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89-498: The Budd Company designed the car in the 1950s for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") for use on the El Capitan , a coach-only streamliner which ran daily between Los Angeles and Chicago. The design was inspired by two recent developments in railroading: the dome car , employed in intercity routes in the western United States, and bilevel commuter cars operating in

178-539: A spoiler at one end to create a visual transition. The cars dated from the 1938 version of the El Capitan . Despite their success, the cars did not inspire a wave of imitators. By the late 1950s, private-sector passenger travel was in what turned out to be irreversible decline. Most railroads were cutting service; few ordered new equipment of any kind. An exception was the Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW). The CNW, like

267-523: A "mixed marriage" because the odd-numbered car came with General Electric motors and equipment and was permanently coupled to the even-numbered car, which had Westinghouse motors and equipment. One car in this fleet was 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 in the early 1990s. The cars had to be re-trucked , because

356-457: A change in how the commuters were handled but were the first cars in commuter service to have air conditioning . 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 , the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway also approached Budd to improve their rolling stock. In September 1952,

445-403: A cracked vertebra . He tried to win again in 1963, and fell from his horse yet again. (Bookies placed a bet of 66-1 against him finishing still on the horse). He raced again in 1965, but again fell from his horse after it collapsed underneath him, breaking his leg. In 1974, after having sixteen screws removed from a leg he had broken after falling in another race, he also fell while training for

534-674: A modernized diesel passenger car which was very problematic, as it had only four buyers: ( Amtrak , ONCF , Metro-North and Connecticut Department of Transportation ) 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

623-587: 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 , and #7001, built in 1961 for

712-514: A number of railroads; many of these were known, at least colloquially, as "silverliners". After briefly dabbling with French Michelin rubber-tired technology (" Michelines " and the Silver Slipper ), they built the Pioneer Zephyr for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1934, the first of several integrated streamliner trainsets. The General Pershing Zephyr of 1938 pioneered

801-662: A prominent journalist and lawyer in Spain, wrote of him at his death: Although generalising always runs the risk of being unfair and even offending by exclusion, I cannot resist the temptation to describe the death of the Duke of Alburquerque as that of the last Spanish gentleman. Understanding by such the preconceived image that one has of a gentleman. Whether born in Spain or the United Kingdom: tall, thin like an El Greco character, elegant like an English lord, polite, kind and loyal. In Britain,

890-497: A reinforced plastic in sheet form, suitable for stamping out body panels in much the same way, and as quickly as sheet metal equivalents are made. The Pontiac Fiero has some exterior SMC body parts manufactured by Budd Plastics – such as quarter panels, roof skin, headlamp covers, and trunk lids. From the 1930s until 1987, the Budd Company was a leading manufacturer of stainless steel streamlined passenger rolling stock for

979-485: A respectable 8th place; and aged 58 in 1976 , breaking 7 ribs and vertebrae, his right wrist and femur as well as suffering a severe concussion that gave him a two-day coma . As a result, the Jockey Club stewards declined to renew his riding permit and it was widely said that should he continue, "the hospital would run out of screws and the duke out of legs". The Duke of Alburquerque continued riding in Europe until he

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1068-472: A similar concept to Ford first. In 1961, Budd combined a 1957 Ford Thunderbird body with a 1961 Ford Falcon 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 , Imperial , and full-size Plymouth and Dodge automobiles from 1966 to 1968. By

1157-675: A similar set of cars (known as the Breda A650 ) were built by Breda for the Red and Purple lines of the Los Angeles Metro Rail between 1988 and 1997. Stainless steel railcars were also built in Portugal by Sorefame under license. Amtrak 's 492 Amfleet 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 ,

1246-454: A single-level diner, enabling each car to do the work of two single-level dining cars. The lower level housed the kitchen, including ovens, hot plates, a refrigerator, and a dishwasher. Dumbwaiters carried food to the upper level. A diesel generator supplied power to the appliances. The dining cars, the largest single-unit dining cars ever built, weighed 97 short tons (88 t) and rode on six-wheel trucks . As Superliner dining cars arrived in

