WP Mileposts Oct 1950 No. 15

WESTERN PACIFIC Jl.:f!J~1?!JSfs ~k· ~bt Q!) THE BUDD CARS ARE ROLLING Vol. II, No. 3 OCTOBER, 1950 With the first eastbound departure The model selected contains a 17 -foot of the new Budd cars on September baggage compartment and seats 70 Department of Pu bli c Relations 15, Western Pacific began operation of passengers. This action was followed WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD a 100 per cent streamlined passenger in a matter of hours by the NYC, who SACRAMENTO NORTHERN RAILWAY TIDEWATER SOUTHERN RAILWAY service. The first westbound Zephyr ordered two RDC- l's (all passenger 52b Mission -St reet, San Francisco 5 ette left Salt Lake City on September carrying cars). Since that time orders Lee "Flash" Sherwood, Editor • Arthur Lloyd , Jr., ~s~ociate Editor 17. The cars operate in each direction were placed by the C&NW, PRR, B&O, Member American Railway Magazine Editors' AssocIatIon on a triweekly (Sunday, Wednesday, and NYS&W. and Friday) schedule, departing from For Western Pacific, the advent of Oakland Pier at 7: 57 p. m. and Salt the modern self-propelled diesel rail I N D EX Lake. City at 7: 30 a. m. Running time Page car presents a solution to an extremely eastbound is 22 hours and 48 minutes, knotty problem of passenger service. The Budd Cars Are Rolling 3, 4, 5, 6 while westbound the run takes 23 Its main line extends from Oakland to hours and 30 minutes. Salt Lake City, 928 miles. Two- thirds Meet Our General Chairmen 7 8 The two modern self- propelled rail Railroad Hour Winter Format diesel cars, Model RDC- 2, were pur R ear view of the car shows electric marker lights 9 and Mars, red oscillating taillight. Winged emblem In the Good Old Days chased from the Budd Company, was put on by Mechanical Department to match 10,11 other WP power. Don't Be Half Safe! Philadelphia, designers and builders of the cars used in the California That's a Good Question! 11 12,13, 14 Zephyr, at a cost of $130,000 each. Up the Ladder . Prior to placing the order with the 14 Mileposts in Gold . Budd Company, Western Pacific put WP Employee Killed in Korea 16 the demonstrator (RDC-l) car in trial 16 revenue service, operating over the In the Armed Forces 600-mile run between Portola, Cali 17- 24 incl. Caboosing . fornia, and Salt Lake City during the 25- 28 incl. The Rape of Our Roads period January 18-27, thus being the 29,30,31 first railroad to have one of the cars Sports . 32 in actual service. Prior to this oper Railroad Lines ation, the car had toured the country, Ch' . N d Michelson Elko' Robert Munce Jr .. Los making short exhibition runs for inter CORRESPONDENTS: Bill McGra.th, lcago. '11:~ Fared Kreuger' Sacra~ento; Madge Sl n.ughtner, Angeles; Hazel Petersen, Oakland; SHelen Small'S~ro~l G~rdon Halvorse~ Sacramento NOllhCln : Jimmy ested railroad officials. Sacramento Shops; Irene Burton, ac:ament~ ore. Moll Fa an 'Lawrence Gcrdnlt. J1m Mills, Collins. Bob Gonsalves, Salt Jrak;'hC:lir~ Rst:n ~~~~~fs'cor; ctias. H~ Myers, San Jose; Vlqc1n h, Rustan, The success of the test was indicated Maurice Notter, Carl Rath, Du ~YD ,e Me s, Tidewater Southern; Shirley Lee, W end ovcl . Gene Trace, Stockton. ora onroe, by prompt placement of an order for the first Budd car to be purchased. ~7 M II . I'. I'OSTS 2 MILEPOSTS 3 for about one-half the cost of a con of this mileage lies in Nevada and Utah, ice held last January. Seats were re ventional train of equivalent appoint where population and related passen moved from one end and a temporary ments. The two 275-horsepower diesel ger traffic potential is sparse. The baggage compartment was so con engines, driving through torque con now famous and extremely successful structed that the interior trim and verters, provide for smooth, rapid ac Vista-dome California Zephyrs, intro decorations of the car were untouched. celeration. The engines operate at duced in March of 1949, were designed Since the demonstrator model pos ~bout 70 per cent capacity, except dur to attract the long-haul passenger, and sessed no baggage doors for the period mg starts, so general wear and tear is feature a daylight schedule through of the test, all head-end business had slight. Budd's engineers figure that the scenic Feather River Canyon. At to be handled via the conventional vestibule doors. The Railway Express they can run for 4,000 hours without this time local trains, Nos. 1 and 2, major' overhauls. were established to perform the serv Agency assisted by diverting, wher ices that the Zephyrs fixed consist and ever possible, shipments of unusual As long ago as 1938, Budd started fast schedule made impossible. De size or livestock. With the co-operation