Budd RDC comparison

[dmestan]

Hi-
I was interested in getting some Lionel Budd RDC cars (400 or 8764), then I saw an MTH Railking Santa Fe 2 car set (30-2145-1) that looks really nice.  Does anyone know how these compare in size (L/W/H) - are the MTH cars bigger?  I'd like to be able to run on O27.  I also saw some by Williams, which I assume would be the same size as Lionel.

thx, Don

[Blueberryhill RR]

Don,........The Williams Budd set is the same size as Lionel. I have a Southern Pacific set and they are excellent. But, they run on 0-31 track and will not take the curves of 0-27.

Chuck

[jefelectric]

Don,  Have you looked at the RMT Buddies?  They are great for 027 curves.  I have two in Reading and love them.  Don't have 027 curves but think the scale size RDC look way to big on anything smaller than 072.

http://readymadetoys.stores.yahoo.net/rmt-toy-trains-br-buddy-rdc-cars.html

[goodness]

This is an interesting post. Here is what I found out so far:

www.justrains.com phone [phone] has the MTH RDC BUDD CAR SET W/PROTO "DEMO" road name for only $215.00 where as they useually have a street price of around $255 to $260. Good deal! and good dealer. Note: a set has a powered plus a non-powered unit and have interiors. Two car non-powered sets were also made. size: 16 x 2 1/2 x 4 , run on 0-31, have sound and full Proto-Sound 2.0 features. In the MTH 2006 V1 catalog.

Ready Made Toys, PO Box 173, Bloomsbuty, NJ 08804 www.readymadetoys.com - phone [phone] sells direct for $69.95 plus $6.95 shipping = $76.90 total for each unit and no non-powered units are available. The windows are green so you do not see that there are no interiors but there is a motorman figure. length: 13 inches, run on 0-27, no sound, conventional F-N-R control. There are many road names easily available and more on the way, plus there are multiple numbers. There was a nice review of these in CTT May 2006. Also was a story on RDCs in CTT November 2005.

So comparing them is apples to oranges. I do not know about any Lionel RDC units.

I will follow this thread to see what others can tell us.

Paul Goodness

 

[kehoesj]

My experience with the RMT Buddie for O27 is delightful.  I have an O27 layout and a prerequisite for purchase is that the motive power must be able to negotiate curves, switches, etc.  I had always wanted an RDC for my collection, and when I picked up the Buddie for a bargain $50 at a train show, I was pleasantly surprised by it's smooth operation.  The detail level, strobe light, heavtiness all convinced me that this was a great addition.  It does have pulling power, as I usually tack on an Express boxcar or 2.  Great Buy, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the RMT version, while a little short on length, it blends in greatly on the O27 layout.  You can couple with a matching RDC as well.

[ADCX Rob]

I've always had the Lionel Budd cars running on O-27 w/o problems.  I used them for clearance checking on my circa 1972 O-27 layout due to their width & overhang on O-27 curves.

Rob 

[dmestan]

Rob, can you give the dimmensions of the Lionel RDC cars?

thx, Don

[ADCX Rob]

Rob, can you give the dimmensions of the Lionel RDC cars?

thx, Don

They are on a stretched GP-7/GP-9 chassis, with the Geep running gear & trucks, about 16" long over the couplers, the body is about 15".  To be of any use in making a decision, you really would have to have one in hand.

Rob 

[goodness]

I am not familiar with the Lionel RDC cars. What years were they made/listed in catalogs? Are they redily available? At shops or shows? How much do they go for $? Do they have many road names? I guess I should check out Ebay to find out.

Paul Goodness

[Anonymous]

Are the Buddys as slow as the BEEPs? Thanks.

[krapug1]

I am not familiar with the Lionel RDC cars. What years were they made/listed in catalogs? Are they redily available? At shops or shows? How much do they go for $? Do they have many road names? I guess I should check out Ebay to find out.

Paul Goodness

In the PW era Lionel Budd Cars were decorated in Baltimore and Ohio livery only, and they were offered in the mid to late 1950's.

In the MPC/LTI era the B & O Budds were re-issued and an Amtrak and Canadian National set were also made.

Some other Budds to consider:

Williams has made Budds in a number of roadmanes, and they are similar in scale to Lionel's as are the Budds made by MTH.

The Williams models are of the Budd RDC-1 all-coach model, the Lionel's also came as RDC-4 Baggage Cars, and I think the RDC-3 Baggage Coach Combo.

For me, I have found the Budds made by Lionel, Williams, and MTH tower over the rest of my Passenger Fleet. I have and operate the 027 sized Budd car made by Marx, (Boston and Maine livery only), and the K-Line recreations that all used an updated Marx mold. The K-Line Budds were all RDC-1 models and came in 3 cars sets, one powered and 2 dummies. They were made in Amtrak, Western Pacific, B & O silver, B & O dark blue, and Reading liveries.

I have just ordered a Buddy in LIRR livery.

The very first place that I railfanned as a very young kid, was the CNJ Broad Street Station in downtown Newark, NJ watching Budd cars come and go at rush hour, so Budd cars have always held a special place in my collection.

[ADCX Rob]

krapug1 got it right - even in the truncated "Lionel Scale" the Budds are not small by any means.

Rob 

[dmestan]

krapug1, thanks for the info!  Do you happen to have a photo of the Marx Budds?  Are the K-line units still available?  Are they similar in size to RMT?  Given the statement that Lionel, Williams, MTH are large, I probably won't choose one of them.

thx, Don

[jefelectric]

Electric RR has sounds and TMCC for the Buddy units.

http://www.electricrr.com/

[lionelsoni]

I measure the length between coupler pulling faces at 15 3/4 inches, the body length at 15 inches over the doors, 15 1/4 inches over the buffers, the height 3.5 inches at the radiator, and the width 2.5 inches.

[krapug1]

krapug1, thanks for the info!  Do you happen to have a photo of the Marx Budds?  Are the K-line units still available?  Are they similar in size to RMT?  Given the statement that Lionel, Williams, MTH are large, I probably won't choose one of them.

thx, Don

If you go to my K-Line Yahoo Group I have photos of the K-Line Budds (under Wall of Budds) and some of the original Marx Budd running with the K-Line Budds (Under K-Line's heritage).

The K-Line Budds were made through the mid-90's and you can generally find them on e-bay for a reasonable price. The Reading Co. Budds are the hardest to find, as they were made for Boscov's, in my opinion the sharpest looking K-Line Budd Set is the Western Pacific.

The Marx Budd car is one of the more desirable Marx pieces, and it usually commands a good price.
The Marx Budd actually looks like a RDC-9, as it's front and back windows are solid, or blind.
The real RDC-9's were sold to large RDC purchasers (like the B & M), and were designed to operate between two full powered Budd cars. The RDC-9 could not run on it's own.

One final note on K-Line Budd cars, in the early 00's, K-Line cataloged a scale sized LIRR Budd car, but these scale sized Budd's were never made.

Ken