1335-693: A small class of four-current six-axle high speed electric locomotives for Trans Europ Express service between Paris , Brussels , and Amsterdam and SNCB class 56 EMU. In Japan, the Tokyu Car Corporation became the licensee of the Budd process and made stainless steel commuter cars like its Series 7000. Mafersa continued to manufacture cars based on Budd designs, building 38 for Virginia Railway Express between 1990 and 1992, some now at Shore Line East . Canadian Vickers and Avco built cars and incomplete kit shells (for GE) under Budd license, including

1424-443: A way to increase capacity on commuter trains serving Chicago, Illinois , without having to add more cars. Chicago Union Station 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,

1513-530: The Coast Starlight until their retirement in 2018. The Santa Fe introduced the El Capitan in 1938. The train ran on the Santa Fe's main line between Chicago and Los Angeles. Unusually for streamliners of the period, the El Capitan carried coaches only, and had no sleeping cars ; this was meant to provide passengers with a lower-cost alternative to the sleeping car-equipped Super Chief , which served

1602-575: The Peninsula 400 , a Chicago– Ishpeming, Michigan , day train, on October 26, 1958. The CNW would be the only other railroad to introduce bilevel equipment on intercity runs. By the 1960s, the Santa Fe encountered capacity problems on the San Francisco Chief , which ran between Chicago and San Francisco . Unlike the El Capitan , the Chief carried a mix of sleeping cars and coaches. To augment capacity,

1691-824: The Battle of Somosierra , later fighting in the Infantry Regiment of Navarre , at the command of the 4th Company of the Tercio de San Fermín, later passing to the Cavalry Regiment of the Army of the Centre. At the end of the war, he entered the General Military Academy , from which he left with the rank of lieutenant. From 1954, and until 1993, he held the position of Head of the House of

1780-552: The Burlington Route (and Burlington Northern after the merger), Rock Island , and Milwaukee Road lines during the 1960s and 1970s; most of these cars are still in service on today's Metra routes. The Santa Fe cars were the inspiration for the Amtrak Superliner and Superliner II which ply the rails on many different routes today, though they were not a product of Budd. Stainless steel Budd cars originally built for

1869-955: The Canadian Pacific Railway 's 1955 train The Canadian are still in service with Via Rail Canada . Since 1951, two formations of six Budd cars operated by Ferrobaires have run a weekly service called "El Marplatense" from Buenos Aires to the ocean-side city of Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina ; they were originally built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway . Budd-patented processes and designs were also used in Brazil (by Mafersa ), France, and Belgium after World War II to construct SNCF electric-powered multiple-unit cars, push-pull suburban trainsets, Wagons-Lits [CIWL] sleeping cars and even SNCF Class CC 40100 ,

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1958-579: The Count of Barcelona , and for his service and dedication Juan Carlos I of Spain made him a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece . The duke became obsessed with winning Britain 's Grand National Steeplechase horse race after watching a film of the race on his eighth birthday. However, each of his attempts ended in failure. On his first attempt in 1952, he fell from his horse, waking up later in hospital with

2047-600: The El Capitan . The project cost $ 13   million. A press trip took place between Washington, D.C. , and Pittsburgh on June 16, 1956, using the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (and presaging the use of Superliners on Amtrak 's Capitol Limited ). Santa Fe exhibited the equipment throughout the United States during June and early July. A formal christening took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico , on July 8, with

2136-469: The Northeast Corridor . The Superliner I order did not include any "step down" coaches, so Hi-Level coaches continued to fulfill this function on Superliner-equipped trains. In the 1980s, Amtrak rebuilt many of these coaches as dormitory-coaches , with half of the car given over to crew space. Amtrak retired all six single-level baggage-dormitory cars by 1981 in lieu of converting them to HEP. By 1990

2225-684: The Oklahoma City – Fort Worth Heartland Flyer into the 2000s. The majority of the Hi-Level fleet was retired at the beginning of 2003. The private equity fund Corridor Capital owns most of the fleet, and has proposed employing them for various passenger projects within the United States, including a plan to revive the Coast Daylight . The last major Hi-Level assignment on Amtrak was the Los Angeles–Seattle Coast Starlight . In

