senMar 7
Not the nicest day out today, but a successful shakedown test completed! Mostly couldn’t record as I was driving, but got a few seconds as we headed back to the shop. Lots of little things and cosmetic things still need sorting out, there’s still months of work ahead for that, but it’s finally a reliable vehicle at this point 😄 #choochoo
Show threadvga256Mar 7

@sen i could watch first person speeder videos all day 😻

are those decommissioned VIA passenger cars on the left?

Show threadsenMar 7
@vga256 Sort of, not their usual coaches but self-propelled ones with diesel engines built in. We bought 5 of them when they were getting rid of them all. We run 2 in regular service, are in the middle of stripping one (that was in very rough shape) for parts before we scrap what’s left, and these two are pending restoration using some of those parts.
Show threadvga256
@sen whoa crazy. didnt even know those existed.
Mar 7 at 11:11pmWeb
Show threadsenMar 7
@vga256 they’re super weird, in a lot of ways they’re just two busses glued together and with railway wheels put on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Rail_Diesel_Car
Budd Rail Diesel Car - Wikipedia

Show threadvga256Mar 7
@sen that 50s modernist body design is absolutely stunning. as it turns out, our Central AB railway museum has one. i can’t wait to see it
Show threadAndrewMar 8
@sen @vga256 and also held the US rail speed record for a while https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-497_Black_Beetle
M-497 Black Beetle - Wikipedia

Show threadSaxonbowmanMar 8
@sen @vga256 I remember walking through Philadelphia on a hot day to catch the train to the suburbs at Reading Terminal. The train I got on was not only air conditioned, unlike most of the commuter cars, it also had a small rest room where I could wash up. It was a Budd RDC. I've loved them ever since!
Show threadJean-François MezeiMar 8
@vga256 @sen thé RDCs in service on the Sudbury White River line were totally rebuilt circa 2010 with new engines etc. alas, when the government cancelled the LRC rebuild projects, the company (IRSC in Moncton ) went under so VIA only got a few rebuilt RDCs. TVO has a 3 hour doc on train 185. Tripping 185. https://youtu.be/tztis9fKMiI?si=Jh_ICYV-GBHHvm2Q
Immersive railway POV through Canadian Shield in 4K | TRIPPING Train 185 (2023) | TVO Original

YouTube
Show threadvga256Mar 8
@jfmezei merci pour le documentaire - c’est 👌🏽
Show threadsenMar 8
@jfmezei @vga256 they went out of business before writing any documentation about what they’d done to the RDCs, too :p so we have the pre-rebuild shop docs and have to reverse-engineer the changes/updates to repair things. In part because of that they are not the most-loved rolling stock in our shop.
Show threadJean-François MezeiMar 8

@sen @vga256 But the RDCs rebuilt for view weren't IRSC first rebuild of RDCs, they had done some for other
customers, so I would have assumed there was some doc around. Vut also possibel that the rebuild for VIA was far more extensive than what they had done for others.

But they have the pocodot seats ! Like the 10 LRC cars that were rebuilt by them.

Show threadsenMar 8
@jfmezei @vga256 there were earlier rebuilds that used a simple digital control system, but the later ones went to a PLC-based system. If there are docs for that one, they don’t exist anywhere we’ve ever seen/heard legend of them.
Show threadJean-François MezeiMar 8
@sen @vga256 Would have expected VIA to get the docs upon receipt of the first rebuilt RDC. Also, can't you contact the manufacturers of components used on the new RDCs ?
Show threadsenMar 8

@jfmezei @vga256 You'd think, yeah. If they did get docs, they didn't pass them on and we weren't able to find who had them.

Sure, Allen-Bradley or whoever would just be able to tell us "it's a PLC with 250 digital I/Os and 16 temperature channels" or such though :) Not impossible to figure out what's what from there, but it's all time consuming.

Show threadsenMar 8
@jfmezei @vga256 (I'm intentionally being slightly vague about all of this, we're just a little heritage shortline but Transport Canada security stuff still applies so even though I share a lot, I'm careful about what specifics get posted here)
Show threadsenMar 14
@vga256 6135 (another Budd RDC) came inside today to start making a todo list of what needs to get done to use it again :) It needs some electrical and mechanical work (and a lot of new windows obviously) but the interior is in fairly good shape. #choochoo
Show threadvga256Mar 14
@sen 😋 this is so iconic to me. the last time i was most likely in one was the 1980s in Gaspé PQ