Budd Rail Diesel Car

what is it?

The Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC), also known as the Budd car or Buddliner, is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily adopted for passenger service in rural areas with low traffic density or in short-haul commuter service, and were less expensive to operate in this context than a traditional diesel locomotive-drawn train with coaches.

who runs it

Via Rail

base stats

• speed 137 km/htop speed
• power 410 kWpower output
• seats 94passengers
• built 398made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

• 🎂First built 77 years ago, in 1949.
• 🚗410 kW is about 5 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
• 📏25.9 m long: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🧓Still in service after 77 years.

multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.

spec sheet

built

1949

in service from

1949

status

in service

number built

398

kind

multiple unit

traction

diesel

origin

🇨🇦 Canada

builders

Budd Company

operators

Via Rail

top speed

137 km/h

power

410 kW

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

electric system

N/A

wheel arrangement

RDC-1/2/3/4: (1A)(A1)

length

25.9 m

capacity

94 passengers

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

family