was track needing deep repair afterwards... Dom |
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Post by markm on Dec 12, 2015 23:21:47 GMT -5
Dom,
Interesting. When I get home I'll pull out the book it comes from and confirm their references. It will be interesting what criteria (if any) were used to make that claim.
The engineer in me would find it interesting to how they maintained electrical contact. The same RDC source reports that the engineer/pilot of the M-497 found the speed limited by the ability to keep the car on the tracks.
Mark
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Post by domi on Dec 13, 2015 15:12:19 GMT -5
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Post by atw on Dec 13, 2015 16:40:17 GMT -5
Mark
At least BB9004 (and I gather the second locomotive as well) was equipped with a purpose built pantograph which had a stronger upward force and was able to handle up to 4000 A. Arcing was a problem too, so two of the three coaches carried special equipment to counteract this.
Just like the NYC "rocket RDC", the equipment used for these high speed trials was heavily modified and never truly seen as ever entering any kind of regular service - quite unlike most high speed train designs of today.
But looking back to the original post of this thread - it *would* be nice to get a rerun of the RDC in the Amtrak scheme 8)
cheerZ
Adrian
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