Rail Diesel Car 6211
A special part of the Depot Park project is former Boston & Maine Railroad Rail Diesel Car 6211. This self-propelled combination passenger and baggage car was built in 1955 for the B&M by the Budd Company of Philadelphia. Budd’s passenger cars, locomotive-hauled or self-propelled, were known for their durable and attractive fluted stainless-steel bodies. Until its retirement in the early 1980s, 6211 was used mainly in Boston area commuter service. It was photographed many times on the B&M’s Lexington Branch. Years of post-retirement storage were not kind to the 6211, as it suffered exterior damage and its interior was vandalized. However, on January 28, 1998, it was brought to Bedford by truck to undergo cosmetic restoration for static display at Depot Park. Work carried out by a combination of volunteer, DPW, and contractor forces over the next eleven years returned 6211 to its original appearance, inside and out.
Budd manufactured Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) from 1949 to 1962. With 109 units purchased new, one-quarter of the total production, the B&M was their largest user. It favored passenger-only models and had only 15 passenger-baggage types, of which 6211 is an example. Once the B&M’s RDCs began arriving in quantity in 1955, they displaced most locomotive-hauled commuter trains. That occurred on the Lexington Branch in May 1958. Its fleet of RDCs enabled the B&M to discontinue all use of conventional passenger equipment in or out of Boston in late 1959. However, by the mid-1980s, all of Boston’s RDCs had been replaced by new equipment. Relatively few RDCs have survived to modern times and we are fortunate to have been able to save one.
Above: Schematic of an RDC-2 from a Budd Company manual.
Right: Page from an RDC operator’s manual (donated to FBDP by Alan E. MacMillan). The cars were powered by two 275-hp Detroit Diesel engines, mounted under the floor and connected to the nearest axle by a hydraulic transmission.
The Town of Bedford earmarked $125,000 in Community Preservation Act funding to cosmetically rehabilitate RDC 6211. The work was carried out under the direction of the Department of Public Works and consultant Dan O’Brien with assistance from the Friends. Helping were Brewster Ames, Thomas Dickey, Richard Elliott, Arthur Ellis, John Filios, John Hill, Neil Leary, Brooke Moncrieff, Philip Perry, Barry Sampson, James Shea, Carl Silvestrone and Edward Stickney.
Left These official company photos, which were rescued from the trash (!), illustrate the various types of RDCs and their uses. The Boston & Maine employed four models: RDC-1, with seating for 90 (numbered by the B&M in its 6100 series); RDC-2, with a baggage section and seating for 70 (6200 series); RDC-3, with baggage and Railway Post Office sections and seating for 49 (6300 series); and RDC-9, with seating for 94 and no control cabs (6900 series).