| R40A (New York City Subway car) | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | St. Louis Car Company |
| Constructed | 1968–1969 |
| Refurbishment | 1988–1989 |
| Scrapped | 2009 |
| Number built | 100 slant front end & 100 modified front ends |
| Number preserved | 6 |
| Number scrapped | 193 |
| Fleet numbers | 4350-4449 (slant) 4450-4549 (modified) (originally 4450-4549 and 4250-4349) |
| Capacity | 44 (seated) |
| Operator | 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 (18.3 m) |
| Width | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Height | 12.08 ft (3.7 m) |
| Platform height | 3.76 ft (1.1 m) |
| Doors | 8 |
| Maximum speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Weight | 77,695 lb (35,242 kg) (slant) 78,030 lb (35,394 kg) |
| Traction system | General Electric (GE) SCM 17KG192AE2 propulsion system using GE 1257E1 motors (115 hp per axle) |
| Braking system(s) | WABCO "SMEE" Braking System, A.S.F. simplex unit cylinder clasp (tread) brake |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The R40A was a New York City Subway car order built by St. Louis Car Company between 1968 and 1969. The order contained two forms: a slant-ended version that was similar to the original R40 order (sometimes referred to as the R40 Slant), and a straight-ended (or "modified") version similar to the R42 order (sometimes referred to as the R40M). Both nicknames were not official designations.
The R40As were originally delivered with air conditioning units. As a result of the air conditioning, the standee poles were arranged in a diagonal pattern rather than the straight-line pattern seen in the R40.
The slant-ended cars were numbered 4350–4449 (originally numbered as 4450–4549 until 1970) while the straight-ended cars were numbered 4450–4549 (originally 4250–4349, again until 1970). The straight-end cars were redesigned by Sundberg-Ferar. Due to the cosmetic and mechanical similarities the R40Ms and R42s shared, the two fleets often ran together. R40A car 4460 was mated to R42 car 4665, as the mates of both cars were damaged in the Williamsburg Bridge wreck of 1995. This pair is currently at the Avenue X Yard for possible preservation.
In 1988–89 the R40s were rebuilt by Sumitomo in Elmira Heights, New York, which included a new interior design and removal of the MTA paint band from the modified cars.
The R160 order has replaced all of the R40A fleet. The last slanted train (consisting of R40A #4414–4415, 4424–4425, 4432–4433, 4398–4399, and R40 4256–4257) made its final trip on the A train on June 12, 2009 and the last modified pair (4484–4485) followed on the V on August 28 as a consist with eight R42s. Cars 4480–4481 have been preserved for the New York Transit Museum while cars 4392–4393 and 4442–4443 have been assigned to school training and are respectively at the Rockaway Park Yard and Concourse Yard.
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