NVSRR By the time RDcs appeared, mail service was mostly done. so some of the RPOs could have been converted to buffet/diners Shane
By the time RDcs appeared, mail service was mostly done. so some of the RPOs could have been converted to buffet/diners
Shane
The RDCs first appeared in 1949 and were manufactured until 1962. The USPS cancelled their rail mail contracts in September of 1967. What doomed the RDC was a law passed in 1958 that allowed railroads to abandon passenger service on lightly traveled branchlines. Budd ceased manufacture a few years later. Existing RDCs continued to see service as commuter trains with some still in use in the mid 1980s.
I am personally sceptical regarding such figures as such “tests” are generally run at the equipment’s optimum performance.
I was told the reason an RDC could not tow a coach was because the drive system was already at its maximum ability with just the weight of the RDC. The limitation was not because of lack of power from the pair of Detroit Diesel 110 series engines.
Also, the 110s were equipped with low volume injectors to effectively detune them and increase the operating range. The injection capacity of the mechanical injectors in the Budd RDC engines was more in line with what would be found in a 71 series Detroit Diesel.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I rode one of those NYC EMU hauled RDCs out of Grand Central Terminal. To reverse the train in GCT they rode around a subterrainian loop. At North White Plains (end of 3rd rail at that time) the RCD disconnected and continued running north.
I recall back in the '70s when it was rumoured that the TH&B was going to end passenger service, so drove into Hamilton to get a ride on a pair of RDCs, heading down to Buffalo, New York.I'm not sure, but that particular train probably ran out of Toronto, as both cars were quite full when I got aboard at the Hamilton station.
The train ended-up at the large station in Buffalo, and the majority of riders got aboard buses to go shopping. I spent the day wandering around the station and taking pictures of trains and locos.
When it was time to return to Canada, the buses came back and the train was soon filled.
Upon leaving, the train was moving very slowly, due to the very poor condition of the track, and some of the passengers were complaining that they were going to miss their connections, due to the slow speeds...both cars were rocking quite severely to each side, and small lineside trees were brushing against the cars' windows, too.
The conductor assured the riders that "once we get back onto some good TH&B track, we'll easily make-up that time."
Once we crossed back into Canada, and stopped for the Border Service folks to check for dutiable purchases, we were back in motion.
As we began to pick-up speed, the din of normal conversation began to lessen, then, as we began going even faster, no one was talking.
I was watching the mileposts, and checking my watch, and realised that we were travelling at just a couple miles-per-hour over 90...this lasted pretty-well until we came to the descent down the Niagara Escarpment, where there were very restrictive speed limits, due to the grade into Hamilton, and then to the station. I'm pretty certain that nobody missed their connection that day.
Wayne
OldEnginemanI believe that with the straight air valve cut out, it was possible to tow an RDC in a train "as another car".
"In tow" behind a pair of NYC EMUs:
NYC_RDC_M-455 by Edmund, on Flickr
Limiting factor to hauling another car, I believe was the fluid torque converter and the fact that only the inside axles were driven on the RDC. Budd strongly discouraged it but some roads did it.
Regards, Ed
The RDC's that I worked on in my early days had a "straight air" brake valve (i.e., functioned like the independent brake on an engine, moving the handle rightward increased cylinder pressure, to the left to release it), not automatic air brakes. These were on former New Haven cars (perhaps a few from other RR's as well) in Amtrak service by then.
In that configuration, you couldn't control the brakes on a trailing coach (or any car set up for "regular" air brake operation), because you could not make a "brake pipe reduction" (if there was a way to do that, I don't remember, it's been 40+ years).
I believe that with the straight air valve cut out, it was possible to tow an RDC in a train "as another car".
Other railroads may have had different air brake setups.
I was always told the rdc did not have the power to move a unpowered trailer and itself. they were noty designed that way.
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
John-NYBWI also read that they were used on a Philadelphia-Pittsburgh train with dining car service. None of the versions of the RDC I read about were diners so this would indicate a standard dining car was part of the consist.
B&O ran a Philadelphia - Pittsburgh RDC Train called "Daylight Speedliner". Whenever I saw it, it was three cars. The lead car had a buffet section. If you do a search for B&O Daylight Speedliner you should come up with more information.
the longest run was probably the Western Pacific Zepherette or the British Columbia RR. The PRSL ran multiple car trains as much as 10 cars from Philadelphia to various New Jersey seashore towns. cars would be broken off at various branchs. Apparently it was common knowledge that pulling trailers voided the warranty but I have no proof of that. I doubt the story about really long distance with a dining car. The PRR didn't have any. NYC and B&O did. Might check with someone who knows about those railroads. B&O would be the only railroad beside PRR that could have run Philly to Pgh.
Hi Bear,
Fixed the first two .pdf links for you. Looking at that URL in your post, Chrome added some kind of gobbledy-goop before the https:// prefix that the forum software didn't like or recognize. Once I removed that, everything behaved nicely.
You also don't need to add the bracketed "urls" before and after the link; just paste the URL in the body of your reply and hit Enter. It will automatic become a link. The only time you need the bracketed "urls" is when linking to a thread on this forum.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I've been researching the history of RDCs. My research tells me they were used primarily in commuter service and lightly traveled branchlines. I still have a couple of questions that I have been unable to find answers for.
What was the range of the RDCs between fueling stops. The only thing I could find was they were sometimes used on medium length routes without defining what a medium length was.
I also read that Budd discouraged the use of RDCs in tandem with non-powered cars. This implies that some railroads did use them with non-powered coaches.
I also read that they were used on a Philadelphia-Pittsburgh train with dining car service. None of the versions of the RDC I read about were diners so this would indicate a standard dining car was part of the consist.