Forum for the discussion of the Budd Company and Budd-Thyssen through bankruptcy. Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Company

Moderator: John_Perkowski

  by Tim Mullins
 
In the movie "The Recruit" with Al Pacino and Collin Farell, there is a scene which looked like it was shot under Union Station and there were several Budd cars stored....I have seen that
location before in another movie....Does anyone know about those cars and if there are any stored under Union Station?.....Thank You!
  by Jim Kaufman
 
I only know about the SPV's that Metro-North had and only worked on one in my time between CRT-POU.
The SPV's were to me (at least) a "hopped up" Amfleet coach, with engineer controls on both ends, the aero-dynamic bump on the roof, the "leaf collectors" underneath, and the constant failures due to trying to "run" too many doo-hickeys on a shoe string (to aoid crewing a fireman!)
I would rather have a double RDC in retro NYC cream (interior) wall colors, well dented stainless steel sides, the organge/black/white stripes on the front, worn out seats (pull-over), non-working toilets and oil spots on my shirts (going between the Budds at Breakneck Tunnel), then the space age SPV's.
But I was sorry to hear that the Budd plant did not get the Philadelphia Septa order, and that may have caused Budd to go belly up.
The ex-NYC and ex-NH Budd RDC's had a lot of miles on them by the time I worked them between CRT and POU, but they still had a few more left, I truly miss working them.
  by ex Budd man
 
RedLion went 'belly-up' because management wanted drastic pay cuts from union employees and tried to blackmail us by refusing to bid on jobs. When asked if management was matching our pay cuts they laughed and said no. Thyssen wanted an 'in' to the US market and bought the Budd Co. to that end. The rest is history, RedLion became a golf course briefly and now is just a memory.
  by DutchRailnut
 
main reason Red Lions plant went belly up was, after Baltimore, LIRR and MN M-3's and Florida cars there just was no contracts.
no passenger cars were build other than the Viewliner sleepers, which Amtrak had threatened to take elsewhere......
Budd was stuck with lot of employees and no work...
  by ex Budd man
 
DutchRailnut wrote:main reason Red Lions plant went belly up was, after Baltimore, LIRR and MN M-3's and Florida cars there just was no contracts.
no passenger cars were build other than the Viewliner sleepers, which Amtrak had threatened to take elsewhere......
Budd was stuck with lot of employees and no work...
There was still plenty of work in the auto division which is where most railcar employees went if they were laid off due lack of work in the rail side. Without 'give backs' they weren't going to bid on any work domestic or otherwise.
  by pjw1967
 
Hi. New to this forum. Have been posting in the GE section. Here is a photo of one of the Moroccan SPV's being loaded aboard a ship at Philadelphia in late 1979 I believe. I was there.

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My company had made the booking with Budd for the 6 cars, and we showed up with a small heavy-lift ship. Each crane could lift 70 metric tons, combinable to 140 tons. You can see the special lift gear which functioned like tongs. Very efficient, but hard to unhook due to the swing area required. You will also notice there is cardboard taped to the windows of the unit being loaded.

We first loaded 3 units in the hold. We could only land in the center of the hold, so the crew used hydraulic jacks laid on their sides to push one under each coaming, leaving room in the center for the third. Just as we finished with the 3rd one and were about to put the hatch covers on, one of Budd's insurers came over to say they was no room underdeck for the remaining 3 cars. We said that's true, since they would go on deck. The guy started to panic, saying no one had told them the cars would go on deck. There is obviously a greater risk if that is done. So Budd and the insurer huddled for a bit and then came over to say it would be ok to load on deck if the windows of the 2 outboard cars were covered with cardboard, in case a wave hit the windows. I whispered to Budd that they should immediately agree, which they did. They took me aside and asked why I so quickly agreed. I said if that was all we had to do for the insurance to be in effect, we just dodged a bullet. If we got a wave high enough to hit those windows, the cars would likely be swept off the deck. So that night I went to a local supermarket and collected all the cardboard boxes I could. The end result of the effort is seen in the photo. Rumor had it that there was a solid gold potty installed for the King. Like Mel Brooks said "It's good to be the King".

But the story doesn't end there. After an uneventful trip to Morocco, the cars were unloaded directly to the rails. I don't remember which port. As everyone was gathered around the cars, supposedly a wiry old Moroccan railway employee took a giant "T" square to measure the height of the cars above the rails. He announced that they were 5 inches too high, and would hit the first bridge they came to. I don't know much after that. I heard Budd loaded a bunch of engineers into a plane to head over there to try to deal with the problem. I never heard if it was ever resolved.
  by NorthWest
 
Thank you very much!

There is very little online about these cars, and next to no photos. The cars don't seem to have been run much, similar to the cars in the US. Every bit of information helps!
  by ex Budd man
 
Five of the six cars were general service, open to the public. Car six was exclusive to the king of Morroco. It was the only for the royals. The interior was to be completed in France, there was no traction power, only HEP. A large bronze royal crest was affixed to each side of the car were the number plate would be.