By Railfan & Railroad Staff
The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum and the Budd RDC Foundation announced Friday that they had inked a deal that will see five unique and historic pieces of rail equipment moved to the Massachusetts tourist railroad.
Among the equipment are the three surviving cars of the New York, New Haven & Hartford’s Roger Williams, a high-speed train set that has been stored serviceable in New Hampshire. Introduced in 1956, the train used existing RDC propulsion technology, and could also draw power off third-rail for operation into Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The train continued to operate into the Amtrak era until the surviving cars were sold into private ownership in the mid-1980s.
The other two cars are former New Haven RDC-1 41 and former Baltimore & Ohio RDC-2 1960. The B&O car is unique in that it was modified with a galley and six tables, while the New Haven one is the sister car to the RDC the Berkshire Scenic operates.
ABOVE: Surviving Roger Williams mid-train car 162 photographed at the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln, N.H., in August 2018. While similar in design and construction of standard Budd RDCs, the mid-train cars lacked operator controls. —Otto M. Vondrak photo
“After several years of discussions with the folks at Berkshire Scenic, and observing their successes at restoring and operating their own RDC, I felt that the time was finally right to grant them stewardship of the fleet,” said Budd RDC Foundation President Jim Gagliardi.
All five cars were being moved from their long-term storage at New Hampshire’s Hobo Railroad south to Massachusetts this week.
“This is a significant addition to the museum’s collection, and we thank Mr. Gagliardi and the Budd RDC Foundation for having the confidence in our abilities to continue the preservation, restoration and operation of these unique pieces.” said Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum president Tom Delasco.
The equipment is being split between both Berkshire Scenic operations in Berkshire County. The NH RDC-1 and B&O RDC-2 will reside and operate on the Hoosac Valley Service and The Roger Williams will reside at Lenox.
