This Budd is for You!

The picture on the front of this post card is of a "Budd" car passing the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The O'Keefe Centre is a concert hall, so I hope that the Budd Card slips past quietly. The car is an RDC-2, built in 1956.

It is being used to shuttle Canadian Pacific Railway employees from the John Street Coach Yard to Agincourt Yard. The following information about Budd Cars was taken from this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Rail_Diesel_Car The Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC) or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily adopted for passenger service in rural areas with low traffic density or in short-haul commuter service, and were less expensive to operate in this context than a traditional diesel locomotive-drawn train with coaches. The cars could be used singly or coupled together in train sets and controlled from the cab of the front unit. The RDC was one of the few DMU trains to achieve commercial success in North America. RDC trains were an early example of self-contained diesel multiple unit trains, an arrangement now in common use by railways all over the world. Budd RDCs were sold to operators in North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. They saw extensive use in the Northeast United States, both on branch lines and in commuter service. As passenger service declined in the United States the RDC was often the last surviving conveyor of passengers on a particular route. Most RDCs were retired by the 1980s. In Canada, RDCs have remained in continuous use since their introduction in the 1950s. The RDC inspired several derivatives, including the unsuccessful Budd SPV-2000. The New York Central Railroad strapped two jet engines to an RDC in 1966 and set a United States speed record of 184 mph (296 km/h), although this experimental configuration was never used in regular service.

The Peter Dickinson-designed O'Keefe Centre at 1 Front Street East with the angled, bulb-filled canopy has seen a steady parade of musicals, ballets and symphonies since its movie palace-style doors first opened on October 1st, 1960. Back in the 1960s, when hockey fans actually saw the Leafs sipping out of Lord Stanley's mug, O'Keefe Ale was one of Canada's best-selling beers and a logical initial sponsor of this eventual landmark. From 1960 until 1996, it was known as the O'Keefe Centre, and a number of high-profile tours chose to make their Toronto stop there due to its superior architectural acoustics. To this day, the venue prides itself as being Canada's largest soft seat theatre.The venue seemed to possess a certain majesty that is rooted in its unique combination of downtown convenience, gorgeously striking architecture and a healthy dash of glitz, topped off by a deceptively rich music history created by a parade of entertainers who have a genuine respect for the legacy they have helped build. These are qualities that a great deal of other venues throughout Toronto would kill for. The information in the above section about the O'Keefe Centre was taken from this website: https://www.blogto.com/music/2012/10/that_time_when_the_okeefe_centre_was_the_place_to_play/ The post card was published by JBC Visuals out of Toronto, Ontario. The photo credit goes to Ted Wickson. The photo was taken on April 20th, 1968.