After a massive restoration project, Berkshire Scenic Railway's 1955 Budd Car is running and almost ready for the Hoosac Valley Service.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The trains are moving and the tracks are nearly complete.

 

The Berkshire Scenic Railway is preparing for an October start to the Hoosac Valley Service, which will run passenger excursions on the weekends between Adams and North Adams.

 

Berkshire Scenic Railway Director Jay Green says volunteers are nearly finished with the restoration of a vintage Budd car to run on the tracks, which are now being rehabilitated.

 

"We're almost ready to operate a physical train. Most of the major components are operating," Green said on Saturday when volunteers drove the train car back and forth on a small sector of tracks behind the Department of Public Works to test out the newly restored and timed engines.

 

"This is really the first time we had both engines synchronized under full propulsion."

 

The Budd car is a vintage 1955 train that likely carried passengers through the Berkshires in its heyday. The nonprofit purchased the car last summer; the car was brought to North Adams last November and volunteers have been working on it since.

 

Of the major components, only the ventilation system remains left to restore.

 

"It has been a tremendous amount of work," Green said.

 

Two six-cylinder diesel engines power the car, which can operate bidirectionally, thus eliminating the need to turn around. The car was restored based on historic knowledge of the train industry. It was built in 1955 and operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad for 20 years. From there, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority operated it as a commuter car before selling it to the Cape Cod Railroad for tourist excursions. In 1999, the Belfast and Moosehead Railroad in Maine bought it for excursions and then a private owner bought it in 2011.

 

Meanwhile, the state is nearing the completion of a $2.8 million rehabilitation of the tracks that run from North Adams into Adams. That work is nearly complete and with just a few approvals and engineers being qualified on the track, Berkshire Scenic is prepared to start the runs in October.

 

"We, at this point, are relying on MassDOT," Green said.

 

The plan has been 2 1/2 years in the making. In 2013, North Adams, Adams, state and Berkshire Scenic officials announced the project to purchase the tracks from Pan Am Railway, restore them and then operate the tourist trains.

 

The sale was delayed somewhat as the state tried to combine the purchase with Pan Am tracks in the eastern part of the state. The Department of Transportation then changed course and negotiated a $1.8 million purchase of the tracks separate from those out east.

 

Berkshire Scenic will have access to the trains on the weekends while the tracks will serve freight customers existing on the lines. Green said the rehabilitation isn't just for them but will also provide upgraded infrastructure for the private sector.

 

"It provides a viable freight corridor," Green said. 

 

When the trains begin to operate in October, the entire plan won't be in motion. The track rehabilitation work will extend to the area of Adams near Renfrew Field and, in the future, the goal is to extend the tracks Hoosac Street, where a former car wash is currently under construction to become a train station. The funding for the materials for that extension has been secured, but the state has not released funds for the labor. 

 

"Everyone has to look at this as a work in progress," Green said. "The future is limitless."

 

The state Department of Transportation tore up the old tracks and restored the freight corridor.

The future construction, which Green hopes for 2016, will also coincide with the extension of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. That extension has also received federal and state funding to proceed.

 

Besides the Budd car, the organization hired Burke Construction to gut and refurbish the interior of a Baltimore & Ohio Combine 1444 coach car into a ticketing booth and welcome center for the North Adams side of the line. That will be parked at the end of the line — behind the Brien Center on American Legion Drive — and include bathrooms.

 

Through a technology grant, the organization has purchased point-of-sales systems, televisions, and components to broadcast educational programs. 

 

Addressing concerns about the scenery in that section of the track, Green emphasized that the runs aren't designed for scenic views despite the organization's name. The train runs are educationally based and provide a historic look at the trains, the tracks and the history of the industry in the area that required the operations.

 

"Our goal is to educate you. There is a reason this line existed," Green said. 

 

The organization is working with both the Adams and the North Adams historical societies to craft the educational portion. Berkshire Scenic is also reaching out to other organizations to provide an array of programming — such as a wine tasting excursion or with theater groups performing period acts.

 

Green said the organization can operate in the winter, too, but will likely only operate then for special events like Winterfest or Thunderfest.