The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel
passenger rail car
A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passenge ...
s,
airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products.
Budd was founded in 1912 in Philadelphia by
Edward G. Budd, whose fame came from his development of the first all-steel automobile bodies in 1913, and his company's invention of the "
shotweld" technique for joining pieces of
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
without damaging its
anti-corrosion
In chemistry, a corrosion inhibitor or anti-corrosive is a chemical compound that, when added to a liquid or gas, decreases the corrosion rate of a material, typically a metal or an alloy, that comes into contact with the fluid. The effectiveness ...
properties in the 1930s.
Budd Company became part of Budd
Thyssen in 1978, and in 1999 a part of
ThyssenKrupp Budd. Body and chassis operations were sold to
Martinrea International
Martinrea International Inc. is a Canadian auto parts manufacturer based in Vaughan, Ontario, Vaughan, Ontario. Its principal focus is on North America but it also operates in Europe and Asia.
Principal activities
Design and development of lightwe ...
in 2006. No longer an operating company, Budd filed for bankruptcy in 2014. It currently exists to provide benefits to its retirees.
Automobiles
![Dodge4Door1920](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Dodge4Door1920.jpg)
Edward G Budd developed the first all-steel automobile bodies. His first major supporters were the
Dodge brothers. Following discussions which began in 1913, the brothers purchased from Budd 70,000 all-steel open touring bodies in 1916. They were soon followed by an all-steel Dodge sedan.
[
Budd Company jointly founded, and from 1926 to 1936, held an interest in The Pressed Steel Company of Great Britain Limited ( Cowley, England), which built bodies for ]Morris Motors
Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same veh ...
and others, and Ambi-Budd
Ambi-Budd was a German automobile body company founded by Edward Gowen Budd
In Germany, Edward Gowen Budd worked with Arthur Müller and set up a steel pressing plant ''Ambi Budd Presswerke'' (ABP) in the old Rumpler factory and became a successful ...
(Germany), which supplied Adler, Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
, BMW, NAG and Wanderer
Wanderer, Wanderers, or The Wanderer may refer to:
* Nomadism, Nomadic and/or itinerant people, working short-term before moving to other locations, who wander from place to place with no permanent home, or are vagrancy (people), vagrant
* The Wan ...
; and earned royalties from Bliss (who built bodies for Citroën and Ford of Britain). The Budd Company also created the first "safety" two-piece truck wheel, used extensively in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and also built truck cargo bodies for the US military.
Following the introduction of the "unibody
A vehicle frame, also historically known as its '' chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism.
Until the 1930s, virtually every car ha ...
" Citroën Traction Avant in 1934 using its technology, Budd developed North America's first mass-produced unibody passenger vehicle, the Nash 600. In the mid-1980s, Budd's Plastics Division introduced sheet moulding compound
Sheet moulding compound (SMC) or sheet moulding composite is a ready to mould glass-fibre reinforced polyester material primarily used in compression moulding. The sheet is provided in rolls weighing up to 1000 kg. Alternatively the resin a ...
, a reinforced plastic in sheet form, suitable for stamping out body panels in much the same way, and as quickly as sheet metal
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes.
Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...
equivalents are made. The Pontiac Fiero
The Pontiac Fiero is a mid-engine sports car manufactured and marketed by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac for model years 1984-1988. Designed by George Milidrag and Hulki Aldikacti as a sports car, it was the first two-seater Pontiac (automobile) ...
has some exterior SMC body parts manufactured by Budd Plastics – such as quarter panels, roof skin, headlamp covers, and trunk lids.
Railroads
Passenger cars
From the 1930s until 1987, the Budd Company was a leading manufacturer of stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
streamlined passenger rolling stock for a number of railroads; many of these were known, at least colloquially, as "silverliners".
Early years
After briefly dabbling with French Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
rubber-tired technology (" Michelines" and the ''Silver Slipper
The Silver Slipper was a casino in Paradise, Nevada, that operated from September 1950 to November 29, 1988. The building was designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr.
History
Opened in 1950, the casino was built on the grounds of the Last Fron ...
''), they built the ''Pioneer Zephyr
The ''Pioneer Zephyr'' is a diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-powered streaml ...