work on a new kind of brake which spite all efforts, the financial return on of the Budd Company's service engi would not only last longer, but make these local trains was extremely dis neers, a welded stainless steel sheathed less noise. Usual brakes consist of appointing, resulting in a loss ap pilot was designed and attached to the metal shoes that clamp onto the rim proaching a million dollars a year. front of the car, replacing the truck of the wheels. The idea of metal touch mounted pilots which, while satisfac ing metal seemed abhorrent to Budd To explore the capabilities of the tory for commuter service, was un so he constructed thick discs which Budd car, special arrangements were suited for main line service in moun circle the axles just inside each of the made with the Budd Company to wheels. Brake shoes made of non modify temporarily the demonstrator tainous terrain. metallic, but sturdy material, clamp Collapsible conductor's desk is located at rear of car. model and to equip it for the test serv- In the test, which included runs cresting the Sierra Nevadas at Beck onto the sides of this disc, much the wourth Pass, traversing the Nevada same way hand brakes work on a bi compact torque-converters save about desert and then descending from the cycle. As a result, the brakes are 12,000 pounds over the standard en plateau to the floor of the Great Salt supposed to last for 10,000 miles with gine-to -generator - to - electric traction Lake Desert where it crosses the out change of linings, as against four motor setup. Bonneville Salt Flats on a 43-mile tan to six thousand miles for standard shoe Before being placed in service the gent, the RDC-1 acted as a complete clasps and it takes only 62 seconds to cars were sent to Sacramento shops train and proved to be an adequate replace one. for mechanical and other improve substitute for the usual steam-powered Stainless steel construction reduced ments in order to make the cars more consist of two or more conventional body maintenance while easy replace adaptable to Western Pacific service. cars. ment and repair of the diesel engines Electric water coolers were installed Traffic-wise, the Budd car presents simplify motive power maintenance. in the car, as well as additional toilet an attractive appearance. Its stainless In 6,000 miles of test service, the car and hot water facilities, and outlets for steel construction makes it a fitting averaged 2.8 miles per gallon of diesel additional lights for convenience of the supplement to the California Zephyrs. fuel at a cost of slightly more than passengers. Eight photo murals de For this reason, Western Pacific has three cents per mile. Fuel cost for picting scenes in the Feather River dubbed the cars Zephyrette. Equipped stearn locomotives used in similar Canyon, have been placed in each car with air conditioning and thermo service averages 22 cents per mile. For which decoration adds much to the at~ statically controlled heati ng, it affords a one-unit train the RDC is amazingly tractiveness of the cars' interiors, Re a comfortable ride summ I' 0 1' winter. light, and this helps account for the clining seats have been installed in the Temperatures wcll blow z'ro were fast acceleration and high speed. Budd center compartment of one car for the encountered during th t st nllls with engineers saved 3,000 pounds per truck use of through passengers, and the by welding up a lightweight assembly Mirror provides good rear visibility for engineer. out any discomfort to th pllsscngers. second car will be so equipped as Comfortable chair-style seat was installed at Sacra Cost-wis , th cal' can h op rated instead of using solid castings. The soon as material is received from the mento Shops. MILEPOSTS 4 M lL1U'OSTS 5 and a desk and hot plate added for use of the baggage man. These improvements were developed (This is the third of a series of articles about and engineered by W. B. Wolverton, Western Pacific's General Chairmen. Personalities of the employees serving as General Chairmen for mechanical engineer, assisted by Mar the other railroad labor organizations, as well as the 14 chairmen who are not W P employees, will appear shall Brown, chief draftsman, and R. E. in future issues of MILEPOSTS.) Schriefer, shop engineer. Preliminary preparations and test runs were ar Frank James, gene'ral chairman of ranged by Colin C. Kdridge, assistant the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, to the general manager. was born in Placer County, J anuary 18, 1904. He moved to Oroville with ZEPHYRETTE SCHED ULES his family in 1906, where he attended grammar and high school.

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