2314-540: The Reading Railroad . The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad has three operating RDCs, with road numbers 9166, 9167 and 9168. A 1949 R11 (8013) and a 1964 R32 pair (3352-53) are in the New York Transit Museum fleet. Another R32 pair (3350-3351) is preserved by Railway Preservation Corp. The Indiana Transportation Museum maintains a fleet of fourteen closed-window Budd coaches built for

2403-588: The United States Navy 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 . In 1962, Budd produced an operational concept car , the XR-400 , for the American Motors Corporation (AMC). It was designed to use AMC's existing chassis but ultimately did not enter production. Ironically, Budd tried to sell

2492-470: The duke of Alburquerque in attendance. Regular revenue service began on July 15. The new train was far more efficient than its predecessor. As Fred Frailey explained: ...   a conventional El Cap ran 16 cars, carried 438 people and weighed 1,069 tons. Fred Gurley 's $ 13 million got Santa Fe a 13-car train (including the same head-end cars) that carried 130 additional people and weighed 110 tons less   ... Trains editor David P. Morgan thought

2581-408: The " Kachina Coffee Shop" and a lounge area with seating for 26. Passengers on the lower level could look out through large, 56-inch (140 cm) windows. The lounge cars weighed 83 short tons (75 t). Under Santa Fe operation there were attendants on both levels, and a newsstand on the upper level. Six dining cars were built. Each dining car seated 80, all on the upper level, compared to 36 in

2670-516: The 'Iron Duke' of Alburquerque, was a Spanish peer and jockey . A profound monarchist , he was a close friend and confidant of the heir to the throne of Spain, the Count of Barcelona , who he served as the Head of his Household from 1954 to 1993. Beltrán was born in Madrid to one of the great noble houses of Spain. At its peak, the House of Alburquerque held 18 titles in the peerage of Spain , 6 of which had

2759-461: The 1960s passenger ridership declined on American railroads while losses mounted. In 1971 the United States federal government created Amtrak, a subsidized for-profit corporation, to take over intercity services and reverse the decline. The Santa Fe, after some hesitation, participated. Amtrak took over the Santa Fe's remaining trains on May 1, 1971. It acquired the entire Hi-Level fleet and continued to operate them. The primary assignment continued to be

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2848-579: The 1980 PATCO Series II cars, Metro-North M-2 Cosmopolitan , and the Arrow II/III/Silverliner IV MUs. Budd also issued a licence to Australian manufacturer Commonwealth Engineering in Sydney 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

2937-524: The 1980s, Amtrak rebuilt these cars as diner-lounges, incorporating booths and lounge seating. Santa Fe considered equipping the Super Chief with Hi-Level sleeping cars, and Budd drafted a design for such a car in 1957. In this design there was an aisle on the lower level only, and set against one side instead of centerline. The lower level also contained six single bedrooms and a toilet. The upper level would have eight two-person "Vista Bedrooms" which spanned

3026-520: The Amtrak fleet stood at 69 cars: 36 dormitory-coaches, 21 coaches, six diner-lounges rebuilt from dining cars, and the six lounge cars, which Amtrak marketed as "See-Level Lounges". The arrival of 195 Superliner   II cars from Bombardier Transportation in 1993–1995 permitted the retirement of most of the remaining Hi-Level cars. The Chicago– Toronto International used a mix of Superliners and Hi-Levels from 1995 to 2000. Hi-Levels remained in service on

3115-583: 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. Beltr%C3%A1n Alfonso Osorio, 18th duke of Alburquerque Beltrán Alfonso Osorio y Díez de Rivera, 18th Duke of Alburquerque , GE , OSL (15 December 1918 – 7 February 1994 ), also known as

3204-513: The Budd Pioneer construction methods first used in 1956 on some of the later commuter cars, such as the Milwaukee Road gallery cars that operated out of Chicago and electric multiple unit (EMU) high-speed cars that operated between Washington, D.C. , and New York City . The final few RDC cars were built by Canadian Car & Foundry under license from Budd. In the late 1950s, Budd built

3293-522: 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 210 horsepower (160 kW) Kinner C-5 five-cylinder radial engine . 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

