ThyssenKrupp Magazin

TK Magazine | 1 | 2004 |
EDWARD G. BUDD 67
with a double whammy. Suddenly, the company found itself in the midst
of those 11 loss-making years that the Fortune journalists would add up
so accurately in 1937. Yet Budd persevered, and in 1934 he not only
managed to resolve his problems with the banks but saw the entry into
service of the first train made exclusively from stainless steel – the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy line’s legendary Zephyr. This aerodynamic,
silver train captivated both experts and the riding public with its
low weight, superior stability, a General Motors diesel engine, newly developed
seats and new lighting, and it became a great success despite
the economic crisis, prompting numerous railroad companies to order
similar trains. The welding method for stainless steel, developed by the
Budd engineers, was considered revolutionary.
At the time, Budd was criticized for the high expense of building
these state-of-the-art trains, to which he replied, “I’m not interested in
the costs; it’s the value and benefit that count. After all, we also use diamonds
to cut steel.” Still, it took this “pioneer without profits” some
time to prove that trains with such evocative names as Super Chief,
Champion, Flying Yankee, Silver Meteor, Empire State Express and El
Capitan could be built at a profit by the Budd Manufacturing Company.
With the onset of World War II, there was no longer any need for
Budd to worry about the capacity use of his plants; as during World War
I, the company was engaged in armaments production. He survived the
war, but died in 1946 at the age of 75. His son, Edward G. Budd Jr.,
then took over the company management.
In 1985, Edward Budd Sr., the pioneer of the all-steel car body,
joined the grandest names in U.S. automotive history when he was
posthumously elected to the Automotive Hall of Fame in the Detroit
suburb of Dearborn. 7