Post steam commuter rail power on CM?

Did they go straight to RDC's after the Mogul's were done or were Alco's etc with coaches run in between?

Interesting question. A reasonable guess is "probably yes, but...". Steam on the Central Mass ended on May 5, 1956, and according to the B&M Historical Society's comprehensive history of the line, RDCs were introduced there in the "late 1950s". I have a copy of the B&M timetable effective July 8, 1956, and at that time the railroad noted which trains were assigned the shiny new RDC equipment. On the Central Mass, there were four weekday passenger trains each way, three to/from Clinton and one to/from Hudson. Per the timetable, all four outbound trains had standard coaches. But oddly, on the inbound side it shows three standard equipment and one RDC! The years 1955-1956 marked the B&M's two biggest years for RDC deliveries, so there might have been enough Budds on hand to switch all four trains directly and the July timetable was inaccurate as regards equipment. Maybe someone else has more info. By the time I first rode the line, the one remaining commuter run out of South Sudbury was a solo RDC poking through knee-high weeds.

Alco road-switchers on some trips, the 1140 on one-trip and RDCs. The first RDC on the CM used the Budd assigned to #55-60 round-trip Boston to Troy, NY. One Clinton run was cut to Hudson, which had no layover facilities. An early morning deadhead move ran the Troy car to Hudson and it made the first inbound run of the day to Boston. The last year or so of CM service to Clinton saw the Clinton Enginehouse closed and the three morning Clinton trips and two evening ones originated or terminated in Lowell and utilized the Stony Brook and Worcester-Ayer line to get to and from Clinton. One morning trip at the end of Clinton service originated in Hudson with a deadhead move out of Boston,..early and two afternoon rush trips terminated in Hudson and deadheaded back to Boston.

I was only a kitten in '56 here in Sudbury but IIRC I think I read somewhere that doodlebugs were also used at some point in time.. I'd love to be able to confirm this..

I did find this at the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society: B&M Doodlebugs - Network54 forum:

Doodlebugs in WalthamNo score for this post October 25 2003, 4:24 AM

hi, Hank:

A Doodlebug used to run on the Boston to Clinton Mass.
branch that passed through North Waltham and made stops
at the North Waltham Station on Lexington St. As close
as I can remember the years were around 1953 to 1956.
The afternoon run made the local stop around 2:30 p.m.
heading toward Clinton and the engine made a welcome noise
accelerating as we kids used to pop up our heads in the
classroom. Our school was a short distance away on Pond St. and release time was 3:00 p.m. The morning run to
Boston was around 10:00 a.m. I think there were only two
cars that made up the train. Good luck on your research.

Bob Hayes
San Francisco

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http://www.network54.com/Forum/43027/th ... Doodlebugs

As always, Your mileage will vary..

One of the last gas electrics with a trailer was used on the CM into the 1950s. The 1140, which was really a locomotive was also used, probably after the gas-electric was retired.

B&M Gas-electric "Doodlebug" #187 eastbound at West Berlin, 1948

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/387028161712941850/

FWIW when I was a kid, this bridgework was still in place.. The tunnel would be be behind the train..