I'm looking for accounts of the run of the M-497 jet-propelled RDC3 car on the New York Central in 1966.
Also photographs that haven't been in every magazine known to man.

Hank Morris, consulting editor
National Railway Bulletin
National Railway Historical Society

hankmorris@earthlink.net

Hank,

No offense, but unlike some rivet-counters that bemoan when a photo used in a book (that had a press run of 1-2,000 at best) is re-used in a magazine 20 years later, I have little problem with "rehashing" history like this. Sure, you'd like new photos, but we're lucky enough just to have what was taken by NYC personnel on this rather "hush-hush" project. Besides, there are lots of new railfans who DON'T have complete sets of Trains, Railroad, and Railfan/R&R in their basements.

That being said, there was an excellent account of the test run in the book "Budd Car: The RDC Story", and I believe a similar one in "RDC", the other book. (I'd cite the authors, but I'm afraid I'd get them confused.) A recap of the chapter in "Budd Car" was the basis for an article in "Trains" years ago, as I recall.

lner4472@bcpl.net

> Hank,

> I found a copy of an article by Ed Pershey about the jet train. No date, but it said Postfix above the authors name. I dont know which magazine runs this column. I imagine the jet blast would hurl baserock and anything else not tied down everywhere!

American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Fall 1999, Vo. 15, No. 2, pp. 63-64.

hankmorris@earthlink.net

> American Heritage of Invention &
> Technology, Fall 1999, Vo. 15, No. 2, pp.
> 63-64.

For anyone still interested, there was a TRAINS magazine article in the February 1989 issue, pp. 26-29. It was written by Chuck Crouse, author of the book "Budd Car: The RDC Story". All photos (x7) in the article are color.


syfrettinc@bellsouth.net

As of about 3 years ago, the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum at the Western Reserve Historical Society intended to make a replica of the M-497 to sit on the lawn of their proposed large new museum on the Cleveland lakefront. I haven't heard from that lately, but I think the scheme has progressed as far as buying a derelict RDC. I don't know where they'll find a B-47 engine nacelle (nor the money for the museum).

Their curator described how they intend to have not one piece of written interpretation at the new museum, but to employ actors to act out plays involving the artifacts, or otherwise to make all tour-guiding verbal. To this end they found and recorded the NYC engineman who drove the jet RDC. He was said to be a Korean-war jet fighter pilot, and a colorful character. The actor will wear the same garb he did while running the M-497: pin-striped coveralls and a fighter pilot's crash helmet.

I've forgotten the new name of the Crawford museum, but they might be willing to share some of these materials with a researcher.

Aarne Frobom
The Steam Railroading Institute
P. O. Box 665
Owosso, MI 48867-0665

The NYC used two General Electric J47-19 turbojet engines, which had been designed as boosters for later models of the USAFÂ’s Convair B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental strategic bomber. The four J47-19 jet engines [two per wing], were mounted in outboard, under-wing pods, and permitted increases in maximum takeoff weight, payload, maximum speed, and service ceiling.
Definately not the B-47.

hankmorris@earthlink.net