Budd car 167

Location: South Miami Station, Miami, FL
Operator of Vehicle: Miami-Dade Transit
Date of Photo: December 28, 2005

The Miami Metrorail rolling stock (along with its siblings in Baltimore) represent the last contract completed by Budd before it shuttered its rail car manufacturing unit.  Although some Budd made products, such as the 53 year old R32s in New York City, are still going strong, the beginning of the end for the Budd fleet in Miami is upon us.  Yesterday, the first four of the Hitachi built cars that were commissioned to replaced the original Budd fleet entered service.  Although it will take some time for the new Hitachi fleet to be tested and accepted by MDT, it is expected that sometime in 2019 all the Budds in Miami will be retired.  If you’re thinking that you can still ride the nearly identical cars in Baltimore beyond that, you shouldn’t plan to put off your last rides for too long.  Baltimore is also ordering replacement trains from Hitachi to replace its aging Budd trains.

For more photos of the Miami Metrorail, please click here.