Need ID on HO Santa Fe Mail car Powered ?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi ALL!

I just got a hold of this car at a Tag Sale. I’de like to find out who makes it! I can’t find markings! It says Santa Fe Mail, US Post Office, HO Scale. It IS a powered car. I have good pictures. Any guesses?

2

I think it might be Athearn.

3

It’s definitely an Athearn. The motor and rubber band drive is a dead giveaway.

Andre

4

That definitely looks like an old Athearn RDC to me. They’re the only ones I know of who made a “Hi-F” (rubberband) drive like that.

5

Just to clarify for you, it’s not a passenger car, it’s an RDC: “Rail Diesel Car”, basically a self-propelled passenger car created by Budd in 1949. This model is an RDC-3, which was a triple combine - (from the front) a Railway Post Office section, a Baggage section, and a Passenger section. They were generally used on branchlines where there was limited passenger revenues. It was cheaper to run an RDC than a steam or diesel engine and a passenger car.

With the rubber-band drive and brass wheels, it’s definetly an Athearn “shorty” (made shorter than real ones to go around tight HO radius curves) from some years back. I’d guess given those things, and the window inserts, it was maybe made in the 1960’s.

Does it still run?? [:)]

6

WHOO-WHEE! RUBBER-BAND DRIVE!

I was working in a hobby shop back in the early '80s when Uncle Irv made his last run of these things–the dies were shot and he stated that they would be destroyed after this one final run. One of my regular customers came in and was examining it in the box. I commented about it being a “rubber-band drive” which promptly got me a look of incredulity and a “get real” comment . . . . . . . . . . so I pulled the shell and showed the guy. He shook his head and couldn’t believe it so I told him that this had been mid-50s technology; I believe that Uncle Irv inherited these things from Globe.

7

Athearn must have made new dies because when they re-introduced the RDCs in the 90s it still had the Hi-F rubber band drive. I was very disapointed; hoping that they had at least changed to a gear drive. I may get it out of the box again someday…[:(]

8

Or perhaps leave it there and get one of the Proto ones. Aside from having cast-on grabs and a motor that precludes an interior in the RDC-1, they’re pretty much perfect.

But then, I’ve got a rubber band drive F7 that should see the light of day, so maybe you’ve got a point.

Ed