doctor@ihuxb.UUCP (Wooton) (10/31/86)
> 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
mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate) (10/31/86)
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
forags@violet.berkeley.edu (/violet_d/forags) (10/31/86)
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.
roma@uiucuxc.CSO.UIUC.EDU (10/31/86)
> 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. There are a bunch of RDC's in Canada. I just returned from a vacation that included time in the Toronto and Montreal areas. RDC's are used on several runs between Niagara Falls and Toronto and on scattered runs between Windsor, and Toronto. They are also used on runs between Montreal and Quebec city. Of additional interest in the area are scattered Alco (actually MLW) power, including FA's, which are at least as rare as RDC's. LRC's are common in the Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa corridors, as well as on several of the runs between Windsor and Toronto and Sarnia and Toronto. (The non-LRC runs are either RDC's or standard equipment pulled by either FA's, F7's, or CN freight locomotives.) Bayview Jct. (featured in the July 1980 issue of TRAINS) is a good viewing location and is only about 30 miles from Toronto. Toronto still has an extensive collection of PCC streetcars, supplemented by a few recently-acquired cars. There is also Toronto area's GO Transit where you can find a few F7's. Montreal has Canada's only stretch of electrified main line railroad, the CN commuter line through the Mount Royal tunnel to Deux Montagnes, Quebec. During the day, MU cars are used; during rush hour, 70-year old boxcab locomotives pull long trains (up to 13 cars) made up of heavyweight coaches of similar vintage. (Wow!) This was a road trip, but I enjoyed myself that I'm planning to go back to Canada again soon -- this time on the train. Happy hunting! Jon Roma Computing Services Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ARPANET: roma%uiucuxc@a.cs.uiuc.edu CSNET: roma%uiucuxc@uiuc.csnet UUCP: {ihnp4,pur-ee,convex}!uiucdcs!uiucuxc!roma
speter@mit-trillian.MIT.EDU (Peter Osgood) (11/03/86)
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---
earl@phred.UUCP (Daddy Earl) (11/03/86)
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
england@mprvaxa.UUCP (Rob England) (11/04/86)
>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
frank@dvm.UUCP (Frank Wortner) (11/04/86)
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
dps@omssw2.UUCP (Dave Schneider) (11/06/86)
<> 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
rubin@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Mike Rubin) (11/07/86)
> 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.
msb@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) (11/13/86)
> I believe that VIA also operates RDC trains between Calgary and Edmonton, > Alberta ... Not any more. Mark Brader