3382-560: The Burlington, used bilevel coaches on its Chicago-area commuter routes. In 1958 it ordered thirteen intercity bilevel cars from Pullman-Standard : ten coaches, a parlor car , a coach-parlor, and a coach-lounge. Visually they resembled the CNW's existing commuter equipment; a noticeable difference from the Hi-Levels was the adoption of head-end power (HEP) instead of steam. The cars entered service on

3471-454: The Chicago area. Budd built 73 Hi-Level cars between 1952 and 1964. The first two prototype coaches entered service on the El Capitan in 1954 and were immediately successful. Budd built sufficient coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars to fully equip the El Capitan , with additional coaches seeing use on the San Francisco Chief . Amtrak inherited the entire fleet in 1971 and continued to use

3560-654: The Duke of Alburquerque was simply known as "The Gentleman." A gentleman of bow and heel-click. Don Beltrán (he could not be called otherwise) Osorio y Díez de Rivera also responded to the image that Montesquieu had of a great lord: «A man who sees the king, speaks with the ministers, has ancestors and properties. He married firstly, in the Church of Saint Anthony of the Germans in Madrid on 2 October 1952, Teresa Bertrán de Lis y Pidal (1923-1969), daughter of Vicente Carlos Luis Bertrán de Lis y Gurowski, 2nd Marquess of Bondad Real (himself

3649-470: The Grand National and broke his collarbone . He then competed in a plaster cast in the race, this time managing to finish, but only in eighth place. In 1976, the duke fell again during the race, this time being trampled by other horses. He suffered seven broken ribs , several broken vertebrae, a broken wrist , a broken thigh , and a severe concussion which left him in a coma for two days. At 57,

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3738-572: The Iron Duke still tried to compete, but officials revoked his licence for "his own safety". He never won the Grand National, but broke more bones than any other jockey in attempting to do so. Alburquerque died in February 1994. His eldest son and heir, Juan Miguel Osorio y Bertrán de Lis (b. 1958), succeeded him as Duke of Alburquerque and most of his other titles in November of that year. Jaime Peñafiel,

3827-673: The Norristown line is standard gauge (4' 8½") while the Market-Frankford line is Pennsylvania trolley gauge (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." In 1930,

3916-576: 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

4005-578: The Royal Household. Aspiring to become an engineer was soon frustrated by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, which resulted in his enlistment in the cavalry of the nationalist faction , eventually becoming lieutenant colonel . His passion for equestrianism emerged after he was given his first pony age 5. On his 8th birthday, his father gifted him with a newsreel clip of the 1926 Grand National . He thereafter became enthusiastic with

4094-416: The Santa Fe expected the upper level, located 8 feet 7 inches (2.62 m) above the rails, to provide a smoother, quieter ride for passengers. With the lower level free of passengers, designers could provide larger restrooms and baggage areas. Finally, the lower level contained all the electrical equipment, away from the passengers, and with easy access for maintenance. Budd used stainless steel in

4183-481: The Santa Fe in 1954. The most obvious difference was the absence of a forward-looking view on the Hi-Level cars. Each of the six lounges could seat 60 people on the upper level. The seating was a mixture of single seats and two- and four-top tables. Nicknames for these cars included "Top of the Cap" and "Sky Lounges". A glass top across two-thirds of the car distinguished it from the rest of the Hi-Levels. The lower level featured

4272-494: The Santa Fe ordered more coaches in 1963–1964 (standard and step-down, twelve each). This was the final major order for new long-distance passenger equipment before the coming of Amtrak; after Kansas City Southern Railway bought ten new coaches from Pullman-Standard in 1965, no new locomotive-hauled coaching stock would be built until the first Amfleets arrived a decade later. Each San Francisco Chief carried four Hi-Level coaches, displacing six single-level coaches. Throughout

4361-587: 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

4450-460: The Santa Fe re-equipped the El Capitan , the only coach train operated between Chicago and Los Angeles , and assigned some to the Chicago – Galveston, Texas , Texas Chief line. An additional 12 step-down coaches, numbered 538 to 549, and 12 convertible coaches, numbered 725 to 736, were ordered in November 1962 and delivered between December 1963 and April 1964. Budd continued to build gallery passenger cars for Chicago -area commuter service on

