Western Railway Museum: 2 Car BART Train

Equipment on the pathway was used to secure the trucks during lifting.

Today the Western Railway Museum doubled its BART Legacy Fleet with the addition of a second legacy car – B2 car 1834. The 1834’s claim to fame was as the ride of President Richard Nixon on September 27, 1972 from San Leandro to Lake Merritt, back when it was A car 120. The other car, which was delivered last month, is A2 car 1164. The third car, C car 329, is expected to arrive in a few weeks.

Coincidentally, today is the 52nd anniversary of the start of BART revenue service and WRM now has a 2 car train – 7 of the 9 trains in service on 9/11/1972 (Day One) were 2 car trains too. Granted, the consists were of two A cars, not an A car and a B car, but the 1834 was once an A car.

The 1834 was originally built by Rohr as A car #120. This was about the 25th car off the production line and delivered on June 1, 1972. It entered service not on Day One, but very shortly after – it was in service by 9/19/1972.

The car was the lead car (and carried the Nixons) on the “Presidential Special” train #902 on September 27, 1972. The three car train (120-505-119) was inspected by the Secret Service and ran nonstop from San Leandro to Lake Merritt station with the Nixons and B.R. Stokes, BART General Manager.

Afterwards, Nixon toured Central Control. He did not pay the fare for his ride, but did bring some financial support to help pay for more BART cars. Afterwards, the 120 gained a brass plaque about the Nixon ride, but was supposedly stolen in 1975 or 1976.

The #120 was among the first group of A cars converted to B cars in the late 1970s and early 1980s, by Hayward Shop. This was likely in part from a bad fire inside the car in late 1976. The fireworthiness of the cars was concerning and after the 1979 Tube Fire, BART’s fleet underwent a significant vehicle hardening program to reduce and mitigate the hazard. Such changes included new seats, new car interior liners, and emergency evacuation posters – alongside operational changes.

Now converted into B car 834, it entered service in 1981 and ran until 2002. By then, the entire legacy fleet underwent a rehabilitation replacing most car components and rebuilding the car into “like new condition”. Few noticed that it was historic, let alone once fit for the President.

Renamed and renumbered, the new B2 car 1834 ran for 22 more years. By the late 2010s and early 2020s it was assigned to Concord Shop, but then moved to Daly City, and finally Hayward Shop. It was in service on the Final Run event on 4/20/2024, in the second to depart MacArthur.

The car was delivered to the Western Railway Museum on September 11, 2024, with a tremendous amount of assistance from BART and Salazar Trucking. The car was delivered in much of the same way as the A car 1164 a few weeks ago, but also coupled to the A car. I had the distinct pleasure of being the first person to cross between cars once it was coupled up.

Transition dollies used to move the car from the delivery spot to the carbarn.

Although not as exciting as the A car 1164, the B car 1834 is the only B car making it out of official BART hands. By the end of next year, it will be the only B car in existence. Throughout the years, almost every BART train had at least one B car. The B car fleet once numbered 380 cars – over half the fleet – and these middle “cattle” cars rolled for over 50 years. With the addition of the C car 329 in the coming weeks, it will once again become just a middle car. But in the meantime, it’s the end of a short “two bagger” at the Western Railway Museum.