Passenger Trains > Budd RDC in Western Massachusetts

I would have missed the Mt. Washington Cog Railway's steam run had I driven ~3 hours straight from Boston Logan Airport to Bretton Woods, NH, so I embarked on a scenic detour by driving west toward the Berkshire Mountains then head NE to the White Mountain area in New Hampshire for the next day's steam run.

I needed a foamer destination in between, and found one in Adams, MA: Berkshire Scenic Railway, a.k.a. Hoosac Valley Service.

Former Boston & Maine Budd RDC #6126 is used by the Berkshire Scenic Railway for the 10 mile roundtrip. According to their web site, the RDC-1 was manufactured in May 1955, so it has been around for 63 years. It is too bad Budd is no longer around to continue their legacy of American passenger railroading, although Budd's legacy continues in Japan, where Tokyu Corporation bought the license for stainless steel passenger car manufacturing in the early 1960s, and I caught the direct result of that (former Series 7000, now Series 7700) during my recent trip to Japan.

Japan's wikipedia article on the Tokyu Series 7000 also talks about Budd's Pioneer Zephyr, and I stumbled upon its sister, the Flying Yankee in Lincoln, NH on this trip. I posted something about that few days ago - interesting coincidence!

- Going north at Hodges Cross Rd.

- Going south by an interesting building - historic significance unknown.

- Video of the RDC at the same two locations, diesel sounds clearly audible.

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Is this track included in the rebuilding of this line by the State of Massachusetts? 

The brick building has strong resemblance to a former station.

i most likely rode this budd Meany Meany times wile working on the b and m going to work in Boston at bet did it for 15 years. so head to ride it Meany times  

That horn isn't original, is it?  Don't remember them sounding like that.

Thanks for sharing. The car had quite a few passengers. I got a kick out of the little girl waving.

The horn is a Hancock isn't it? I saw and photographed the B&M RDCs at Ayer, but not near any crossings, so don't recall what the horn sounded like.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com


sums007 Wrote:
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> That horn isn't original, is it?  Don't remember
> them sounding like that.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/18 16:42 by wabash2800.

Do these machines require a platform in the shop to access the engine compartment?

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

It is not original.  B&M RDC's did not have Hancocks.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for sharing. The car had quite a few
> passengers. I got a kick out of the little girl
> waving.
>
> The horn is a Hancock isn't it? I saw and
> photographed the B&M RDCs at Ayer, but not near
> any crossings, so don't recal what the horn
> sounded like.
>
> Victor A. Baird
> http://www.erstwhilepublications.com
>
>
> sums007 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That horn isn't original, is it?  Don't
> remember
> > them sounding like that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/18 17:34 by RFandPFan.

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NH RDCs had Hancock air whistles...maybe a retrofit.  

The line is ex-NYC.  It isn’t part of the ex-NH Housatonic line that the Commonwealth is rebuilding.

Dave



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/18 17:41 by DavidP.

webmaster Wrote:
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> Do these machines require a platform in the shop
> to access the engine compartment?

Seems like you're thinking that the engines are located in the "bulge" on the roof. Actually, this contains mainly radiators and cooling fans; the two "pancake" style engines and their transmissions are located under the car floor, the underfloor device nearest to each truck. If you watch the video closely, you can see the driveshafts rotating as the car passes by. Mounting the engines on the roof would lead to a very high center of gravity for the car (meaning possibly unstable running), not to mention the difficulty of arranging long, heavy rotating driveshafts vertically through the center of the car (RDCs are diesel-hydraulics, with Allison torque converter transmissions rather like buses, not diesel electrics). I'm sure the shops have rolling stands with steps for workers to reach the roof-mounted fans and radiators, just as they do for locomotives.

Roger Lewis (airbrakegeezer)

sums007 Wrote:
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> That horn isn't original, is it?  Don't remember
> them sounding like that.

Depends on which RDCs you remember! This is a Hancock Air Whistle, not a horn (works like a steam whistle, except with compressed air). I suspect this one was being blown with rather low air pressure, so it sounds a bit wheezy. I know that the New Haven preferred these air whistles on their RDCs and locomotives (check pictures of NH FL9s, for example), but I'm not sure about the B & M. B & O RDCs had conventional air horns, but I don't know make or model; this was a "customer option", anyway.

Roger Lewis (airbrakegeezer)

airbrakegeezer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sums007 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That horn isn't original, is it?  Don't
> remember
> > them sounding like that.
>
> Depends on which RDCs you remember! This is a
> Hancock Air Whistle, not a horn (works like a
> steam whistle, except with compressed air). I
> suspect this one was being blown with rather low
> air pressure, so it sounds a bit wheezy. I know
> that the New Haven preferred these air whistles on
> their RDCs and locomotives (check pictures of NH
> FL9s, for example), but I'm not sure about the B &
> M. B & O RDCs had conventional air horns, but I
> don't know make or model; this was a "customer
> option", anyway.
>
> Roger Lewis

B&M RDC’s has a horn with two bells (one facing forward and one backwards). See the photo I already posted. I rode the B&M RDC’s in the 70’s our of North Station. The control stands had removable handles for throttle, reverser and brake lever. Engineers carried them in their grip. Horns were controlled by a rope from the ceiling.

Posted from iPhone

Here's a couple photos of what I believe are the Budd 'power packs', shown on a stand that appears to have controls to allow the motor to be tested on the stand. These were taken at the British Columbia North Vancouver Engine Shops and have been posted previously on TO. As mentioned above, the motor hangs off the bottom of the car, the cooling system is on the roof and various connections pass through the passenger compartment.

Interesting story about the RDC car in Massachusetts, such a simple way to get a local train ride operation going.

The Budd RDC Wiki, which points out the breakthrough device was the Torque Converter design which came from the WWII Patton tank:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Rail_Diesel_Car



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/18 21:24 by TCnR.

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Those RDC's on Vancouver Island were really noisy to ride in.  But, a neat ride anyway.

Nice shots and video! I got a cab ride in this RDC when it was still owned by the Belfast and Moosehead Lake RR.

Those things used to do 80 on the B&M Portland Division.  Maybe other places too, going out to Troy, NY.

When you bought an RDC, Budd supplied you with "engine dollies".  You rolled it under the car and cranked it up until it made contact with the support points on its Detroit Diesel 6-110 engine.  Undo the connections, take out the connecting bolts, then lower the dollie and roll the engine out.  In theory, the railroad would have a spare 6-110 ready to go that would then be wheeled under the car and installed.  Some of the B&O guys I met in the late 1980's told me they could do the engine swap in 30 minutes.