4539-891: The Superliners went into service, Hi-Levels could be found on more of Amtrak's trains throughout the Western United States. Hi-Level coaches appeared on the San Francisco–Chicago San Francisco Zephyr , Chicago– San Antonio, Texas –Los Angeles Eagle , and the Chicago– Seattle, Washington / Portland, Oregon Empire Builder . Dining cars displaced from the Southwest Limited filled in on the Ogden, Utah –Los Angeles Desert Wind . Tunnel clearances around New York City and elsewhere prevented their use on

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4628-568: The cabs, or de-powered and used as cab cars . The Silverliner II had a top speed of 90 mph (140 km/h) but ran at up to 100 mph (160 km/h) when the PRR used them on its Philadelphia-Harrisburg service. The Metroliner EMU cars operated at 110 to 125 mph (201 km/h), but every car was tested to at least 160 mph (260 km/h), although breakdowns in the system led Amtrak to derate them to 90 mph (140 km/h). Since their retirement from regular service, Amtrak has used them as cab-coaches. In 1960, Budd manufactured

4717-450: 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 lounge cars that were also built by Budd and delivered around the time

4806-564: The combined Super Chief / El Capitan , known as the Southwest Limited from 1974 to 1984 and the Southwest Chief thereafter. The Chicago– Houston Texas Chief , another ex-Santa Fe train, also carried Hi-Level coaches. Amtrak was impressed with the Hi-Levels and used them as the basis for the design of the bilevel Superliner family of railcars. The first of 284 Superliner   I cars began arriving from Pullman-Standard in 1978. As

4895-417: The company made its first foray into the aviation industry by signing contracts to manufacture aircraft wheels and stainless steel wing ribs. Enea Bossi 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 . It was the first built with a stainless steel structure. This was the first aircraft for

4984-419: The construction, with fluted sides. The cars cost $ 275,000 apiece. Budd built the Hi-Levels with steam heating , the standard method for ensuring passenger comfort in the 1950s. For air conditioning and other electrical needs, it chose to employ independent diesel generators in each car. Coaches required a single 40-kilowatt (54 hp) generator; the massive dining car required two such generators to support

5073-401: The conversion. The 61 coaches could carry either 68 or 72 passengers, more than the 44 of comparable single-level long-distance coaches. This increased capacity permitted the Santa Fe to run the El Capitan with fewer cars, while increasing the total number of passengers carried. The 68-seat coaches featured "step down" stairs at one end to permit access to standard-height equipment; that space

5162-564: The end of the 1950s, Budd had the following divisions and subsidiaries: Budd built two series of "L" cars for the Chicago Transit Authority , the 2200 series (1969–1970). and the 2600 series (1981–1987). They also built the New York City Subway R32 (1964–1965), the first PATCO Speedline cars (1968–1969) and the Long Island Rail Road / Metro-North Railroad M-1/M-3 (1968–1973,1984–1986). The Baltimore Metro and Miami Metrorail cars (1983) were built by Budd and marketed as Universal Transit Vehicles ;

5251-410: The entire upper level, with restrooms, baggage, and other non-revenue areas on the lower level. In most cars, vestibules connected the upper levels only. A central staircase linked the two levels. Hi-Levels featured a row of windows across the upper level; on the prototype coaches, this row slanted inwards. The two-level design offered several advantages over conventional single-level equipment. Budd and

5340-408: The equipment on its western routes. Tunnel clearances restricted their use in the eastern United States. In 1979, the first Superliners , based on the Hi-Level concept although built by Pullman-Standard , entered service. Amtrak gradually retired most of its Hi-Levels in the 1990s as more Superliners became available. Five lounges, dubbed "Pacific Parlour Cars", provided first-class lounge service on

5429-513: The equipment was "comfortable" and "[rode] well, even above 90 mph". S. Kip Farrington wrote that he was "definitely sold on the high level in every angle" and that it was "here to stay". A typical train comprised two step-down coaches, five standard coaches, a lounge, and a dining car. The Hi-Level cars continued in service after the Santa Fe combined the El Capitan and Super Chief in 1958. The Santa Fe also converted six single-level baggage cars to baggage-dormitories ( Nos. 3477–3482), with

