The West Coast Railway Assocation in Squamish BC is the home of three of the former BCRail Budd RDCs (RDC1s BC-14 and BC-21, RDC3 BC-33), and is only a stones throw away from their daily route between North Vancouver and Prince George BC for nearly fifty years.
Don Evans tells us:
The West Coast Railway Heritage Park is now an operating Budd car site! As I’m sure you’ve heard, we now have the RDC 3 BC 33 up and running and we are in the process of starting work on RDC 1 BC 21 next (so we do have a two-car set ourselves already). Public RDC rides at the Heritage Park start August 13 (see www.wcra.org if you haven’t been there recently.)
We are definitely in the process of getting up our two car train regardless. Any help here would also be appreciated – we believe we can get the BC 21 operational for a reasonable sum and at least we’ll be ready for next steps with two cars. (We spent just over $10,000 to get the BC 33 going and need another $15,000 yet to repaint it into its original Pacific Great Eastern paint scheme).
Three of the former BCRail Budd RDCs are at the West Coast Heritage Park: RDC1 BC-14 has a twisted chassis and was stripped of many components and is unlikely to be repaired; RDC1 BC-21 (originally Reading) had its electrical wiring damaged when a fuel spill ignited but has been used successfully as an unpowered coach for Days Out With Thomas events. RDC3 BC-33 was out of service with a seized engine in the latter days of BCRail operation but otherwise largely intact.
Although they are very interested in getting one of the original PGE Budd RDC1s back in BC when the Lewis And Clark Explorer service ends in October, the Oregon Department of Transport presently seem determined to sell all three together and this presents something of a problem.