bdawe wrote:Ya know, I hardly ever hear anything bad about RDC.....
Well Mr. Dawe, you're now about to.
Sit end car to avoid listening to the engines and you got the rough ride all too prevalent on A-Day Eve. Sit center car and you "listened to the music".
For a railroad's MofE budget, each of those cars was a locomotive for required inspections. For the passenger the seats were "flipbacks"; although some on several roads were "high backs".
I never rode runs such as the B&O Wash-Pgh, but it must have been a noisy experience over the Alleghenies. Nor did I, or would I, ride the Western Pacific "local" - even if I know some "economical" fans back then who reveled in that kind of masochism. I did ride a 1961 fan trip (where I first met Mr. Weaver) Jersey City-Scranton which be it assured was enough.
I think, aside from some experiments such as the Chi-Dubuque "Black Hawk" and the more suitable NHV-SPF shuttle, Amtrak avoided any commitment to such equipment.
The economies were one thing for a road required to operate a steam powered two car branch line run, but Amtrak has never been compelled to operate any of such (even though some "far out nutcase fans" thought post-A-Day that if it ran during 1951, then Amtrak should restore the service).