R40 (New York City Subway car)
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The R40 (sometimes referred to as R40 Slant to distinguish it from the later R40M) is a New York City Subway IND–BMT car, built in 1967–69 by the St. Louis Car Company, St. Louis, Missouri. These cars were unique for their 10 degree slanted end, designed by Raymond Loewy of Studebaker fame. This order was supposed to be 400 cars and also it was supposed to be linked as a 5-car set instead of married pairs. The first R40 set was delivered in November, 1967. In January, 1968, and the first cars went into service on the F service (6 Avenue Local).
The New York City Transit Authority found great dangers with the slant, with the lack of handholds for riders walking between cars, the danger of the passenger falling onto the track and other flaws in the design. All R40 cars were later retrofitted with pantograph gates at the ends. With the poorly conceived slant design, NYCTA had the last 100 R40 cars (R40M) built with a non-slant end similar to the R42. 200 R40A's (100 R40A slants and 100 "R40M") were built with original air conditioning.
In 1988–1989 the R40's were rebuilt by Sumitomo in Elmira Heights, New York.
Currently, R40 cars can be found on the B, N, and W services. They are also used to provide extra service on the D during games at Yankee Stadium and the Q during constructon on the BMT Brighton Line. They are based at Coney Island in Brooklyn.
The R160B is scheduled to replace the R40 by 2010.
The R40 slant cars are numbered 4150-4449. The R40M cars are numbered 4450-4549).
[edit] R-40 "Slants" Specifications
| Car builder | St. Louis Car Company, St Louis, MO (USA) | |
| Car body | Stainless Steel with Carbon Steel chassis and underframes, Fiberglass A-end bonnet | |
| Unit numbers | 4150-4349 | |
| Fleet of (as of right now) | about 196 cars | |
| Car dimensions | 60 feet, 21⁄2 inches long 10 feet wide 12 feet, 15⁄8 inches high |
18.35 m long 3.048 m wide 3.7 m high |
| Track, standard gauge | 4 ft 81⁄2 in | 1.435 m |
| Doorway width (side—clear opening) |
4 ft 2 in | 1.27 m |
| Wheel diameter | 34 inches | 864 mm |
| Propulsion system | General Electric (GE) SCM 17KG192AE2 propulsion system | |
| DC Traction motors | General Electric (GE) 1257E1 | |
| Power (4 per car) | 115 horsepower | 86 kW |
| Brakes | WABCO "SMEE" Braking System | |
| Average car weight (empty) |
72,433 lb | 33,762 kg |
| Maximum speed | 65 mph | 105 km/h (Later Lowered) |
| Total seated passengers | 44 | |
| Air conditioning system | Two Thermo King HVAC units each car. | |
| Cab Arrangement | Half-width operating cab at "A" end, half-width conductor control cab at "B" end | |
| Coupling/Numbering Arrangement | All married pairs. | |
| Price per car (new, 1968) | US$ 111,793 | |
