PREORDER Rapido HO 16406 Budd Roger Williams Passenger Car Set, Amtrak Phase 3 (2-Pack)

HO Scale Roger Williams

Please note this is a preliminary CAD render. Details are subject to design revisions.

In 1957, the New Haven took delivery of the Roger Williams, a complete six-car train set that consisted of Budd RDC cars with modifications for high-speed service into New York City. Named after the founder of Rhode Island, these RDCs featured end cars with a streamlined cab along with third rail electrical pickup shoes and small traction motors, allowing them to run into Grand Central Terminal under electric power.

The non-cab (intermediate) RDCs also featured motors and that signature rooftop blister but did not have any provisions to control the train. The interior and exterior styling was the work of noted architect and industrial designer Marcel Breuer. Nicknamed the “Hot Rod” by crews, the Roger Williams was originally geared for 110MPH, had 50HP more than a standard RDC, and was 7 inches lower.

The Roger Williams first operated as a complete train set but was split up after about a year in Boston-to-New York City service and put into the regular RDC pool. This resulted in some wild consists! Re-geared for 84MPH with the 3rd rail gear removed, it was common to see the cab cars running with a single RDC on shorter trains while the intermediate cars were mated with regular RDC-1s, -2s and -3s…and maybe even RDC-4s (the NH had them all).
The cab cars and intermediate cars continued their journey for Penn Central after the New Haven merger. The cab cars got an uninspiring DGLE (“PC Black”) nose dip with PC worms and no side logos while the intermediate cars lost their orange doors and NH logos. In the Amtrak era, the cab cars wore multiple schemes including PC patch, Phase I and III! And the intermediate car got red vestibule doors. They continued to operate in the mid-1980s before being retired. Amazingly, the two cab cars plus the surviving intermediate car have been restored to operating condition at the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum in Lenox, Massachusetts!

HO Scale Roger Williams Features:

• FIRST TIME! As ready-to-run plastic model in ANY scale!
• Accurately designed from original blueprints
• Cab units features Rapido’s smooth, proven in-floor RDC drive system
• Intermediate cars are unpowered, but fully lit
• An insane level of underbody detail
• Separate grab irons and handrails installed at the factory
• Full interior detail
• MoPower capacitor for uninterrupted DCC power
• Suggested minimum radius: 22”

LEFT: Photo courtesy of Bob Grambling through the NHRHTA collection.
RIGHT: Please note this is a preliminary CAD render. Details are subject to design revisions.