| State of the Art Car | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | St. Louis Car Company |
| Constructed | 1972 |
| Number built | 1 – married pair |
| Capacity | 62-72 |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 75 ft (22,860 mm) |
| Width | 9 ft 7.25 in (2,927 mm) |
| Height | 11 ft 8.5 in (3,569 mm) to 12 ft 1.5 in (3,696 mm) |
| Maximum speed | 80 mph (130 km/h) |
| Weight | 90,000 lb (40,820 kg) |
| Current collection method | Third rail |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
State of the Art Car (SOAC) is a demonstrator heavy rail mass transit vehicle that was promoted by the United States Department of Transportation in the 1970s.
A two car demonstrator was built by St. Louis Car Company (after winning bid over Budd Company, Pullman-Standard, Rohr Industries, and Vought Aeronautics) based on the R44 subway car for New York City and toured five American cities with subway systems:
While the cars were well received, the concept did not catch on and was retired. Since this experiment, all future rapid transit cars were designed by manufacturers with input with clients and the DoT stopped R&D work on public transit concepts.
The two car demonstrator is now owned by the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.
