R40 (New York City Subway car)

R40 (New York City Subway car)
250px An R40 Slant train on the at Jay Street – Borough Hall.
250px Interior of an R40 Slant car on the .
In service	1968-2009
Manufacturer	St. Louis Car Company
Built at	St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Replaced	many of the remaining BMT AB Standards
Constructed	1967–1968
Entered service	March 23, 1968
Refurbishment	1987–1989
Scrapped	2008–2010
Number built	200
Number preserved	2
Number scrapped	198
Fleet numbers	4150–4349 (originally 4150–4249, and 4350–4449 which were renumber to 4250-4349 in 1970)
Capacity	44 (seated)
Operator(s)	New York City Subway
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel sides with carbon steel chassis and underframes, fiberglass A-end bonnet
Car length	60 ft 2.5 in (18.35 m)
Width	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Height	12 ft 1.625 in (3.70 m)
Platform height	3 ft 9.125 in (1.15 m)
Doors	8
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	77,695 lb (35,242 kg)
Traction system	General Electric (GE) SCM 17KG192AE2 propulsion system using GE 1257E1 motors (115 hp or 85.76 kW per axle)
Acceleration	2.5mph/s
Deceleration	~3mph
Braking system(s)	WABCO "SMEE" Braking System, A.S.F. simplex unit cylinder clasp (tread) brake
Safety system(s)	emergency brakes (train)
Headlight type	halogen light bulbs
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The R40 was a B Division New York City Subway car built between 1967 and 1968 by the St. Louis Car Company in St. Louis, Missouri.

Description

The R40 fleet was numbered 4150–4349; cars 4250–4349 were originally numbered as 4350–4449 until 1970 (cars 4150–4249 retained their original numbers). These cars were unique for their 10° slanted end, designed by the firm of Raymond Loewy and Associates.

The first incomplete pair of R40s (cars 4350 and 4351) came onto TA property in November 1967 for promoting the Transportation Bond issue on Election Day. On March 23, 1968, the R40 fleet entered service on the F.

The New York City Transit Authority found great dangers along with other hazards with the slanted end design posed with the lack of handholds for riders walking between cars, thus the danger of the passenger falling onto the tracks, and other design flaws. Within months, the cars were retrofitted with large grab rails with pantograph gates mounted, which effectively destroyed Loewy's design, but allowed passengers to travel safely between cars.

Between 1987 and 1989, the R40s were rebuilt by Sumitomo in Elmira Heights, New York and retrofitted with air conditioning and a new interior design.

Retirement, scrapping, preservation and usage

The R160 order has replaced all of the R40 fleet. The last slanted train, cars 4256–4257 in a mix with R40A slants, made its final trip on the A on June 12, 2009.

Cars 4162-4163 were used as school cars at East New York Yard and were later transferred to Concourse Yard for storage. This pair was subsequently scrapped.

Cars 4192-4193 were on temporary display at the New York Transit Museum briefly in 2008 and were later reefed.

As of November 2009, cars 4280-4281 are designated to be preserved for the New York Transit Museum. They were restored to operating status and is currently at the Transit Museum.

See also

• R40A (New York City Subway car) - first 100 cars are a very similar later models also built by St. Louis Car Company

Further reading

• Sansone, Gene. Evolution of New York City subways: An illustrated history of New York City's transit cars, 1867-1997. New York Transit Museum Press, New York, 1997 ISBN 978-0-9637492-8-4

External links

• nycsubway.org - NYC Subway Cars: R40
• Car Status/Assignment
• R40 Roster and Scrap Notes