In the heyday of passenger railroading, it was still quite expensive for
trains to serve passengers on small branch lines and secondary mainlines. The
solution to high-cost, low ridership routes was the RDC.
RDC's or "Budd" cars as they were commonly known, were essentially
a cross between a locomotive and a passenger car. The diesel motors were placed
beneath the car frame and the exhausts, radiators and air intakes were mounted
in a top section above the roof that resembled a vista-dome found on streamlined
passenger cars. This arrangement kept the equipment out of the way and allowed
for more passenger room, multiple unit capability and bi-directional operation
flexability. A testament to their design, RDC's were common on U.S. railroads
for over 30 years.
Here is a super nice set of Lionel Budd commuter cars. Set includes one
powered unit and two non-powered units. They are in like new condition, no
cracks, breaks, scratches or rust and have very little run time on them as
evidenced by only light railmarks on the wheels and pickup rollers. These are
made with the same construction as the postwar #400 version.
- Die-cast trucks
- Metal wheels & axles
- Die-cast magnetic operating couplers
- Metal chassis
- Powered unit has 3-position E-unit for transformer controlled
forward-neutral-reverse operation
- Lighted interiors
- Highly detailed bodies
- Metal ornamental horns
- Operates on O-31 or greater curves
- Each unit is 16" long for a total length of 48"
- Includes original instructions and boxes
