Railroad Forums
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astrosa wrote:Nope, an RDC-4 is a shorter (~72') version that is strictly for baggage. No passengers. I know the New Haven had them, but not sure if any other roads did.
There was also an RDC-9 which was unique to the Boston & Maine (and later owned by the MBTA). These were basically identical to an RDC-1 except they had no cabs. The reason for this is that they could therefore be considered passenger cars instead of locomotives, and I guess it made a big difference in the FRA regulations.
The cars you're talking about don't really have a name, except for the nickname "Boise Budds" since they were rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen in Boise, Idaho. I have several photos from around the web - try Fallen Flags for a few. Also, VRE didn't do any conversions themselves...they purchased their cars from the MBTA once the T no longer needed them.
To model one, the major change is that you need to cut off the radiator housing bulge in the center of the roof and replace it with a blank piece from a scrap shell, so it just looks like an ordinary passenger car roof. Since the Athearn models have the "new look" front end, you'd have to rework them to the "old look" which is what the Boise Budds had. This involves enlarging the front windows and reshaping the curved ends of the roof.
Also, I should point out that the Athearn model is too short, partly because it's missing one window on each side. It's only about 75' long compared to the prototype 85'. I'm actually planning on kitbashing a pair of the Boise Budds myself, also using some Athearn cars that I scored for cheap on eBay, and I figured out a way of adding the missing window using pieces from a scrap shell. I also had to splice a section into the roof to add the extra length. It comes in at about 81' now, so it's not quite right but looks much better.
Basically, it would be a LOT easier to use the RDC-1 from Proto 1000. Not only is it a better model in general, it's the correct length and has the "old look" end detailing. Requires much fewer steps - the project I described above is not an easy job. So, you may want to cut a few corners - maybe just make a couple simple changes then paint your models as appropriate. Only us detail nuts will notice the difference.
Alex Stroshane
There was also an RDC-9 which was unique to the Boston & Maine (and later owned by the MBTA). These were basically identical to an RDC-1 except they had no cabs. The reason for this is that they could therefore be considered passenger cars instead of locomotives, and I guess it made a big difference in the FRA regulations.While an RDC-9 and a RDC-1 were virtually identical, RDC-9's were built as they were for economy reasons, not for FRA regulations. RDC-9's were self-propelled without cabs (like a B-unit), and are considered locomotives. However, RDC-9's only had one power plant vs. the two that a normal RDC had, and that prime mover did provide HVAC for the entire car and therefore gave a smaller amount of total tractive effort.
I want one like the one's VRE first used when they demotorized the RDC & converted them into passenger cars, also the same as the MBTA had.and then he wrote:
Thank you Alex it's the RDC-9 is exactly what I was talking about.NOTE: These are completely different cars. RDC-9's were locomotives, with an exhaust/radiator dome, etc. "Boise Budds" were demotored RDC's (of all kinds except RDC-4's) and did not have an exhaust/radiator dome.
