I will be a showing of a newly completed PowerPoint historical and technical program on the Budd RDC car at the November meeting of the Norfolk County Railroad Club (Massachusetts). This will be shown at the library in Norwood, Massachusetts beginning to 7PM on November 28.

This program provides an overview of the RDC, including a look at this and other products developed by the car’s designer and versions of the RDC that were drawn but not built. It also provides a detailed look at the structure and equipment arrangement in the cars, both with artwork and with walk around photo tours of the RDC cars. We will cover the design history of the Detroit Diesel 110 series diesel engine and explain the modifications that were developed to make it suitable for RDC service. The program also includes coverage of the advertising campaign and the handout materials that Budd used to promote and sell the RDC. In an effort to keep the program within a reasonable length (about 90 minutes) the focus is limited to the RDC with very brief coverage of the related Budd Hot Rod (NHRR “Roger Williams”) equipment. It does not cover the SPV2000 or all the subsequent modifications made to the RDC cars, such as installation of different engines, conversions to coaches, etc.

This presentation has a lot of very nice photography of the cars, but it is not intended to be a “pretty picture” program, the main focus is historical and technical. It also does not provide any “by the roster” tracing of every Budd RDC from its construction to its final disposition. Anyone expecting that kind of study would be disappointed.

This could be considered a “test” showing, we will see how this program is received. I have not made any decision whether to add this to the list of lecture programs that I have available for railroad events, as I have a busy schedule with the present programs.

PC

In the day and a half since I posted this I had several inquiries regarding whether I would be considering doing a published version of my Budd RDC presentation. Actually this is a good possibility sometime in the future. I am already doing this with some of my older programs that have been shown extensively at events in the Northeast. The reality is that the days of my going very long distances to do lectures for special events are coming to an end. In the last few years the cost of gasoline and motels has almost doubled, so once a program has been shown to most of the groups close to home, conversion to published articles becomes the only viable option to reach a wider audience. Traveling long distances is just too expensive now.

My thanks to the folks who wrote and expressed an interest in this. It is nice to know that these types of projects are appreciated.

PC

You might want to consider making a DVD of the presentation that could be shown at railroad club meetings too far for you to travel to. A number of groups now have access to digital projectors, or could borrow or rent one.

We had a full house for the program last night, apparently RDC's are a very popular topic right now. My thanks to Ed Sweeney for hosting this presentation and all the friends who attended the meeting of the Norfolk County Railroad Club at Norwood.

PC