'' for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1934, the first of several integrated streamliner trainsets. The General Pershing Zephyr
The ''General Pershing Zephyr'' was the ninth of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad's ''Zephyr'' streamliners, and the last built as an integrated streamliner rather than a train hauled by an EMD E-unit diesel locomotive. It was constr ...
of 1938 pioneered the use of disc brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s on railroad passenger cars. Budd built thousands of streamlined lightweight stainless steel passenger cars for new trains in the US in the 1930s through the 1980s.
In 1949, Budd built ten prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
R11 R11, R-11, Meaning R11 - Rhyll Anthony, R11.ID
Automobiles
* BMW R 11, a German motorcycle
* R-11 Refueler a military truck of the United States Air Force
* Renault 11, a French family car
Vessels
* , a submarine of the Royal Navy
* , a destr ...
subway cars for the New York Board of Transportation; these were intended for the Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
.
In the late 1940s, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad sought a way to increase capacity on commuter trains serving Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
, without having to add more cars. Chicago Union Station
Chicago Union Station is an intercity and commuter rail terminal located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station is Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest. While serving long-distance passenger trains, it is also ...
charged railroads by the length of each train.
Budd proposed coaches that were taller than the typical lightweight passenger car while keeping the streamlined car's length of 85 feet but with double the capacity of cars. To address the issue of the conductor collecting tickets without having to climb stairs, the upper level was designed with its center portion open so that the conductor could reach the tickets from upper-level passengers. Rows of individual seats on each side of the car provided the increase in seating capacity.
The unique design of the upper level's open center section led to the cars being called "Gallery" cars. Burlington approved the design and ordered 30 cars. These cars, built as Budd lot 9679–041, were delivered between August 1950 and January 1951 and not only marked a change in how the commuters were handled but were the first cars in commuter service to have air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
. The Burlington retrofitted its earlier cars with air conditioning once the new cars entered service.
With the first of the new commuter cars in service on the Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...
also approached Budd to improve their rolling stock. In September 1952, the Santa Fe placed an order for two two-level prototypes, Budd's Lot 9679–129. Carrying the numbers 526 and 527, they were delivered in July 1954, at which time both were placed into service for evaluation.
These prototypes had seating on both levels, stairs on one end to provide access to single-level cars, a stairway at the center of the car for access to toilets on the lower level, and a side door for passenger access. The lower floor also contained various mechanical and pneumatic equipment that otherwise would be mounted below the floors of single-level cars.
With the two Hi-Level
The Hi-Level was a type of Bilevel rail car, bilevel intercity railroad passenger railroad car, passenger car used in the United States. Car types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars; a sleeping car variant was considered but never pr ...
prototypes in service proving to not only meet the needs of line but also being popular with passengers, the Santa Fe again approached Budd with the idea of building additional two-level cars.
Budd developed another generation of cars for Santa Fe in five different configurations: step-down coaches like the two prototype cars, convertible coaches which could have one end of the car converted from the high level on both ends to a step-down car as needed, coaches with both ends of the car having the end door at the upper level's height to provide access to adjoining passenger cars, and dining and lounge cars (with kitchens on the lower level) with partially glassed-in roofs similar to the Big Dome
The Big Domes were a fleet of streamlined dome cars built by the Budd Company for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") in 1954. Budd built a total of 14 cars in two batches. The Santa Fe operated all 14 on various streamlined t ...
lounge cars that were also built by Budd and delivered around the time the prototype Hi-Level
The Hi-Level was a type of Bilevel rail car, bilevel intercity railroad passenger railroad car, passenger car used in the United States. Car types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars; a sleeping car variant was considered but never pr ...
cars were built.
The order for additional cars was placed in March 1955 for 10 68-seat step-down coaches (delivered between December 1955 and January 1956 and numbered 528 to 537), 25 72-seat Hi-Level coaches (delivered between January and April 1956 numbered 700 to 724), six 60-seat bar/lounge/news-stand coaches with 26-seat lower-level lounges (delivered between May and June 1956), and six 80-seat dining cars (delivered between June and August 1956 numbered 650 to 655).
With these cars delivered, the Santa Fe re-equipped the El Capitan
El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...
