The Winton thread got me thinking dangerous thoughts, but not for this board.....

Budas were only occasionally used in locomotives, and just a few examples are still around today. I'm not as up to speed on these newer internal combustion machines as many here are, so if there's a source for Buda parts out there would somebody please pass it along?

dave

Here you go:

http://www.budaengine.com/

Waaaay to easy, Hugh. Who would have expected to find the company name still in use?

Now to find out what model and see if it is supported.....

dave

My grandpa worked in the Buda plant in Harvey, IL for years. My dad said that during the war, Buda made self-propelled targets that traveled on rails for the Army and he got to ride in one of them. He said it was a lot of fun for a 9 year old.

Steve Black

I have nothing but good memories of Buda diesels, as used to drive generators on passenger equipment - some in use into the late 1970's.

Through an era known primarily for "deferred maintenance", these engines defined the [u]gold standard[/u]: "indestructible" and "bombproof" are the the adjectives that I associate with those Budas!

I still have the worn-out Buda gasoline engine out of the first dragline my dad operated in the late 1940's, an Army surplus Buckeye Model 70. The engine is lying in the woods behind my parents house where it's been for the past ~40 years.

My wife actually likes the idea of me making a glass-topped coffee table out of the engine one of these days. I just KNEW I married the right woman! :-)

What engine are you looking for?

Buda rights were purchased by Allis Chalmers circa 1960 or so. Parts for the bigger engines, 1879's, were already tough to find by 1970, reason so many Whitcomb USATC 65-tonners either died or were re-powered.

Parts have been found on Ebay too.

Rob

The specific Buda model used in all those Army "humpback" 65 tonners (models 65DE19A and similar) was the 6DCS-1879. The last numbers of Buda models was the displacement in cubic inches and the first number was the number of cylinders. The S in this model I'm fairly certain stands for Supercharged. Thus this was a pretty big engine compared to those listed previously in this thread. I believe it was rated at 250 HP in the Army/Whitcomb application. It was also used in a lot of Whitcomb 80 tonners.

A similar Buda model of less HP was used in a few GE 44 tonners in place of the usual Cat D17000 V8.

The number of the Army 65 ton locos that were repowered, mostly with Cat D11000 or D13000 6 cyl engines (and a few Cummins) suggests that reliability was not the strong point of this Buda model. The hoods of the Whitcomb were large enough that stuffing a different engine inside was rarely detectable from the outside. In later years finding one with the Buda engines still inside became fairly rare.

There can't be a whole big bunch of those WWII Whitcombs still in commercial use, but given how sturdy the rest of the loco was, I'd bet a few are still rumbling away. Do you know of any?

The Kingston Trolley Museum has a Whitcomb with its 2 6DCS-1879 still. Me and my boss tinkered with it one day and had one of them running enough to move the engine around a few times, Dont know if its been run since, that was a few years ago. The exhaust manifold was rotted out so much is was pumping the exhaust right into the air intake, its amazing that it ran at all, and the amount of smoke it produced was mind boggling.

#9 has gotten a new coat of paint since then, but the repairs to the exhaust are still in progress:

A-C actually acquired Buda in 1953:

"In 1953, Allis- Chalmers acquired the Buda Co., a manufacturer of diesel engines and gasoline engines and lift trucks. The acquisition was spawned when GM, the long time provider of Detroit Diesel engines for the company’s earthmoving equipment, decided to purchase Euclid Road Machinery Co. This positioned GM as a competitor and the partnership was halted when company shareholders decided to acquire Buda. Eventually GM diesel engines were phased out of all Allis-Chalmers earthmoving products."

(from http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.p ... s-Chalmers)

The Everett Railroad started business in 1954 with a solitary ex-Army Whitcomb 65-ton locomotive which had previously been passed off among various Bethlehem Steel short lines. The company files note a litany of ailments relating to the Buda engines - piston problems, ring problems, head problems. Thankfully these were twin engine locomotives, as more than once the unit had to limp along on one power plant while the other was out being repaired. After eleven years the company finally bought another Whitcomb to canabalize, only to discover the parts unit was in better shape than the first loco. They managed to keep this one alive until 1971, when they gave up and bought a GE 80-ton centercab. The GE was the "old style" with Cummins LI-600 engines and was itself another Army veteran as well as an interesting beast to maintain.

Alan Maples
Everett Railroad

Been working on a 70-ton Whitcomb (former 65-ton) since 1988.

As Alan states, the DCS-1879 suffered from several issues, mostly the heads. The design of the head does not allow enough cooling water to pass and the temperature changes causes cracking. Believe me, I know all too well. Once, I spoke with one of the guys at the Beufort & Morehead (Route of the Jets!) and he said they kept their 80-tonners plugged into a heater system that kept the water temperature at least 90° all the time. The engines were actually rated for 283 HP at 1,200 RPM, a rather strange setup. The big issue with repowering is the weight of the Westinghouse generator hanging off the end of the crankshaft. The DCS-1879 isn't really a "high-speed" engine like most Cummins or Cats but isn't "low-speed" either. The D-17000 has a top end of 1,000 RPM so that leaves some un-used power for the motors. The Westinghouse 970A motors chew up power as they are used in other, full-sized locomotive applications that use a much larger generator.

Buda engines were used in many industrial applications. We have found locally that draglines used in the coal regions still have them in service. On Ebay there is one supplier in the Pacific Northwest who lists parts from time to time. I have purchased a fuel pump drive coupling from him and it fit perfectly and really made a big improvement in engine performance. The internet has opened up many sources.

Rob

Better hurry Hugh, before she changes her mind....................

I just checked, she says she's still good with it!