On the morning of January 6th, 2024, an MBTA work extra was tasked with moving an eclectic duo of vintage railcars previously stored in Somerville, MA to the MBTA's new dispatching center at Iron Horse Park in North Billerica. These cars will be cosmetically restored and become static displays at the new dispatching complex. These two cars, both ex-Boston and Maine, were built in the late 1950s, and will most likely never move on a mainline again.

The older of the two, MBTX 6213 is a Budd RDC coach built for the Boston and Maine in 1956. After serving on B&M-operated commuter trains, and later state-funded MBTA commuter trains until its retirement in the 1980s, it was stored and left in a limbo state for more than 40 years. After a failed crew-quarters conversion in 2003, this car, along with another RDC was left sitting to rot in Sommerville. Throughout the '2000s, the RDC twins were home to vandalism, squatters, and even a fire in late 2022, leading to the subsequent on-site scrapping of 6214. Now a lone survivor, 6213 left Boston one last time in 2024, almost 70 years after being built.

Joining 6213 on its final trip is MBTX 1930, an insulated boxcar built for the B&M in 1958. Acquired by the MBTA at some point in the '90s, this car was never put to use and ended up in storage with the RDC twins. Though it didn't carry much significance as a piece of equipment on the MBTA, when built, it was one of the last ice-cooled "milk cars" ever built.

Seeing that these two railcars are old enough to be considered senior citizens, they do not have functional brakes, so that's where 3 other cars come in. MBTA caboose C-1, an ex-Amtrak boxcar, and a flat car are on this train with the sole purpose of serving as the train's brakes. After rerouting the brake lines around the two vintage cars, this train was able to safely shove more than 20 miles between Somerville and North Billerica.

This unique move was quite the way to start off 2024!

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