Budd RDC-1 Coach
w/Plated Finish

New Haven  No. 25

Passenger Fest!

Many rural lines saw a sharp drop in passenger ridership following WWII, but trains still had to be run.

To slash costs and provide reasonable levels of service, many railroads found a solution in Budd's new self-propelled Rail Diesel Car (RDC).

Introduced in 1949, the design was adapted from a modern stainless steel coach.

Power was supplied by a pair of small diesel engines under the floor, each driving a single axle per truck.

Controls at each end eliminated turning or repositioning the car between trips, and allowed RDCs to be operated alone or coupled together as a train by a single engineer.

The cars proved well suited for country routes and short-haul commuter lines, and to meet these diverse needs, Budd eventually offered five different versions.

These included the RDC-1 Coach seating 90, the RDC-2 Coach-Baggage with seats for 70, the RDC-3 Coach/Baggage/Railway Post Office seating 49, the RDC-4, a 72' long Baggage/Railway Post Office model with a 30' postal apartment, and the RDC-9 (also RDC-5), a powered coach with no controls seating 94, designed as a trailer to be pulled by other RDCs. Production continued until 1962, and RDCs remained in regular service for decades afterward.

Several are preserved in museums today.

• Real metal finish
• 4-Wheel drive and 8-wheel electrical pickup
• 5-Pole skew-wound motor
• Flywheel equipped
• Authentically contoured radiator with realistic fan
• RP-25 metal wheels
• Proto MAX™ metal knuckle couplers

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