Budd Rail Diesel Car
The Budd Rail Diesel Car or RDC or Buddliner is a type of self-propelled passenger rail car formerly produced by the Budd Company.
History
In 1949, Budd introduced the "Rail Diesel Car" (RDC), a diesel-powered stainless steel self-propelled "train in one car" which expanded rail service on lightly populated railway lines and provided an adaptable car for suburban commuter service. More than 300 RDCs were built, and some are still in service in Canada, the United States, Australia, Cuba and Saudi Arabia, with similar but shorter cars also being built under license by Mafersa in Brazil, which used the Budd Pioneer construction methods that the company designed and implemented in 1956 on some of the later commuter cars, such as the Milwaukee Road gallery cars that operated out of Chicago as well as electric multiple unit (EMU) high-speed cars that operated between Washington, D.C. and New York City. The final few RDC cars were built by Canadian Car and Foundry under licensed from the Budd Company.
Cars were produced at their Red Lion, Pennsylvania plant. Some Canadian cars had their bodies produced there, and were finished by Canadian Car & Foundry in Canada.
Versions
All cars except the RDC-9 were built with twin diesel engines (each powering a single axle on each truck), and controls, cabs and headlights at both ends for bi-directional operation.
- The RDC-1: an all-passenger coach, seating 90 passengers.
- The RDC-2: a baggage and passenger coach configuration (combine), seating 70 passengers.
- The RDC-3: a variant with a Railway Post Office, a baggage compartment and 48 passenger seats.
- The RDC-4: a variant with only the Railway Post Office and baggage area. Was also shorter than other RDC versions.
- The RDC-9: an all-passenger trailer version seating 94, featuring a single engine and no control cabs.
Note: Several railroads used the designation "RDC-5": the Canadian Pacific Railway for RDC-2s converted to full-coach configuration and the Canadian National Railway for RDC-9s it purchased from the Boston and Maine Railroad.
There was also a special "Roger Williams" 6-car RDC set produced for the New Haven, featuring two end cars with full cabs.
In 1956, Budd introduced a new version of the RDC, with several improvements. The new cars had more powerful versions of the Detroit Diesel 6-110 engines, each of which produced 300 hp instead of 275 hp. They also featured higher capacity air conditioning and more comfortable seating. The appearance changed slightly as well: the headlight housing was modified and numberboards were relocated to the front, and the front-facing windows were smaller (this was commonly referred to as the "Phase 2" end, as opposed to the earlier "Phase 1" design). Cars could also be ordered with optional side door and front body fluting.