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About this video: On January 6, 2024, MBTA operated a “hospital train” equipment move on the New Hampshire Route Mainline (Lowell Line) between Boston and Billerica, MA. “Hospital train” is a loose term used on the railroad that often refers to an extra train (not scheduled) moving old or damaged equipment to a specific location, often at a restricted speed. This train consisted of MBTA’s C-1 caboose being used as a shoving platform, two MBTA freight cars (MBTX 1411 and 101) being used for extra breaking capabilities, MBTX 6213 (an ex-Boston and Maine RDC “Budd” car), MBTA 1930 (an ex-milk box car), and MBTA F40PH-3C 1062 for power. Extra freight cars were required due to the lack of breaks in the 6213 and 1930, both of which had been sitting in storage for decades prior. The first few clips in this video were filmed in Boston as the train was assembled, then the following ones in Medford, Winchester, Woburn, and Wilmington as we chased the historic move to its final destination of Iron Horse Park in Billerica. The last clip shows the train returning back to Boston through Wilmington after the two historic cars were dropped off, where they will hopefully see a cosmic restoration in the near future.
Background: Anyone who has taken a train into or out of Boston’s North Station on the Newburyport/Rockport, Haverhill, or Lowell lines in the last 20 years most likely has seen two ex-Boston and Maine self-propelled RDC “Budd” cars (numbered 6213 and 6214) rotting away on a siding in Somerville. Formerly an efficient way to travel, they are now a part of railroading past, resulting in the most recent owners of the cars (the MBTA) to leave them sitting with no real plans for their future. On September 10, 2022, trespassers started a fire in car 6214 which resulted in major structural damage to the already dilapidated coach. Although directly connected to other train cars such as the 6213, it was only the 6214 that received most of the fire damage. In December of 2023 after sitting for another year untouched, crews set up equipment around the 6214 (the fire damaged one) and scrapped it on site leaving the 6213 in tact. Not long after, the 6213 (as well as a few old freight cars connected to it) was moved for the first time in over 20 years, although only the short distance into MBTA’s Boston Engine Terminal a few hundred feet away. With word that the remaining Budd car was to be cosmetically restored for display in Billerica, MA, I kept in close contact with a few friends at the railroad as we planned the upcoming historic (and most likely the last ever) move of the last RDC car in Boston.
2 май 2024