, the only coach train operated between Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, subdivision_name ...
and Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and assigned some to the Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
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–Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
Texas Chief
The ''Texas Chief'' was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and Galveston, Texas. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–Los Angeles routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the ...
line. An additional 12 step-down coaches, numbered 538 to 549, and 12 convertible coaches, numbered 725 to 736, which were ordered in November 1962 and delivered between December 1963 and April 1964.
Later years
Budd continued to build gallery passenger cars for Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
-area commuter service on the Burlington Route
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colora ...
(and Burlington Northern
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996.
Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...
after the merger), Rock Island, and Milwaukee Road
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...
lines during the 1960s and 1970s; most of these cars are still in service on today's Metra
Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...
routes. The Santa Fe cars were the inspiration for the Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
Superliner and Superliner II
The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak ordered the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the West ...
which ply the rails on many different routes today, though they were not a product of Budd.
Stainless steel Budd cars originally built for the Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
's 1955 train ''The Canadian
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' are still in service with Via Rail Canada
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
. Since 1951, two formations of six Budd cars operated by Ferrobaires
The Unidad Ejecutora del Plan Ferroviario Provincial (UEPFP) (in English: "Executive Unit of the Provincial Railway Plan"), mostly known under its trade name Ferrobaires, was a public railway company which operated extensive long-distance passen ...
have run a weekly service called "El Marplatense" from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to the ocean-side city of Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
; they were originally built for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad.
Budd-patented processes and designs were also used in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(by Mafersa
Mafersa S.A. is a Brazilian manufacturer of passenger rail cars, buses and trolleybuses, and related components. It was founded in 1944 and was located in the city of São Paulo.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1997). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 199 ...
), France, and Belgium after World War II to construct SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
electric-powered multiple-unit
A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...
cars, push-pull suburban trainsets, Wagons-Lits
Newrest Wagons-Lits, formerly (lit. ''International Sleeping-Car Company''), also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is a division of particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being ...
IWL sleeping cars and even SNCF Class CC 40100
The SNCF CC 40100 was a French class of quad-voltage electric locomotives. They were intended for high-performance passenger services on the Trans Europ Express (TEE) routes of the 1960s and 1970s. This non-stop international working required them ...
, a small class of four-current six-axle high speed electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
s for Trans Europ Express
The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network compri ...
service between Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, and Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and SNCB class 56 EMU.
In Japan, the Tokyu Car Corporation Tokyu may refer to:
* Tokyu Group, a group of companies centered on Tokyu Corporation
** Tokyu Corporation
The is a Japanese multinational '' keiretsu'' (conglomerate) holding company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its main operation is , ...
became the licensee of the Budd process and made stainless steel commuter cars like its Series 7000. Mafersa
Mafersa S.A. is a Brazilian manufacturer of passenger rail cars, buses and trolleybuses, and related components. It was founded in 1944 and was located in the city of São Paulo.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1997). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 199 ...
continued to manufacture cars based on Budd designs, building 38 for Virginia Railway Express between 1990 and 1992, some now at Shore Line East
Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and i ...
. Canadian Vickers
Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. ...
and Avco
Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron which operates Textron Systems Corporation
and Lycoming.
History
The Aviation Corporation was formed on March 2, 1929, to prevent a takeover of CAM-24 airmail service operator Embry-Riddle Compa ...
built cars and incomplete kit shells (for GE) under Budd license, including the 1980 PATCO Series II cars, Metro-North
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...
M-2 Cosmopolitan, and the Arrow II/III/Silverliner IV MUs.
Budd also issued a licence to Australian manufacturer Commonwealth Engineering
Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams.
History
Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth E ...
in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in the late 1950s and 1989 for a variety of projects including the monocoque self steer V set double-decker interurban electric multiple units considered by many to be one of the world's most advanced double-decker designs. Budd's extensive research into the use of stainless steel carries on today in consulting businesses like Bay Rail.
Rail Diesel Car
In 1949, Budd introduced the Rail Diesel Car
The Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC, Budd car or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily ad ...
