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  • Book About RDCs?

  • Discussion about RDC's, "doodlebugs," gas-electrics, etc.
Discussion about RDC's, "doodlebugs," gas-electrics, etc.
 #1016086  by jhdeasy
 
I would like to buy a book about RDCs. I see there are two that might be good:

"RDC: The Budd Rail Diesel Car" by Donald Duke & Edmund Keilty

"Budd Car: The RDC Story" by Chuck Crouse

Any opinions on which of these two books is the better book?
 #1016101  by 3rdrail
 
Published at the same time, the Crouse book is now worth about six times more new on Amazon.com.
 #1016110  by jhdeasy
 
3rdrail wrote:Published at the same time, the Crouse book is now worth about six times more new on Amazon.com.
I did check Amazon.com earlier today and saw the huge price disparity between the two books, which is one of the reasons for my question.
 #1016187  by 3rdrail
 
What it really comes down to is your own personal taste, JD. For the Crouse book, that's worth an investigatory trip to your library to check it out. I am familiar with Crouse, not with the others. All things being even, the number of published copies of each is wherein lies your answer.
 #1017713  by fl9m2026
 
The Duke/Kielty book is very good, but it has data mistakes, especially in many photo captions. The Crouse book is the quintissential volume on RDC's, especially since it is all color and has the excellent and beautifully rendered "RDC Phase" (Phase 1, 1B, 1C, Phase 2) detailed comparison drawings... although I really would've preferred larger-format pics. The Crouse book in hardcover is the ideal RDC book (I was cheap 20 years ago when I got mine in softcover... with as much as I read and refer to it, the spine has taken quite a beating).
 #1017868  by edbear
 
The Crouse book also features at least one photo of an RDC on each of the roads that owned them. So there are some great shots of lines that only owned one like DM & IR, DW & P, SP and M-K-T.
 #1237986  by jhdeasy
 
I'm pleased to report that I recently purchased a new copy of Chuck Crouse's book for $125 (including shipping) from a railroad book dealer in New Jersey. An excellent book!
 #1264924  by JayBee
 
Donald Duke was the man behind Golden West Publishing, a company that published a lot of western railroad books.