Rapido Trains - 516003 - Railcar, Diesel, Budd RDC - Baltimore & Ohio

Specific Item Information: N Budd RDC-1 (Ph 1) (DC/DCC/Sound): Baltimore & Ohio

Model Information: Built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia in their hundreds between the late 1940s and early 1960s, the single-car RDC (Rail Diesel Car) fleet was ubiquitous on passenger service throughout Canada and the United States on any routes that could not justify loco-hauled operation. The 85ft long vehicles, which were powered by a pair of Detroit Diesel Series 110 engines, could be employed in single formation or coupled together with other examples - all controlled from the lead RDC cab.

DCC Information:
The Rapido N scale Budd RDC features:

• Designed from original blueprints and field measurements
• Accurate Phase 1 and Phase 2 body details
• Both fabricated and cast trucks, as appropriate
• Single-motor, all-wheel drive for unparalleled reliability
• All-wheel electrical pickup
• Directional headlights and red marker lights
• Flicker-free interior lighting
• Tinted windows and fully detailed interiors
• DC/Silent (DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/Sound (ESU LokSound)
• Factory-installed couplers mounted at the correct height

Prototype History: This Single-car DMU is commonly known as the "RDC," the motorized Rail Diesel Car generally operated in rural areas where ridership and mail/parcel transport were too low for regular passenger train service. When first introduced, the RDC was also proclaimed to be the savior of branch line and suburban service. It was heavily used as a commuter service workhorse (and still is currently in some locations!).

The Budd Company rolled out the first RDC in the fall of 1949, a single RDC-1 "Budd Demonstrator." Hundreds more would eventually follow for service to railroads throughout North America and around the world (including South America, Australia, Saudi Arabia and even Cuba!). Oddly enough, it was Budd's experience in the production of small yet powerful diesel engines for WWII tanks that eventually lead to the birth of the RDC.

A total of 398 units were built. The RDC utilized two compact motors mounted under the car's floor to drive one axle on each truck. Capable of being operated by a motorman from either end of the car, these units could be used independently or combined to create a two- or three-unit consist. These railcars cold achieve as top speed of 85mph

A review of the Budd roster reveals that many RDC cars were operated well into the 1970's and early 1980's, with a small number still in service today!

Four standardized designs were created to reduce the time and expense of custom production
- RDC-1 was strictly passenger-oriented, containing 90 coach seats.
- RDC-2 contained 71 seats and a separate baggage area.
- RDC-3 combined a Railway Post Office with a baggage compartment and 49 seats.
- RDC-4 was a self-contained RPO-Express car.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Road Name History: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (reporting marks B&O, BO) is one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal (which served New York City) and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia (now West Virginia) over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. From there it passed through Virginia from Harpers Ferry to a point just west of the junction of Patterson Creek and the North Branch Potomac River where it crossed back into Maryland to reach Cumberland. From there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia.

It is now part of the CSX Transportation (CSX) network, and includes the oldest operational railroad bridge in the USA. The B&O also included the Leiper Railroad, the first permanent horse-drawn railroad in the U.S. In later years, B&O advertising carried the motto: "Linking 13 Great States with the Nation." Part of the B&O Railroad's immortality has come from being one of the four featured railroads on the U.S. version of the board game Monopoly, but it is the only railroad on the board which did not serve Atlantic City, New Jersey, directly.

When CSX established the B&O Railroad Museum as a separate entity from the corporation, some of the former B&O Mount Clare Shops in Baltimore, including the Mt. Clare roundhouse, were donated to the museum while the rest of the property was sold. The B&O Warehouse at the Camden Yards rail junction in Baltimore now dominates the view over the right-field wall at the Baltimore Orioles' current home, Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

At the end of 1970 B&O operated 5552 miles of road and 10449 miles of track, not including the Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) or the Reading and its subsidiaries.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Rapido Trains Inc. is a high-end manufacturer of model trains and accessories in HO, OO and N (North American 1:160 and British 1:148) scales. The firm's mission is to recreate the entire rail travel experience, from fully-detailed interiors and under-frames on models to fully-wired telephone poles for model railroads.

The name RAPIDO was introduced by Canadian National in 1965 to headline the railway's high-speed intercity passenger services. Until the mid-1980s, RAPIDO stood for fast schedules, frequent trains, and superb service.

Today, Rapido Trains continues the RAPIDO concept with state-of-the-art models and attention to fine detail. This company is not related to the venerable (and now defunct) German manufacturer Arnold Rapido, nor the present-day Arnold (which is owned by the United Kingdom's Hornby), Canadian based Rapido Trains was founded in 2003.