(RDC), a stainless steel self-propelled "train in one car" which expanded rail service on lightly populated railway lines and provided an adaptable car for suburban service. More than 300 RDCs were built, and some are still in service in Canada, the United States, Australia, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia. Similar but shorter cars were built under license by Mafersa
Mafersa S.A. is a Brazilian manufacturer of passenger rail cars, buses and trolleybuses, and related components. It was founded in 1944 and was located in the city of São Paulo.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1997). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 199 ...
in Brazil using the Budd Pioneer
Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land.
In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...
construction methods first used in 1956 on some of the later commuter cars, such as the Milwaukee Road
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...
gallery cars that operated out of Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
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, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
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and electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
(EMU) high-speed cars that operated between Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The final few RDC cars were built by Canadian Car & Foundry under license from Budd.
Electric multiple units
In the late 1950s, Budd built the prototype Pioneer III
The Pioneer III railcar was a short/medium-distance coach designed and built by the Budd Company in 1956 with an emphasis on weight savings. A single prototype was built, but declines in rail passenger traffic resulted in a lack of orders so Bu ...
. When re-designed and outfitted with electrical propulsion and end cabs as EMU coaches, six were purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
for medium-distance use in its electrified territory. In 1963, they became known as Silverliner I cars when their use was supplemented by the Silverliner II, which used an improved Pioneer III body. They were placed into Philadelphia-area commuter rail service on the PRR and Reading Company lines.
Budd was contracted in 1966 by the PRR and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of High-Speed Ground Transportation (prior to the establishment of USDOT) to build the original Metroliner multiple unit cars for luxury high-speed service on the northeast corridor. The 50 original cars were delivered in 1967–69. An additional 11 coaches were built for SEPTA but were not put into service until 1972 by Amtrak. The Metroliners have been either retired, rebuilt into coaches without the cabs, or de-powered and used as cab car
A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK and Ireland) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or two driver compartm ...
s.
The Silverliner II had a top speed of but ran at up to when the PRR used them its Philadelphia-Harrisburg service. The Metroliner EMU cars operated at 110 to but every car was tested to at least , although breakdowns in the system led Amtrak to derate them to . Since their retirement from regular service, Amtrak has used them as cab-coaches.
Subway cars
In 1960, Budd manufactured the first stainless steel production subway cars for Philadelphia's Market-Frankford Line. 270 M-3 cars were jointly owned by the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Transportation Company
The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since 19 ...
(now Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
). Some rail enthusiasts nicknamed the cars "Almond Joys" because the four hump-shaped ventilators on the roof evoked the candy bar's shape.
There were 46 single units and 112 "married" pairs. The pairs were a "mixed marriage" because the odd-numbered car came with General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
motors and equipment and was permanently coupled to the even-numbered car, which had Westinghouse motors and equipment. Two cars in this fleet were air conditioned.
These cars were replaced with more modern, air-conditioned M-4 units from 1997 to 1999. Some cars were transferred to the Norristown High Speed Line
The Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), also called the Purple Line, the P&W, or Route 100,) is a interurban light rapid transit line operated by SEPTA, running between the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby and the Norristown Tr ...
in the early 1990s. The cars had to be re-trucked, because the Norristown line is standard gauge (4' 8½") while the Market-Frankford line is Pennsylvania trolley gauge
Originally, various track gauges were used in the United States. Some railways, primarily in the northeast, used standard gauge of ; others used gauges ranging from to . As a general rule, southern railroads were built to one or another broad ga ...
(5' 2½").
Industrial historian Jonathan Feldman has concluded that Budd, along with other "old-line" suppliers of subway cars, "lacked advanced systems-integration know-how and the skills required to manage complex electrical systems and electronics. Each of these firms had built railroad and subway cars, but modern subway cars became increasingly complicated. Like aircraft and automobiles, they became platforms for electronics."
Transportation innovations
Aviation
In 1930, the company made its first foray into the aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
industry by signing contracts to manufacture aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
wheels and stainless steel wing ribs. Enea Bossi
Enea Bossi Sr. (March 29, 1888January 9, 1963) was an Italian-American aerospace engineer and aviation pioneer. He is best known for designing the Budd BB-1 ''Pioneer'', the first stainless steel aircraft; and the ''Pedaliante'' airplane, dispu ...
joined the company as the head of stainless steel research to supervise the design and construction of a four-seat biplane amphibian aircraft, the Budd BB-1 Pioneer
The Budd BB-1 Pioneer was an experimental United States flying boat of the 1930s utilizing the Savoia-Marchetti S.56 design. Its framework was constructed entirely of stainless steel, using a newly patented method of welding that alloy.
