Connecticut’s Naugatuck Railroad has repainted an SPV-2000 in its as-delivered Amtrak Phase III livery to mark the United States’ upcoming Semiquincentennial. 

The SPV-2000s were built by Budd between 1978 and 1981 as a successor to its successful Rail Diesel Car (RDC). However, the SPV-2000s proved unreliable, and only 31 were ever built. In 1980, the Connecticut Department of Transportation purchased 13 SPV-2000s for use on the New Haven to Springfield Line and the Danbury and Waterbury branches. The Springfield Line cars were leased to Amtrak and painted in Phase III. The cars were later depowered in the 1990s and remained in service until the 2000s. SPV-2000 No. 1001 was sold to Orion Newall of Constellation Rail in 2017 and was later relocated to the Naugatuck, where it is often used in excursion service. 

After a busy holiday excursion season, the car was taken to Naugatuck’s Thomaston shop, where volunteers made cosmetic improvements to its interior and exterior. To honor the car’s heritage, the Phase III stripe was reapplied to the window band. The car’s ends feature a red, white, and blue livery inspired by the New Haven Railroad’s MU cars. 

​​“I always thought it’d be cool to do a heritage scheme on the SPV to represent what it looked like when new in 1980,” Newall said. “With America 250 approaching, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.”

The car is scheduled to debut on Naugatuck Railroad’s St. Patrick’s Day-themed “Leprechaun Express” on March 13 and will remain in its special paint scheme throughout the 2026 season.