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5518-404: The first "safety" two-piece truck wheel, used extensively in World War II , and also built truck cargo bodies for the US military. Following the introduction of the " unibody " Citroën Traction Avant in 1934 using its technology, Budd developed North America's first mass-produced unibody automobile, the Nash 600 . In the mid-1980s, Budd's Plastics Division introduced sheet moulding compound ,

5607-677: 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 and others, and Ambi-Budd (Germany), which supplied Adler , Audi , BMW , NAG and Wanderer ; and earned royalties from Bliss (who built bodies for Citroën and Ford of Britain ). The Budd Company also created

5696-434: 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 , (later known as SEPTA). 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

5785-439: The floors of single-level cars. With the two Hi-Level 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

5874-430: The gallery commuter car concept. Santa Fe accepted the proposal, and took delivery of two prototype coaches in 1954. The cars went into regular service on the El Capitan . Following a positive customer response, the Santa Fe ordered 47 more cars: ten 68-seat "step down" coaches, twenty-five 72-seat coaches, six lounges, and six dining cars. These constituted five equipment sets (" consists "), sufficient for daily service on

5963-565: The idea of competing in it. The duke quickly became one of the promising horse riders of his home club, Puerta de Hierro , rising to prominence when he competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics and later at the 1960 Summer Olympics . His jockey career began when he came second in the Sussex Stakes at Lingfield Park . Despite the duke's unhelpfully tall physique, he finally rode the Grand National as "gentleman rider" in 1952 . Osorio also took part in 1963 , 1965 , 1966 , 1973 , when he already had 16 bone screws ; in 1974 , when he finished in

6052-419: The kitchen appliances. In the lounge car a larger 60-kilowatt (80 hp) generator was employed. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Amtrak adopted head-end power (HEP) for new orders. HEP and steam are incompatible, so Amtrak had the Hi-Levels converted to HEP to permit their use with new cars. Santa Fe handled the conversion of the Hi-Levels in its Topeka, Kansas , shops. Of the 73 Hi-Levels, all but three underwent

6141-631: 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 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. When Thyssen merged with Krupp in 1999, Budd Thyssen became ThyssenKrupp Budd Co. in North America and ThyssenKrupp Automotive Systems GmbH in Europe. In 2006, ThyssenKrupp sold

6230-408: The late 1990s Amtrak refurbished five of the six lounges for use as sleeping car passenger-only lounges, branded as the "Pacific Parlour Car". Amtrak offered separate food and beverage service in the upper level and installed a movie theater in the lower level. The railway writer and historian Karl Zimmermann called them "the greatest treat for sleeping car passengers on Amtrak". By the late 2010s Amtrak

6319-453: The lower level. In the prototypes the upper level had no restrooms; in response to passenger feedback, Budd added a restroom to the upper level in the production models. The prototypes also included a "step up" from the aisle to the coach seats; in the production cars, the seats rested flush with the aisle. Each coach weighed 80 short tons (73 t). The lounge cars were similar to the full-length Big Dome lounges which had entered service with

6408-564: The majority of Budd's operations. Its body and chassis operations were sold to Martinrea International 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. 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. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has

6497-450: The nose and prominent chin of the traditional Spanish Grandee, closely resembling a Punch cartoon." He was born in Madrid , his parents being Miguel Osorio y Martos, 17th Duke of Alburquerque , and Inés Díez de Rivera y Figueroa, daughter of the 5th Count of Almodóvar, who was also a Grandee. In 1936, when he had not yet reached the legal age, he participated in the Spanish Civil War , on

6586-580: The prototype Hi-Level 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,

6675-549: The prototype Pioneer III . When re-designed and outfitted with electrical propulsion and end cabs as EMU coaches, six were purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad 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

6764-399: The same route. Passengers flocked to the new train, and the Santa Fe added cars to meet the demand. The train grew from five cars in 1938 to twelve in 1942. By the early 1950s fourteen was common. Only seven or eight of these would be passenger-carrying coaches; other cars included head-end cars , a baggage-dormitory for the crew, two dining cars , and a Big Dome lounge. Sometimes demand