Devel ...
. It was the first built with a stainless steel structure. This was the first aircraft for the Budd Company and made its first flight in 1931. Built under Restricted License NR749, its design utilized concepts developed for the Savoia-Marchetti S-56 and was powered by a single Kinner C-5 five-cylinder radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
.
The stainless steel construction process for the BB-1 was patented in 1942. At the time, stainless steel was not considered practical and only one was built. It logged about 1,000 flying hours while touring the United States and Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. In 1934, this plane was stripped of its fabric covering and lower wing, and mounted outside the Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. The plane was memorialized in the children's book ''Spirited Philadelphia Adventure'' by Deirdre Cimino.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Budd designed and built the RB-1 Conestoga transport airplane for the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
using stainless steel in many places instead of aluminum. Only 25 were built but after the war, 14 found their way to the fledgling Flying Tiger Line
Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel (the latter with leased aircraft). The airline w ...
.
Automobiles
In 1962, Budd produced an operational concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
, the XR-400, for the American Motors Corporation
American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...
(AMC). It was designed to use AMC's existing chassis but ultimately did not enter production.
Ironically, Budd tried to sell a similar concept to Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
first. In 1961, Budd combined a 1957 Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pr ...
body with a 1961 Ford Falcon
Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide.
* Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970.
* Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991.
* Fo ...
chassis to produce a sporty convertible. Ford chose to develop its entry into this segment, the Mustang, on its own Falcon chassis.
In 1965, Budd designed and manufactured a front disc brake system for some Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
, Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
, and full-size Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
and Dodge automobiles from 1966 to 1968.
Divisions and subsidiaries
By the end of the 1950s, Budd had the following divisions and subsidiaries:
* Budd Lewyt Electronics, Inc. — special-purpose data processing systems, communications equipment, instrumentation, and environmental control products for electronics.
* Tatnall Measuring Systems Division — physical testing equipment, metal film strain gages, standard and custom load cells, and a unique PhotoStress technique for direct strain measurements.
* Continental-Diamond Fibre Corporation — special high-heat resistant materials for ablation applications, laminated and molded plastics, vulcanized fiber, and bonded mica in the form of sheets, rods, tubes, and tape.
* Defense Division — advanced aerospace and atomic structures, coupling a broad research and engineering capability with extensive prototype and production facilities.
* Nuclear Systems Division — gamma radiography equipment for non-destructive testing of airframes, providing beam, panoramic, and internal exposures in shop and field.
* Electronic Controls Section — monautronic resistance welding controls for the aircraft industry.
Final years of railcar production
Budd built two series of "L" cars for the Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...
, the 2200 series (1969–1970). and the 2600 series (1981–1987). They also built the New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
R32 (1964–1965), the first PATCO Speedline cars (1968–1969) and the Long Island Rail Road/Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...
M-1/M-3 (1968–1973,1984–1986). The Baltimore Metro and Miami Metrorail
Metrorail is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami and Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only ra ...
cars (1983) were built by Budd and marketed as Universal Transit Vehicles; a similar set of cars (known as the Breda A650) were built by Breda
Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
for the Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and Purple
Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, ...
lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail between 1988 and 1997. Stainless steel railcars were also built in Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
by Sorefame
Sorefame (an abbreviation of ''Sociedades Reunidas de Fabricações Metálicas'') was a Portuguese manufacturer of railway rolling stock and industrial equipment, such as dam gates equipment. The company was established in 1943.
In the 1990s the ...
under license.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's 492 Amfleet
Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An in ...
I and 150 Amfleet II cars were built by Budd in 1975–77 and 1981–83. The Metroliner-based Amfleet body was recycled for use in the SPV-2000, a modernized diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
passenger car which was very problematic, as it had only four buyers: (Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, ONCF
ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ar, المكتب الوطني للسكك الحديدية ''Al-Maktab al-Waṭaniy lil-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway ope ...
, Metro-North
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...
and Connecticut Department of Transportation
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...
