NORTH CANAAN, Conn. — The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum of Lenox, Mass., in collaboration with the Houstatonic Railroad and Budd RDC Foundation, will display the Budd-built Roger Williams trainset on Saturday, July 20, as part of Canaan Railroad Days in North Canaan.
Railroad Days, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, recognizes the rich railroad history of town and its Union Depot, which dates to 1872 and originally served the Housatonic and Connecticut Western railroads. The town-wide, multi-day event includes carnival rides, a parade, and fireworks, and this year will feature a drone show and an outdoor slide presentation featuring images of the Berkshire Line taken by New Haven engineer Pete McLachlan.
The display of the three remaining cars of the Roger Williams, built for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad as a six-car trainset of RDC equipment with streamliner cabs on each end and intermediate cars without the usual RDC operating controls and cabs, is scheduled to run from noon to 6 p.m. It will be the first time in decades the train’s interior will be open for viewing and will include an interpretive exhibit explaining the significance of the rare trainset. Equipment from the Housatonic Railroad and volunteers from the Danbury Railroad Museum will also be present. The parade and fireworks show are also set for Saturday.
“This is a great way to not only celebrate Canaan Railroad Days but kick off the museum’s 40th anniversary celebration, with a formal celebration taking place at Lenox Station the following week,” said Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum President Tom Delasco. “We appreciate the town of North Canaan’s hospitality and our collaborative relationship with the Housatonic Railroad to make this unique opportunity a reality.”
The museum and the Budd RDC Foundation formalized an agreement in 2023 to restore and operate cars from the collection, which included the Roger Williams, B&O RDC2 No. 1960 and New Haven RDC1 No. 41 [see “Berkshire Scenic to lease surviving ‘Roger Williams’ equipment …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 19, 2023]. The equipment had been stored at the former Hobo Railroad in Lincoln, N.H., with the Roger Williams relocated to the museum in Lenox, while Nos. 1960 and 41 are now at the museum’s Hoosac Valley Train Ride in Adams, Mass.
Over the last 10 years, the museum has become expert on Budd’s Rail Diesel Cars, amassing a large collection of spare parts to support continued to operation and interpretation The Roger Williams trainset moved under its own power in April for the first time in 30 years, and work is continuing on its mechanical systems with the goal of having all three cars operational by 2025. At the Hoosac Valley Train Ride, No. 41 is slated to enter service this week, with No. 1960 following later this summer.
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