Except that the parts for 6-110 Detroit Diesels are now quite expensive, the parts for the transmission used on the RDC's are scarce, and each RDC is legally a locomotive and requires locomotive inspections. Add to that the astronomical cost of liability insurance to have a private owner piece of equipment out there operating, and getting a private owner RDC into service could be a very challenging proposition. Meanwhile all the railfans who want to see the equipment operate so that they can take pictures of it are of course willing to provide their usual level of support.

PC

Perhaps a private owner has added issues. I was involved with a NYS&W RDC and we operated it over 4 different railroads over a 2 year period. For a load of 80 or under it is a great option - granted the Roger Williams requires maintaining 3 of them. While fans may not like them the public thought they were "modern" and appreciated the large windows.

again preston you are reading my mind,

my wife and i spent saturday taking inventory of on hand spare parts for the rmne and i have got to say i would like to know how you get railfans to pony up one to two hundred thousand dollars for a proper car restoration based on the usual level of support at one of the last major fundraiser the naugy had , it drove me flippin crazy the "fans" camped out trackside buy a flippin ticket and stick a couple bucks in the donation box

our newsletter is always asking for more donations from the memebership and all of us at the rnme open our pockets with what we can afford i might also add that everytrip my wife and i make we always stick a little extra in the musuems pocket as a courtesy and a thank you for your hard work, so think about that your next visit to the next gotta see destination

and to keep on topic the statements in prestons post are the concerns i raise about the rdc at the naugy or anywhere else, folks if you want to see them then you will have to pony up

Anyone know how to contact RW's owner?

You could try writing to the General Manager, Hobo Railroad, 64 Railroad Street, Lincoln, NH 03251 and ask him if he would be willing to forward a letter to the equipment owner for you.

PC

Thanks.

I think the Trinity RDC's were featured in Metro Magazine (or Railway Age?) and that they were re-powered with a Cummins engine set.

David Farlow

After doing some searches for pics of the Roger Williams in it's Amtrak days, I stumbled across the name of the owner. Does a J. Gagliardi sound familiar to anyone?

Have you made any effort to contact the owner via the Hobo Railroad yet?

PC

Would it be feasible, for insurance purposes, to have a cooperating carrier lease the equipment on a day by day basis so it falls under their insurance umbrella? Naturally there would be a financial consideration but it would have to be cheaper than procuring one's own insurance.

Steve

I suppose that almost anything could be worked out in the right circumstances but at what additional cost compared with a tourist railroad operating a conventional train of their own equipment. Would it be worth a lot of extra expense?

I rode this equipment many times when it was in regular service and the actual riding experience isn't 2 cents worth of difference from a standard RDC. When they make station stops and open the doors, everybody has their eyes watering from all the exhaust and unburned diesel fuel being blown into the car. If you really need to experience that, you can ride a conventional RDC anywhere one is still operating. They always smell of diesel fuel and exhaust, you can't escape that because you are riding right on top of two engines and a fuel tank.

The Roger Williams equipment is a unique survivor of the New Haven Railroad. It is in nice condition, in a very safe place, well cared for, and available for photographs at special events. Maybe we should just be happy with that. I can't see what good it could possibly do to encourage the owner to take it somewhere else.

PC

Yes, I have. I finally (after much time, school projects, and part of a summer vacation) emailed them last week. They did foward my email to the owner, so there's some progress.

Normally the best approach is to send a letter.

So what is the object of all of this? What appeal does this train have to the general public that no other piece of equipment has? To most of the potential ridership it is just another piece of passenger equipment. And a lot of the New Haven enthusiasts have never been particularly big on preservation, you hardly ever see this train mentioned on the NHRHTA discussion. There is still a fair amount of former NHRR equipment out there, some of it in need of help and funds, both of which would probably be welcomed by the preservation groups.

PC

Or, as has been pointed out by a few RDC operators who have switched to other equipment where possible, you can just as easily ride a city bus or school bus in so many places all over the nation and capture 95% of the same, er, "ambience." If only the railroad tracks had potholes into which the RDC could "crash" every hundred feet or so as with city streets, and traffic lights and jams to get stuck in, you could make the experience complete.......

One of the things that just amazes the hell out of me is how these buff outfits believe they can operate and maintain equipment that the railroads found to be quixotic.

This includes various Alco models, GE road locos of all stripes-and the RDC.

In its time, the RDC was seen to be (and was) a fairly complicated piece of equipment-on the electrical side.

Given that it takes YEARS of day in-day out exposure for a craftperson to become competent on a given model of equipment, one has to wonder...