) and was prematurely retired within 15 years. The fallout from the SPV-2000 furthered the company's decline.
In 1978, as Budd began to phase out its railcar business to concentrate on the automotive industry, it was acquired by Thyssen AG, becoming its automotive division in Europe (Thyssen Automotive) and North America (Budd Thyssen). The CTA 2600 series cars were finished in 1987 and were the last railcars to be built by Budd/Transit America.
In the mid-1980s, Budd reorganized its rail operations under the name Transit America. Nonetheless, on April 3, 1987, Budd ended all railcar production at its Red Lion plant in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and sold its rail designs to Bombardier Transportation. Many of its engineers joined the staff of Louis T. Klauder and Associates, a local railway vehicles and systems engineering consulting firm.
Modern role in auto industry
When Thyssen merged with Krupp
The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...
in 1999, Budd Thyssen became ThyssenKrupp
ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg a ...
Budd Co. in North America and ThyssenKrupp Automotive Systems GmbH in Europe. In 2006, ThyssenKrupp sold the majority of Budd's operations. Its body and chassis operations were sold to Martinrea International
Martinrea International Inc. is a Canadian auto parts manufacturer based in Vaughan, Ontario, Vaughan, Ontario. Its principal focus is on North America but it also operates in Europe and Asia.
Principal activities
Design and development of lightwe ...
Inc. The plastics manufacturing and molding operations were sold to Continental Structural Plastics and the aluminum casing company Stahl was sold to Speyside Equity. Its last remaining operation was sold in 2012.
Preservation
Numerous Budd railcars are preserved either by museums or private owners, many of which run them in charter service. Their quality of construction and elegant design have made them highly prized.
Pennsylvania
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Mus ...
has a number of Budd-built cars in its collection in Strasburg: the 1937 observation car built for the Reading Company " Crusader", a Lehigh Valley Railroad rail diesel car of 1951, and Pennsylvania Railroad 860, a Metroliner snackbar-coach built in 1968.
The Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society has two RDCs in its collection: #5718, built in 1953 for the New Haven Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
, and #7001, built in 1961 for the Reading Railroad
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly call ...
.
The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad
The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad , sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on of track. Its mainl ...
has three operating RDCs, with road numbers 9166, 9167 and 9168.
New York
A 1949 R11 R11, R-11, Meaning R11 - Rhyll Anthony, R11.ID
Automobiles
* BMW R 11, a German motorcycle
* R-11 Refueler a military truck of the United States Air Force
* Renault 11, a French family car
Vessels
* , a submarine of the Royal Navy
* , a destr ...
(8013) and a 1964 R32 pair (3352-53) are in the New York Transit Museum
The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) is a museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The main museum is lo ...
fleet. Another R32 pair (3350-3351) is preserved by Railway Preservation Corp.
Indiana
The Indiana Transportation Museum
The Indiana Transportation Museum ( initialized ITM, reporting mark ITMZ) is a railroad museum that was formerly located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Noblesville, Indiana, United States. It owns a variety of preserved railroad equipment ...
maintains a fleet of fourteen closed-window Budd coaches built for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe. Eight units are currently restored and are used in excursion service, including the Indiana State Fair Train. ITMZ also operates the Silver Salon as a head-end power car.
Illinois
The Illinois Railway Museum
The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago.
Overview
Hist ...
is home to the Nebraska Zephyr
The ''Nebraska Zephyr'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q, commonly known by the shorter name of "Burlington") between Chicago, Illinois; Omaha, Nebraska; and Lincoln, Nebraska, from ...
articulated train along with several Budd-built passenger cars and a pair of CTA 2200 series cars. Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
's Museum of Science and Industry has housed the Pioneer Zephyr
The ''Pioneer Zephyr'' is a diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-powered streaml ...
since its retirement in 1960.
California
The Western Pacific Railroad Museum
The Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) in Portola, California, known as the Portola Railroad Museum until January 1, 2006, is a heritage railroad and archives that preserves and operates historic American railroad equipment and preserves docu ...
at Portola, California
Portola ( ) is the only incorporated city in Plumas County, California, United States. The population was 2,104 at the 2010 census, down from 2,227 at the 2000 census. Portola is located on the Middle Fork of the Feather River and was named afte ...