6853-528: The status of Grandee . His father, Miguel Osorio y Martos, 17th Duke of Alburquerque, was Gentilhombre Grandee of king Alfonso XIII while his mother was Inés Díez de Rivera y Figueroa, daughter of the Counts of Almodóvar, also Grandees of Spain . The closeness of the Dukes of Alburquerque to the kings of Spain had existed for many generations; the 8th , 15th and 16th duke had all been Mayordomos mayores or Heads of

6942-416: The tracks, affording better views. Second, in 1950, it placed bilevel rail cars in commuter service in the Chicago area. Taken together, these innovations suggested a new possibility: a long-distance bilevel coach, with greater capacity than single-level cars, and the panoramic views of a dome. The Budd Company approached Santa Fe in 1952 with the proposal to build long-distance bilevel cars, building on

7031-494: 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

7120-424: The upper level, two bedrooms and four roomettes on the lower level. Including the two prototypes, Budd built 73 Hi-Level cars: Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars , airframes , missile and space vehicles, and various defense products. Budd

7209-612: The use of disc brakes 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 stainless steel R11 subway cars for the New York City Board of Transportation ; these were intended for the Second Avenue Subway . In the late 1940s, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad sought

7298-670: The use of stainless steel carries on today in consulting businesses like Bay Rail. In 1949, Budd introduced the Rail Diesel Car (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 , Cuba , and Saudi Arabia . Similar but shorter cars were built under license by Mafersa in Brazil using

7387-431: The width of the car. Access to these rooms would be from four sets of stairs from the lower level aside. Each Vista Bedroom would contain an individual toilet and two beds: one stacked above the bed in the single bedroom beneath, and one lengthwise over the aisle. Nothing came of this proposal. Pullman-Standard adopted a more traditional design for Amtrak's Superliner   I in the 1970s: five bedrooms and ten roomettes on

7476-505: Was 65. He retired leaving behind an extremely popular legacy, particularly in Britain, where he is remembered for his "courageous and injury-defying performances" at Aintree in which he and his horse "Nereo" became fundamental. On his death in 1994, a racing journalist described him as "an immensely popular character in British racing who cut the distinctive figure of being a tall, slender man with

7565-596: Was built. It logged about 1,000 flying hours while touring the United States and Europe . In 1934, this plane was stripped of its fabric covering and lower wing, and mounted outside the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia . The plane was memorialized in the children's book Spirited Philadelphia Adventure by Deirdre Cimino. During World War II , Budd designed and built the RB-1 Conestoga transport airplane for

7654-684: 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 without damaging its anti-corrosion 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 in 2006. No longer an operating company, Budd filed for bankruptcy in 2014. It currently exists to provide benefits to its retirees. Edward G. Budd developed

7743-438: Was given over to four additional seats on the 72-seat coaches. The prototypes also featured step-down stairs, but carried one fewer passenger. The passenger windows were 21 inches (53 cm) high. The seat pitch was 50 inches (130 cm). The Dwight Austin-manufactured "Traveleze" seats reclined, and included both head and leg rests. Hand luggage could be stored in racks above the coach seats, or in large storage racks on

7832-460: Was high enough to justify running a second instance ("section") of the train on the same day. The Santa Fe sought a solution to increase the capacity of the train without lengthening it further. Two popular innovations by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) suggested a solution. First, in 1945, the CB&;Q introduced the dome car , in which passengers rode on a second level high above

7921-677: Was manufacturing new parts for the Hi-Levels at Beech Grove , or in some cases retrofitting the Hi-Levels to use Superliner parts. Amtrak retired the cars after their last run on February 4, 2018, citing safety concerns and rising maintenance costs. They were the last Hi-Levels in regular service, and among the few remaining Heritage Fleet cars. The Steam Railroading Institute , a heritage railroad based in Owosso, Michigan , acquired several for use in excursion service. The Hi-Levels stood 15 + 1 ⁄ 2 feet (4.7 m) high, 2 feet (0.61 m) taller than most conventional equipment. Seating occupied

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