R40/A (New York City Subway car)

The R40 was a class of 200 New York City Subway cars built by St. Louis Car Company in Missouri for the IND/BMT B Division. The R40s were unique for their 10-degree slanted end (designed by the firm Raymond Loewy and Associates), and were nicknamed the R40 Slants or simply Slants. A continuation of the order, the R40A, was a class of 200 more cars built from 1968 to 1969 by the St. Louis Car Company. This order contained two "forms" or body types: a slant-ended version identical to the original R40s (also nicknamed the "R40 Slant" or "Slants"), and a "modified" straight-ended version designed by Sundberg-Ferar (nicknamed the R40M).

Description

The R40s were originally numbered 4150–4249 and 4350–4449. In 1970, cars 4350–4449 were renumbered to 4250–4349. The slant-ended R40As were originally numbered 4450–4549, and the straight-ended R40As were originally numbered 4250–4349; these cars were later renumbered to 4350–4449 and 4450–4549, respectively.^[1]

The R40s and 100 of the R40As were designed with a 10-degree slanted end, with the intention of beautifying the subway, and thus, making it more attractive to car users. However, the New York City Transit Authority found great dangers, along with other hazards and flaws, with the slanted end design; with the lack of handholds for riders walking between cars after children were playing in these areas, there were concerns of the passenger falling onto the tracks. The doors between cars were closed to prevent accidents as a temporary solution. Within months, the cars were retrofitted at a cost of $215,000 with large grab rails with pantograph gates mounted, which effectively destroyed Loewy's design, but allowed passengers to travel safely between cars.^[2] In addition to modifying the R40s and slant-ended R40As, the last 100 R40As were built with the non-sloping design that is used on all other subway cars.^[3]

The R40As were delivered new with the same successful Stone Safety 10 ton air conditioning systems/units found on the last ten R38 cars, and became standard equipment on all future new cars purchased from this point onward. As a result of the air conditioning, the standee poles were arranged in an alternating pattern rather than the straight-line pattern seen in the R40s, which lacked air conditioning systems/units until their overhauls.

Due to the cosmetic and mechanical similarities shared by the straight-ended R40As and R42s, the two fleets often ran together, since they were, for all practical purposes, the same car type. In fact, one pair of cars consisted of a R40A car mated to a R42 car. This was the result of an accident on the Williamsburg Bridge in 1995, which involved R40As 4460–4461 and R42s 4664–4665. R42 4664 was written off, while R40A 4461 was repaired and rebuilt into a slant-ended car (and temporarily numbered 4260),^[4][5] leaving R40A 4460 and R42 4665 to become paired to each other.

History

In December 1965, the TA contracted Raymond Loewy and Associates to design a new subway car "dramatically different in exterior and interior." This design was planned to be used for 400 cars. The more attractive design was intended to get people out of their cars to use mass transit.^[6] On September 20, 1966, the TA announced plans to order 400 new subway cars with this design. The cars were to have wider doors and windows, easier-to-read signage, and interiors with light colors. Bids were opened to the public on October 1, 1966. The cost was to be split evenly between the Federal Government and the city.^[7] In November 1966, St. Louis Car Company was awarded the contract to construct 400 subway cars with the new design. The new cars cost $46,172,041.^[8]

The first incomplete pair of R40s (cars 4350–4351) 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.^[9]

In 1977, pantograph gates, salvaged from retired R1 through R9 cars, were modified and then installed on the front ends of the straight-ended R40A and R42 cars, and coiled spring type inter car safety barriers were installed on the blind ends of the married pairs (the straight-ended R40As came factory equipped with the baloney coiled spring type inter car safety barriers on their blind ends, and so did not need such installations).

Overhaul and Mishaps

Pairs 4200–4201 and 4420–4421 were scrapped in the 1980s prior to the overhaul of the R40s and R40As due to damage sustained in various accidents during the 1970s.

In 1988–1989, the R40s and R40As were rebuilt by Sumitomo in Elmira Heights, New York. The interior was changed drastically and the MTA paint band was removed on all rebuilt cars. The R40s were retrofitted with air conditioning, and all cars received a new interior design.^[10]

Cars 4259, 4260, 4427, and 4428 were all involved in accidents after their overhaul. All cars except for 4259, which was to be repaired and mated to R40A 4461, were scrapped; 4259 never returned to service and was ultimately sunken as an artificial reef along with most other R40s and R40As. Meanwhile, cars 4426 and 4429, which lost their mates, were mated as a pair.

Retirement

The R160 subway car order replaced the R40s and R40As from 2007 to 2009.

The R40s and slant-ended R40As were retired and reefed from fall 2007 to June 12, 2009, when the last slant-ended train, consisting of R40A pairs 4414–4415, 4424–4425, 4432–4433, 4398–4399, and R40 pair 4256–4257, made its final trip on the A. The straight-ended R40As were retired starting in January 2009 until August 28, 2009, when the last pair, 4484–4485, ran on the V along with four R42 pairs.^[10]

After retirement, most cars were stripped and sunk as artificial reefs in the Atlantic Ocean. The last R40/R40A cars to be removed from property by barge was R40 4272 and straight-ended R40As 4474–4475, which were reefed on April 17, 2010.^[11] However, R40 pair 4162-4163 and slant-ended R40A pairs 4392–4393 and 4442–4443 were retained as school cars until 2013. These cars were eventually decommissioned and trucked to Sims Metal Management in Newark, New Jersey from April 2013 to October 1, 2013 for scrapping, as the reefing program had ended in April 2010.^[10]

R40s 4280–4281 (originally 4380–4381) are preserved by the New York Transit Museum.^[12][13] They were restored to operating status in 2013-2014 and have been operating on New York City Transit Museum-sponsored excursions since August 2014, specifically on the Train of Many Metals (TOMM).^[14] Before cars 4280–4281 were preserved, cars 4192–4193 were temporarily displayed at the New York Transit Museum in 2008, but were later stripped and reefed.^[15][16]

No slant-ended R40As were preserved. However, several straight-ended R40As have been preserved, including:

• 4460 (and its R42 mate 4665), preserved by the Railway Preservation Corporation and stored at Coney Island Yard.
• 4461 (rebuilt into a slant-ended car), currently at the Randall's Island FDNY Facility, used with R62s 1366 and 1370 as training cars.^[17][18]
• Pair 4480–4481, preserved by the New York Transit Museum. The cars were stored at the Concourse Yard until 2014, when they were moved to the 207th Street Yard. The pair is in need of restoration.^[19]

Gallery

• 
  An R40 train on the at West Fourth Street–Washington Square
• 
  A straight-ended R40A train on the at Jay Street–Borough Hall
• 
  Interior of a straight-ended R40A car
• 
  Interior of a slanted R40A car

References

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

Media related to R40 (New York City Subway car) at Wikimedia Commons

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