Passenger Trains > A couple of Metroplex Passenger Specials

I got word while at work on Saturday that the Denton County Transit Authority was going to be borrowing 3 of Trinity Railway Express's RDC's for signal tests on Monday (04/04/11)over the soon to be opened A-Line from Carrollton to Lewisville. Despite getting hammered with thunderstorms overnight and gusty winds most of the day, conditions for shooting pics couldn't have been much better. Myself and DS Homer caught up with the test train at the Hebron Station in Farmers Branch.

1. TRE RDC Number 2012 tied down on main 2 at Hebron Station in Farmers Branch, Texas.

2 and 3. RDC 2010 and 2013 on main 1 departing Hebron Station testing signals south to Carrollton.

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After shooting the RDC's departure, we headed back to Fort Worth. Instead of taking the freeways, we took a route that had us paralleling the Fort Worth and Western to Grapevine. As we approached the depot we noticed the Grapevine Vintage Railroad's passenger train was boarding passengers for a special trip to Fort Worth. Rush traffic made staying ahead of it quite difficult despite the slow speeds between Grapevine and Fort Worth.

4. GVRR 2199 passing the old grain elevator at Grapevine, Texas.

5. GVRR 2199 leading the passenger special around a curve on the northside of Fort Worth, Texas.

Video: GVRR 2199 and train departing Grapevine and rounding the curve at Fort Worth.

Enjoy

BNSFDS

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RDC's still make a quality commuter train. All one has to do is rebuild the Budd Cars and run them another 20 years or more.

Speaking of Budd cars. I am from Flagstaff AZ and the Grand Canyon RR recently added about a dozen Budd coaches with AC to their car inventory on the property to replace the old Harriman heavy weights that ran since 1989 when the RR started up again under private ownership. The cars once ran in Florida and were in decent condition when the GCRR bought them. They also acquired a dome car and lounge which will be placed in service soon. All in all they acquired 14 cars about 3 or so years ago,all but 2 are Budds. They obviously are well built and last many years. Many of the old Harrimans ran from SFO to San Jose on the commuter line and some had no AC so they could be uncomfortable in summer months. Often the GCRR runs 2 trains a day with 8 cars each,but now and then you will see a 16 car train with the 2 Fp-40's(ex Amtrak) on the point.
Budd RDCs used to run on the LA to San Diego line in the early 1950's but were removed after a bad wreck in about 1952. I have seen Budd RDCs in the station at Niagara Falls -Canada in 1992, but I don't know if they still operate to Toronto as of today.

Those buds are handsome....

Phil1 Wrote:
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> Speaking of Budd cars. I am from Flagstaff AZ and
> the Grand Canyon RR recently added about a dozen
> Budd coaches with AC to their car inventory on the
> property to replace the old Harriman heavy weights
> that ran since 1989 when the RR started up again
> under private ownership. The cars once ran in
> Florida and were in decent condition when the GCRR
> bought them. They also acquired a dome car and
> lounge which will be placed in service soon. All
> in all they acquired 14 cars about 3 or so years
> ago,all but 2 are Budds. They obviously are well
> built and last many years. Many of the old
> Harrimans ran from SFO to San Jose on the commuter
> line and some had no AC so they could be
> uncomfortable in summer months. Often the GCRR
> runs 2 trains a day with 8 cars each,but now and
> then you will see a 16 car train with the 2
> Fp-40's(ex Amtrak) on the point.
> Budd RDCs used to run on the LA to San Diego
> line in the early 1950's but were removed after a
> bad wreck in about 1952. I have seen Budd RDCs in
> the station at Niagara Falls -Canada in 1992, but
> I don't know if they still operate to Toronto as
> of today.

Phil,

Interestingly several of the GCRR's Budd coaches are themselves former RDCs. They are part of a group of 33 mostly ex-B&M RDCs that the Mass Bay Transportation Authority had rebuilt as unpowered coaches and cab cars around 1980. They subsequently were sold to Virginia Railway Express, and after that various cars ended up with a number of commuter operators such as Metro-North, Champlain Valley Flyer and CalTrain. The GCRR's cars are from the CalTrain fleet.

The VIA RDCs you saw in Canada were mostly ex-CN. The TRE cars in the original post are rebuild from the VIA fleet, which was largely decommissioned following the 1991 service cuts.

Dave

If I'm not mistaken, The Boston and Maine Railroad was THE largest operator of RDC's.

caseyjones Wrote:
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> If I'm not mistaken, The Boston and Maine Railroad
> was THE largest operator of RDC's.

Largest original operator for sure...not sure if CN had more after acquiring quite a few of B&M's.

Ironically, B&M's commuter successor, the MBTA, bought lots of used RDCs in the mid-eighties from MARC, SEPTA, NJT and CP to supplement what remained of the B&M and Penn Central fleets.

Dave

In 1958 the NYNH&H operated RDC's from Buzzards Bay to Woods Hole. I know this because the line to Woods Hole passed through the golf course where my step-father's father played nine holes of golf several times a week with me pulling his golf clubs along behind him. Have yet to ride an RDC, but after 53 years this Denton County service appears to be my opportunity.

John

abocanyon Wrote:
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> In 1958 the NYNH&H operated RDC's from Buzzards
> Bay to Woods Hole. I know this because the line to
> Woods Hole passed through the golf course where my
> step-father's father played nine holes of golf
> several times a week with me pulling his golf
> clubs along behind him. Have yet to ride an RDC,
> but after 53 years this Denton County service
> appears to be my opportunity.
>
> John

You were lucky to catch the last summer of RDC operations on the Cape. New Haven dropped all of it's Old Colony service in May 1959 after the Commonwealth failed to renew a subsidy agreement. The only exceptions were the seasonal Day Cape Codder and Neptune from New York, but they ran with conventional equipment.

Dave

Thanks for the video! I used to ride along with the crew of GVRR all the time before I moved out to AZ to work for GCR. It was good to hear 2199 choppin' along again!