Budd railcar

The Budd railcar was a popular model of railcar, that saw service around the world. The Budd Company, of Philadelphia, built just under 400 vehicles were built, in the 1950s.^[1]^[2]

In 1957 the New York Central railway experimented with modifing a standard Budd railcar to be powered by a pair of government surplus General Electric J49-19 jet engines.^[3] During its tests it reached a speed of 196 miles per hour (315 km/h), on an unmodified stretch of rails.

In 1996 Dallas, Texas announced it planned to use fifty year old Budd railcars for a new commuter rail route in 1996, with those vehicles replaced by modern railcars a decade later.^[4]

When a rail link between Toronto's Union Station and Pearson International Airport, the initial proposal suggested using refurbished Budd railcars.^[5] However, new Nippon Sharyo DMU vehicles were the ultimate choice.^[6]

References

↑ "the SNCF's Budd railcar". Transpress NZ. 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2026-02-03. Just under 400 Budd Company Rail Diesel Cars or RDCs were built for North American railways in the period 1949-1962.
↑ "Trinity Railway Express Rail Diesel Cars (RDC)". Trinity Railway Express. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2026-02-03. The Budd Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania originally built the RDCs in the 1950’s. They were used by VIA Rail throughout Canada in intercity service.
↑ Otto M. Vondrak (2019-11-27). "M-497: Built For Speed". Railfan. Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
↑ Rich Sampson (2013-10-25). "Take the A-Train" (PDF). Community Transportation Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-04. Initially, the A-Train will operate Budd RDC railcars (above) used previously by the Trinity Railway Express. In 2012, Stadler’s GTW 2-6 DMUs will begin arriving to replace the venerable Budd.
↑ "Backgrounder 2 – Union Pearson Airlink Group's Blue22 Service" (PDF). Transport Canada. 2003-11-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-08-08. UPAG has developed a Preliminary Technical Requirements Specification for the design, manufacturing and commissioning of Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) cars. UPAG intends to use refurbished Budd Rail Diesel Cars, which will be rebuilt in Canada. These vehicles will have new engines, systems and interiors that incorporate the latest advances that have been made in DMU and other technologies.
↑ "Metrolinx Transit Expansion Projects". Metrolinx. 2009-05-14. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2026-02-03. In February 2011, the Metrolinx Board of Directors directed staff to enter into a contract with Sumitomo Corporation of America (Sumitomo) for the purchase of 12 convertible Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) at a price of approximately $55 million to be used for the ARL service.

[TranspressNZ2012-10-26-1] "the SNCF's Budd railcar". Transpress NZ. 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2026-02-03. Just under 400 Budd Company Rail Diesel Cars or RDCs were built for North American railways in the period 1949-1962.

[trinityrailwayexpress2012-02-05-2] "Trinity Railway Express Rail Diesel Cars (RDC)". Trinity Railway Express. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2026-02-03. The Budd Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania originally built the RDCs in the 1950’s. They were used by VIA Rail throughout Canada in intercity service.

[Railfan2019-11-27-3] Otto M. Vondrak (2019-11-27). "M-497: Built For Speed". Railfan. Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2026-02-03.

[Ctaa2013-10-25-4] Rich Sampson (2013-10-25). "Take the A-Train" (PDF). Community Transportation Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-04. Initially, the A-Train will operate Budd RDC railcars (above) used previously by the Trinity Railway Express. In 2012, Stadler’s GTW 2-6 DMUs will begin arriving to replace the venerable Budd.

[TransportCanada2003-11-13-5] "Backgrounder 2 – Union Pearson Airlink Group's Blue22 Service" (PDF). Transport Canada. 2003-11-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-08-08. UPAG has developed a Preliminary Technical Requirements Specification for the design, manufacturing and commissioning of Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) cars. UPAG intends to use refurbished Budd Rail Diesel Cars, which will be rebuilt in Canada. These vehicles will have new engines, systems and interiors that incorporate the latest advances that have been made in DMU and other technologies.

[Metrolinx2009-05-14-6] "Metrolinx Transit Expansion Projects". Metrolinx. 2009-05-14. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2026-02-03. In February 2011, the Metrolinx Board of Directors directed staff to enter into a contract with Sumitomo Corporation of America (Sumitomo) for the purchase of 12 convertible Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) at a price of approximately $55 million to be used for the ARL service.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]