Budd Rail Diesel Car
| Budd Rail Diesel Car | |
|---|---|
 Budd RDC-2 on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
|
|
| Number: | 398 |
| Manufacturer: | Budd Company |
| Year of construction (s): | 1949-1962 |
| Axis formula : | (1A) (A1) |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length: |
RDC-1/2/3/9 : 25.91 m RDC-4 : 22.5 m |
| Service mass: | 57.5 t |
| Friction mass: | 28 t |
| Top speed: | 137 km / h |
| Drive: |
RDC-1/2/3/4 : 2 GM 110 diesel engines RDC-9 : 1 GM 110 diesel engine |
| Brake: | Air brake |
The Budd Rail Diesel Car ( Budd RDC ) is a diesel-hydraulically powered multiple unit that was built by the Budd Company between 1949 and 1962 for use on lightly used passenger services.
history
After the end of the Second World War, Budd took second position in the passenger car and railcar market after Pullman . The stainless steel car bodies were characteristic of Budd, who had first been used on the Pioneer Zephyr . At the end of the forties, a successor to the so-called “doodlebugs”, gasoline and diesel-electric railcars from the twenties, was sought for poorly used connections for passenger transport , for which the state-imposed traffic obligation still existed on the part of the railway companies. The Director of Mechanical Engineering at Budd, former Major General Gladeon Marcus Barnes had the idea V6 - diesel engines made by General Motors for driving tanks to combine were used with a lightweight steel body. This should result in a light railcar with high specific power and the resulting good acceleration and braking values. The company's management decided in 1949 to build a prototype to make it attractive to the railway companies .
The vehicle proved to be extremely successful, with 398 rail diesel cars built by the time production was discontinued in 1962. The largest operator was the Boston and Maine Railroad with 64 copies. The Budd RDC was also used in Australia , including on the 1,613-kilometer route between Port Pirie and Kalgoorlie . With the end of the traffic obligation in the late 1970s, many RDCs were taken out of service, but some are still in use today, especially in Canada .
Constructive design
The Budd Rail Diesel Car consisted of a stainless steel car body supported on two two-axle bogies . In the center of the car were under the floor two (one at the RDC-9) six-cylinder - Diesel engines of type 6-110 (manufacturer Detroit Diesel ), each with 205 kW (279 hp), which hydraulic torque converter and propeller shafts each drives the internal axes of the bogies . The top speed was 137 km / h, with a 20 ‰ gradient still 64 km / h. Air-operated disc brakes with anti-skid devices ensured short braking distances. Multiple controls made it possible to easily assemble trains.
variants
All types could be freely combined with one another thanks to the multiple control.
- RDC-1
Purely personal version with 94 seats
- RDC-2
Passenger car with a small luggage compartment, 70 seats
- RDC-3
Passenger car with luggage compartment and post compartment , 49 seats
- RDC-4
Luggage / rail mail car, only 22.5 m long
- RDC-9
single-engine intermediate car without control compartments at the ends
Original owner
Web links
- budd-rdc.org detailed description
- Picture gallery of various models and railway companies (English)
- Picture gallery of various models and railway companies (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Brian Hollingsworth, Arthur F. Cook: Handbook of Locomotives . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-138-4 , p. 286 (English: The Illustrated Directory of Trains of the World . Translated by Manfred Sandtner).
- ↑ budd-rdc.org: Overview of types ( memento of the original from July 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of November 20, 2008