, features several Budd cars including the California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
, the dome lounge
A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or ...
car Silver Hostel, the diner car Silver Plate, and a Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
Budd sleeping car.
Missouri
The National Museum of Transportation
The National Museum of Transportation (NMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944, it restores, preserves, and displays a wide variety of vehicles spanning 15 decades of Amer ...
in St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
now owns former Zephyr diner Silver Spoon as well as the Budd-designed locomotive Silver Charger from the General Pershing Zephyr
The ''General Pershing Zephyr'' was the ninth of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad's ''Zephyr'' streamliners, and the last built as an integrated streamliner rather than a train hauled by an EMD E-unit diesel locomotive. It was constr ...
.
Massachusetts
Bedford Depot
Bedford Depot is a historic railroad depot in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Bedford was the junction of the Reformatory Branch and the Lexington Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad; it saw passenger service until 1977 as the stub of ...
, situated at the northwestern end of the Minuteman Bike Path (formerly the Lexington Branch of the Boston & Maine railroad), has a restored Rail Diesel Car
The Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC, Budd car or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily ad ...
(#6211).
Wisconsin
The Mark Twain Zephyr
The ''Mark Twain Zephyr'' was an early diesel four-unit articulated zephyr train that was similar to the ''Pioneer Zephyr'' in style. The train was built by the Budd Company and was powered by a diesel engine produced by the Winton Engine Comp ...
trainset is preserved at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, undergoing restoration to operating condition.
Portugal
The National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...
at Entroncamento
Entroncamento () is a Portuguese municipality in district of Santarém in the Médio Tejo Subregion (''Middle Tagus'') of the Centro Region. The population in 2011 was 20,206, in an area of 13.73 km². Situated in the Ribatejo, it benefits ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, features a pair of Budd cars built in 1940.
Argentina
There are several Budd coaches, combines, and buffet-diner cars running in the Buenos Aires-Mar del Plata corridor. They are run as a luxury service during the summer months. The coaches and combines are in their original condition while the buffet-diner car had to be partially remodeled after a fire. They were originally purchased by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad but were sold before they could be used. Currently the train runs with one combine, three coaches, and a buffet-diner car, pulled by either an EMD GT22 or an English Electric locomotive.
Wind power
In 1939, the Budd company designed and fabricated the stainless steel skin for the blades of the Smith–Putnam wind turbine
The Smith–Putnam wind turbine was the world's first megawatt-size wind turbine. In 1941 it was connected to the local electrical distribution system on Grandpa's Knob in Castleton, Vermont, US. It was designed by Palmer Cosslett Putnam and ma ...
, the largest in the world for forty years.
Industrial facilities
Budd operated at multiple sites in the Philadelphia area. It had a brick factory in Nicetown. An automobile parts factory on Hunting Park Avenue closed in 2002. The company moved its headquarters from Philadelphia to Troy, Michigan, in 1972. In 2002, the company operated 39 factories with approximately 12,000 employees in North America.
See also
* Joseph Ledwinka
Joseph Ledwinka (December 14, 1870 – November 26, 1949)''Buddgette'', January 1950 was an automobile engineer.
Early life
Joseph V. Ledwinka, a distant relative of Hans Ledwinka, was born in Vienna, and emigrated to the United States in 189 ...
* Slumbercoach
The Slumbercoach is an 85-foot-long, 24 single room, eight double room streamlined sleeping car. Built in 1956 by the Budd Company for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad for service on the ''Denver Zephyr'', subsequent orders were placed ...
References
* "A Museum Quality Car for a Subway Yet Unbuilt" ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', March 24, 2007
External links
Budd Company Historical files
at Hagley Museum and Library
Mike Karwowski collection of Budd Company photographs
at Hagley Museum and Library
{{authority control
Historic districts in Philadelphia
Manufacturing companies established in 1912
Auto parts suppliers of the United States
Companies based in Troy, Michigan
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
History of Philadelphia
Manufacturing companies based in Philadelphia
1912 establishments in Pennsylvania
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Motor vehicle manufacturing plants on the National Register of Historic Places
Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2006
2006 disestablishments in Pennsylvania