🚀 go-pugleaf

> Can anybody  tell me  whether Budd  RDC's  are still  in use  on MARC
> (a.k.a.  B&O) commuter  trains between Baltimore  and Washington?  If
> so, any idea how  much longer they will  be used?

Does anyone know of any RDCs that are still running anywhere on the North
American continent? I would go there on vacation next summer just to be
able to ride one before they are all gone. I haven't heard of any going
to museums or tourist railroads and I believe almost all of them have now
been melted down into Chevys.

					Clayton James Wootton 
					AT&T
					Naperville, Illinois

I originally replied to the original poster in the mail, but there seems to
be general interest, so I'll post here.

RDCs are indeed still in operation on the Brunswick and Camden Station MARC
trains, as well as the F units (which are getting VERY rattletrap-- I see
entirely too many trains with weird engine combos due to breakdowns).  As
far as I know there are no plans to replace them, although there is a
program underway to replace most of the cars used with the F units; new MARC
cars have appeared, and for a time cars were being borrowed from Toronto's
GO system.  The RDCs seem to be doing well, and the major threat to their
continuity is popularity, since ridership on the MARC trains is good.

C. Wingate

I heard that SP-10, the RDC which Northwestern Pacific used to run from Willits
to Eureka (CA) had gone to a tourist line in Oregon.

In article <1303@ihuxb.UUCP> doctor@ihuxb.UUCP (Wooton) writes:
>
>Does anyone know of any RDCs that are still running anywhere on the North
>American continent? I would go there on vacation next summer just to be
>able to ride one before they are all gone. I haven't heard of any going
>to museums or tourist railroads and I believe almost all of them have now
>been melted down into Chevys.
>

RDC's exist in the greater Boston area in large numbers.  They are,
however, in a push/pull setup with GP-7's and FP-10's providing HEP.

Additionally, some of the RDC came from the New Haven, B&O, PC,
Reading and Canadian Pacific.  Many of the Reading cars still having
Reading lettering on them so it is not unusual to see an ex-BN GP-7
still in BN green pulling Boston & Maine and Reading Budd's at the
same time.

				---peter osgood---

In article <1303@ihuxb.UUCP> doctor@ihuxb.UUCP (Wooton) writes:
>> Can anybody  tell me  whether Budd  RDC's  are still  in use  on MARC
>Does anyone know of any RDCs that are still running anywhere on the North
>American continent? I would go there on vacation next summer just to be
>able to ride one before they are all gone. I haven't heard of any going
>to museums or tourist railroads and I believe almost all of them have now
>been melted down into Chevys.
>
>					Clayton James Wootton 
>					AT&T
>					Naperville, Illinois

Budd RDC's (Budd cars) are being extensively used in British Columbia, Canada.
BC rail uses them for regular passenger service as does E&N (Esquimalt &
Nanaimo).  BC rail runs them from north vancouver to Prince George. A real
pretty trip  is from North Van. to Lillooett. It can be done in one day, 
(round trip), and goes through some of the most beautiful scenery around. 
The cost is reasonable too. The E&N runs from Esquimalt (near Victoria) to
Courtenay. This trip can also be done in one day and offers some good scenery.
I've taken both trips and enjoyed them both. There is a lot of good railroading
here in the pacific northwest, so if you'd like some more information, try
email and I'll see if I can reply.
Have a good one

>Does anyone know of any RDCs that are still running anywhere on the North
>American continent? I would go there on vacation next summer just to be
>able to ride one before they are all gone. I haven't heard of any going
>to museums or tourist railroads and I believe almost all of them have now
>been melted down into Chevys.
>
>					Clayton James Wootton 
>					AT&T
>					Naperville, Illinois

There are at least two regularly scheduled passenger routes using RDCs
in this corner of North America (British Columbia, Canada).

One, operated by the British Columbia Railway (formerly the Pacific Great
Eastern), runs north from North Vancouver, B.C., to Lillooet (about 160 miles)
and back the same day.  This train operates daily and is heartily recommended
as a day trip.  Three days a week one car from the train continues on to
Prince George (about 460 miles), returning the following day to Lillooet,
where it rejoins the train south to Vancouver.  I would recommend the longer
run only for die-hards and masochists (the northern B.C. scenery can be
somewhat monotonous, although it has its moments). The Lillooet day trip,
however, runs through the mountains of the Coast Range and is quite
spectacular.

The other, operated by VIA Rail Canada over Esquimalt and Nanaimo (a CPR
subsidiary) tracks, runs daily from Victoria B.C. north to Courtney and
back the same day.  This also makes a very pleasant day trip, although
the scenary is not quite as spectacular as the BCR train.

I believe that VIA also operates RDC trains between Calgary and Edmonton,
Alberta and on several routes in Eastern Canada.

     Rob England
     Microtel Pacific Research
     Vancouver, B.C., Canada

Metro-North Commuter Railroad still runs RDCs in the suburbs around
New York City.  You can hop a train from Grand Central Terminal
(worth a visit in itself -- the largest railroad station in the
world) and scoot on up to the end of third rail country on the Harlem
Line, where an RDC will be waiting to take you to the end of the line
at Dover Plains.

To quote a Metro-North handout:

	"The Budd Company Rail Diesel Cars (RDC), self-propelled
passenger cars, carry two Detroit diesel engines.  Built between 1950
and 1953, the RDCs were owned by both the New York Central Railroad
and the New Haven Railroad and wer used on low density routes, such
as Boston to Albany, and on the New Haven Branch lines.  Today Metro-
North runs them, usually as single units, between Brewster and Dover
Plains on the uppermost part of the Harlem line and between Suffern
and Port Jervis west of the Hudson River."

Come on up to New York if you want to go dinosaur hunting!


			Frank Wortner

			frank@orville.UUCP
			... allegra!phri!orville!frank




-- 
				Frank
				...!inhp4!allegra!phri!orville!dvm!frank

<> From: earl@phred.UUCP (Daddy Earl)
<> Message-ID: <780@phred.UUCP>
> Budd RDC's (Budd cars) are being extensively used in British Columbia...
> ...The E&N runs from Esquimalt (near Victoria) to Courtenay.
> This trip can also be done in one day and offers some good scenery.

Also, if you stop over in Duncan, there's a good logging  museum  that  in-
cludes  a steam ride around the grounds, lots of dioramas, and equipment on
static display.  Well worth it.

Because of time considerations, I bussed up and trained  back.   Maybe  you
should  train  up,  stay overnight, and then complete the trip to Courtenay
and Victoria.

And watch out for the bears on the track.


                                        Dave
                                        "dpsatomssw2"
                                        Wednesday, 11.5

> Does anyone know of any RDCs that are still running anywhere on the North
> American continent?

The far northern ends of various Metro-North lines out of New York
make you change to RDC's (at midday -- usually there are through
diesels during rush hour).  These are new cars, about 5 years old; the
stuff they replaced looked (and smelled) like 1950's coaches with
1950's bus engines mounted underneath, and had neither been painted
nor washed in decades (I seem to remember New York Central paint).

The runs are Harlem Line from Brewster North up to Dover Plains,
Hudson Line from Peekskill to Poughkeepsie, and one of the branches
(Danbury?) off the New Haven Line.  Each of these is around a
45-minute ride after an hour or two on the boring electric M-1's.
Peekskill to Poughkeepsie is probably your best bet; from there you
can continue on Amtrak up to Albany, or Montreal on the Adirondack.

> I believe that VIA also operates RDC trains between Calgary and Edmonton,
> Alberta ...

Not any more.
Mark Brader