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Kato USA - 166-0000-2 - Railcar, Diesel, Budd RDC - Boston & Maine - 6211

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N Scale - Kato USA - 166-0000-2 - Railcar, Diesel, Budd RDC - Boston & Maine - 6211
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Stock Number166-0000-2
BrandKato USA
ManufacturerKato
Body StyleKato Rail Diesel Cars
Prototype VehicleRailcar, Diesel, Budd RDC (Details)
Road or Company NameBoston & Maine (Details)
Road or Reporting Number6211
Paint Color(s)Silver
Print Color(s)Black
Paint SchemeMinuteman
Coupler TypeKato Operating Knuckle
Wheel TypeChemically Blackened Metal
Wheel ProfileSmall Flange (Low Profile)
DCC ReadinessDC/DCC Dual Mode Decoder w/Sound
Release Date2010-08-01
Item CategoryPassenger Trains
Model TypeDiesel
Model SubtypeRailcar
Model VarietyBudd RDC-1
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraEU Epoch II (1920 - 1945)
Years Produced1949-1962
Scale1/160



Specific Item Information: DCC Sound Decoder Equipped (Kobo Shops Exclusive)
The Boston and Maine was the largest single purchaser of Budd Rail Diesel Cars, putting them into service on nearly all of their passenger lines to replace aging wooden cars and steam locomotives in the late 50's. The B&M's fleet of RDC's (more than 70 in total) wore the B&M's distinctive "Minute man" logo between the years of 1955 and 1957. After 1957, the RDC's were updated with a more modern squared-off blue-and-white B&M logo that was called the "McGinnis" scheme.
Model Information: All models are motorized, have LED directional headlights, and KATO magnetic knuckle coupers. Interiors can be lighted with the optional #11-209 & #11-210 Interior Light Kit with White LED or #11-204 & #11-206 Interior Light Kit with bulb.
Click here for Kato RDC magazine ad
DCC Information: The RDC is DCC friendly for an installation of a Digitrax Digitrax DN143K2 Decoder. Not really drop-in, installation requires a lot of care.
Prototype History:
This Single-car DMU is commonly known as the "RDC," the motorized Rail Diesel Car generally operated in rural areas where ridership and mail/parcel transport were too low for regular passenger train service. When first introduced, the RDC was also proclaimed to be the savior of branch line and suburban service. It was heavily used as a commuter service workhorse (and still is currently in some locations!).

The Budd Company rolled out the first RDC in the fall of 1949, a single RDC-1 "Budd Demonstrator." Hundreds more would eventually follow for service to railroads throughout North America and around the world (including South America, Australia, Saudi Arabia and even Cuba!). Oddly enough, it was Budd's experience in the production of small yet powerful diesel engines for WWII tanks that eventually lead to the birth of the RDC.

A total of 398 units were built. The RDC utilized two compact motors mounted under the car's floor to drive one axle on each truck. Capable of being operated by a motorman from either end of the car, these units could be used independently or combined to create a two- or three-unit consist. These railcars cold achieve as top speed of 85mph

A review of the Budd roster reveals that many RDC cars were operated well into the 1970's and early 1980's, with a small number still in service today!

Four standardized designs were created to reduce the time and expense of custom production
- RDC-1 was strictly passenger-oriented, containing 90 coach seats.
- RDC-2 contained 71 seats and a separate baggage area.
- RDC-3 combined a Railway Post Office with a baggage compartment and 49 seats.
- RDC-4 was a self-contained RPO-Express car.

Read more on Wikipedia.
Road Name History:
The Andover and Wilmington Railroad was incorporated March 15, 1833, to build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington, Massachusetts, north to Andover, Massachusetts. The line opened to Andover on August 8, 1836. The name was changed to the Andover and Haverhill Railroad on April 18, 1837, reflecting plans to build further to Haverhill, Massachusetts (opened later that year), and yet further to Portland, Maine, with the renaming to the Boston and Portland Railroad on April 3, 1839, opening to the New Hampshire state line in 1840.

The Boston and Maine Railroad was chartered in New Hampshire on June 27, 1835, and the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad was incorporated March 12, 1839, in Maine, both companies continuing the proposed line to South Berwick, Maine. The railroad opened in 1840 to Exeter, New Hampshire, and on January 1, 1842, the two companies merged with the Boston and Portland to form a new Boston and Maine Railroad.

The B&M flourished with the growth of New England's mill towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but still faced financial struggles. It came under the control of J. P. Morgan and his New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad around 1910, but anti-trust forces wrested control back. Later it faced heavy debt problems from track construction and from the cost of acquiring the Fitchburg Railroad, causing a reorganization in 1919.

By 1980, though still a sick company, the B&M started turning around thanks to aggressive marketing and its purchase of a cluster of branch lines in Connecticut. The addition of coal traffic and piggyback service also helped. In 1983 the B&M emerged from bankruptcy when it was purchased by Timothy Mellon's Guilford Transportation Industries for $24 million. This was the beginning of the end of the Boston & Maine corporate image, and the start of major changes, such as the labor issues which caused the strikes of 1986 and 1987, and drastic cost cutting such as the 1990 closure of B&M's Mechanicville, New York, site, the largest rail yard and shop facilities on the B&M system.

Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Technically, Boston & Maine Corporation still exists today but only as a non-operating ward of PAR. Boston & Maine owns the property (and also employs its own railroad police), while Springfield Terminal Railway, a B&M subsidiary, operates the trains and performs maintenance. This complicated operation is mainly due to more favorable labor agreements under Springfield Terminal's rules.

Read more on Wikipedia.
Brand/Importer Information:
KATO U.S.A. was established in 1986, with the first U.S. locomotive model (the GP38-2, in N-Scale) released in 1987. Since that time, KATO has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers of precision railroad products for the modeling community. KATO's parent company, Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In addition to producing ready-to-run HO and N scale models that are universally hailed for their high level of detail, craftsmanship and operation, KATO also manufactures UNITRACK. UNITRACK is the finest rail & roadbed modular track system available to modelers today. With the track and roadbed integrated into a single piece, UNITRACK features a nickel-silver rail and a realistic-looking roadbed. Patented UNIJOINERS allow sections to be snapped together quickly and securely, time after time if necessary.

The Kato U.S.A. office and warehouse facility is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, approximately 30 miles northwest of Chicago. All research & development of new North American products is performed here, in addition to the sales and distribution of merchandise to a vast network of wholesale representatives and retail dealers. Models requiring service sent in by hobbyists are usually attended to at this location as well. The manufacturing of all KATO products is performed in Japan.

Supporters of KATO should note that there is currently no showroom or operating exhibit of models at the Schaumburg facility. Furthermore, model parts are the only merchandise sold directly to consumers. (Please view the Parts Catalog of this website for more specific information.)
Item created by: Alain LM on 2017-08-13 13:45:41. Last edited by gdm on 2020-11-11 07:54:50

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