Rail Diesel Car 6211
PAGE UPDATED: JUNE 16,
2006
Rail Diesel Car 6211
PAGE UPDATED: JUNE 16,
2006
A special part of the Depot Park project is former Boston & Maine Railroad Budd Rail Diesel Car #6211. This vintage combination passenger-baggage car was built in 1955 for the B&M. It has been out of service since the early 1980s. On January 28, 1998, RDC #6211 was brought to Bedford by truck to undergo cosmetic restoration for static display at Depot Park. Work is being carried out by a combination of volunteer and contractor forces.
The B&M Railroad was the largest user of self-propelled Budd RDCs; it purchased 109 of the 404 cars that were manufactured between 1949 and 1962. The stainless steel RDCs were once ubiquitous in Boston-area commuter rail service. Since the mid-1980s, however, all RDCs have been replaced by new rolling stock. A relatively few Budd Cars have survived to modern times. We are fortunate to be able to save one of the unique railway vehicles that once provided passenger service to Bedford, Lexington and Arlington.
View a page from an RDC operations manual that was donated to FBDP by engineer Alan E. MacMillan.
View a slide show of B&M RDCs. These are official company photographs that were rescued from the dumpster.
Volunteers have done much work to begin restoration of #6211. The seats have been removed in preparation for interior painting and installation of new flooring by contractors. The MBTA Commuter Rail purple paint on the exterior has been removed. The Town of Bedford has earmarked $125,000 in Community Preservation Act funding to cosmetically rehabilitate the car. This work is being carried out under the direction of the Department of Public Works and consultant Dan O'Brien with assistance from the Friends.
If you live in the Bedford area and
are interested in helping with Project 6211, please send us an
e-mail message.
Ex-B&M RDC-2 #6211 rested in Bedford's old Railroad Yard for five years before being moved next to the Freight House in June 2003.