Manufacturer: Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company
Type: RDC2 (Rail Diesel Car)
Number: M480
Built: July 1951
Serial: 5420
Built for: New York Central
New York Central, 7/51 to Penn Central, 2/68, to Amtrak 1973 rn34, leased WTC 1980, sold to Alaska Railroad 1986 rn712, sold to private owner Tomahawk (Wisconsin Bible camp, (www.eaglecovecamp.org), WI 2/09, to North Shore Scenic Railroad, Duluth, MN 2013, leased to Lake Superior Railroad Museum
See also:
Added 10/14/08: John, I thought you would like to know. I just heard today the Budd RDCs are all going to be retired immediately. They went to Fairbanks for their annual inspections and maintenance and their electrical problems are just far too costly to be repaired economically. All four have made their last revenue trips and the process is being started to put them out for bid.
Added 10/18/08: "The Budd RDCs went to Fairbanks for their annual inspections and maintenance. It was determined their electrical problems were just too costly to be repaired economically so they are all going to be retired immediately. All four have made their last revenue trips and now will be put out for bid."
Added 2/27/09: No. 712 has sold to Eagle Cove Camp & Conference Center, Inc. in Tomahawk, WI. It is to be a campground for disabled kids and a retreat center. Here's their intention for the RDC: "Imagine that the only time a camper has to go outside is when, upon their arrival, they board a standard gauge self-propelled passenger rail car (which for many years has been in regular passenger service on the Alaska Railroad through Autumn, 2008) that carries them over to the state-of-the-art facility."
Added 7/19/09: ARR 712 (ex-NYC M480), a Budd RDC-2 rebuilt by Talgo LRC for the ARRC in 2001, is on the move across the ex-GN Hi-Line as part of a high priority merchandise freight consist, having departed Sandpoint at 7:19 a.m. Presently expected at Whitefish today (7/19) at 5:50 p.m., Havre and Williston on 7/20 at 10 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., Minot and Dilworth (Fargo/Moorhead) on 7/21 at 5:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., and Northtown during the wee hours on 7/22 with interchange to CN (destination Tomahawk, WI for eaglecovecamp.org) scheduled for 7/23 at 6 a.m.
Added 7/18/10: Email received from Art Jaros by John Combs
Dear John: I head up the Wisconsin Bible camp which now owns ARR 712 (www.eaglecovecamp.org) I'm trying to making contact with any of the ARR locomotive engineers who have familiarity with operating the ARR now-retired RDC's as rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen in 1986-7 and Talgo LRC in 1999-2000.
Your e-mail page lists Pat Douglas of Oro Valley, AZ as an ex-ARR locomotive engineer residing in Oro Valley, AZ. Unfortunately, the e-mail address (excluding the leading ARR) appears to be no longer valid. Would you have any other way for me to get in contact with him? I can't seem to find him on the web using alternate means.
Thank you and thanks for a great ARR website.
Sincerely, Art Jaros
Added 7/20/10: Email received from Art Jaros by John Combs
Incidentally, 220 members of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association during a side trip from their mid-June annual convention in Wausau, WI toured ARR 712 with engines running and interior lights and ventilation system operating. They were uniform in their praise of ARR's taking good condition of her over the years. The seating added as part of the year 2000 Talgo-LRC rebuild still looks brand new.
Sincerely,
Art
Jeff Terry captured RDC 712 as Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway on September 2013.
"DM&IR 1" stands at Marbles between shuttle trips on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. The actual DM&IR 1 was an RDC-3 that later went to Northern Pacific. 9/5/13
RDC fake out! How do you make a DM&IR RDC out of an Alaska/NYC RDC? Eight rolls of red and white duct tape for starters.
Blue and yellow stripes would have looked VERY out of place on a Missabe RDC. 9/5/13
Missabe RDC No. 1 crosses French River on its journey between Two Harbors and Duluth, Minnesota.
(The RDC is, in fact, a former Alaska RDC-2 lettered DM&IR for Railfan Weekend 2013, sponsored by Steve Glischinski and the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.) 9/7/13
This past summer my brother and I enjoyed a quick week to Alaska and we traveled 5 segments on the railroad. My dad in the late 1950's worked on mail train cars on the Great Northern, so I grew up with HO trains and an overall like for trains. But since returning from Alaska, I am really starting to collect and work on my trains with my 11 year old son, Matthew.
So yesterday, my family and I traveled to Two Harbors, Minnesota for a day trip to take in fall colors and the beauty of Lake Superior. This is where we came across a small train for older passenger cars that they run out of the Duluth depot, on select weekends. This is where we saw an Alaskan Budd car, number 712. I am curious to know what the history on it may be.
I am going to send you several pictures from my iPhone in a few minutes. Thank again for your informative website and any info you can tell me about this car.
Todd Hanson
10/5/15
Added 10/5/17 by Dave Schauer: The RDC is leased to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum from a church organization in Wisconsin that hopes to move it there in the future, but for now it is still in Duluth and used on tourist trains (pulled, not self-propelled).
Photo line snaps shots as a former Alaska RDC rolls past lettered as the DM&IR's RDC that ran over these same tracks. North Shore Scenic Railroad, Palmers, Minnesota, 9/7/13.
Photo courtesy of Dave Schauer
Added 10/19/17 by Bill Edgar: To my knowledge the North Shore Scenic owns it.
A former Alaska Railroad RDC2 brings up the rear of a North Shore Scenic Railway excursion train as it leaves downtown Duluth for a trip along the shore of Lake Superior.
Below Fitgers Brewery, Duluth, Minnesota, 9/17/17
Photo courtesy of Bill Edgar
The picture was taken while the train was crossing over the Sucker River, which is midway between Duluth and Two Harbors, MN. In the spring time, it is flowing quite fast, but down to a trickle almost by the end of the summer.
Todd Hanson
8/12/19
From the Lake Superior Railroad Museum (2/2/21), "RDC2, #712 is on a long term (indefinite) lease from a private owner. We once dressed it up as a Duluth Missabe & Iron Range RDC as this one is similar to one that used to operate on our line. This was just for a weekend photo shoot." Click here for the video.
