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Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #770734  by wildwood junction
 
This morning while photographing at Kings Highway Stn on the Brighton Line a B train with R-32s came along. I was lucky to photograph this train. How many R-32 train sets are left approximately? Which lines do they run on? Is there any chance for a 'Farewell Fantrip' for the R-32s?
 #771477  by railfan365
 
to answer your question, and maybe then some, here's what i know about recent subway car retirements:

Of the original 600 R-32's, there are 240 still in service. 10 out of Coney Island for occasional service on the B; 24 in Jamaica for occasoinal use on the R and V, and 206 at 207th Street for heavy service on the C.

All R-38's have been retired.

All slant R-40's and R-40M's have been retired.

Of the original 400 R-42's, 50 are in service in East New York for regular service on the J/Z, and 14 are in limbo in Jamaica for possible return to service on the R and V.

Retirement of the R-32's and R-42's has been suspended pending inspection of the R-44's for failing structural integrity. Either retirement of the 32's and 42's will resume presently in regard to R-160's continuingto go online, or the R-44's will actually be retired this year with the surviving older cars continuing to run until R-179's start to go on line during or after 2015.
 #772423  by Kamen Rider
 
when the current brighton GO went into effect, that one set of 32s was sent to CI to up the total number of trains avible to cover the brighton line.
 #783765  by Kamen Rider
 
Not anytime soon. LIPA, which powers the subway in the Rockways, has voltage issues on the Peninsula. This why the A tests were ended and the first B set restarted it's testing on the N.
 #783994  by R36 Combine Coach
 
Head-end View wrote:And if the sun, and moon and the stars all line up in a straight-line, maybe you'll catch that one friggin' train for a final front window ride on the Brighton Line.
The Brighton Local/Express is where they debuted in September 1964, followed on the Sea Beach.
 #784551  by L'mont
 
Kamen Rider wrote:Not anytime soon. LIPA, which powers the subway in the Rockways, has voltage issues on the Peninsula. This why the A tests were ended and the first B set restarted it's testing on the N.
Why does this effect the cars operation any differently than the current rolling stock?
 #814369  by railfan365
 
To update what I previously posted on this thread:

There are still 240 E-32's in service, but now 230 are assigned to 207th Street for service on the C and A, with 10 assigned to Coney Island, presumably still for filling in on the B.

There are still 50 R-42's assigned to East New York for service on the J and Z. The lat 14 at Jamaica have been permanently retired.

All of these cars will remain in service until the R-179's start to come online during or adfter 2015.

The R-44's are presently being scrapped due to structural defects.

I am guessing that the scrapping of R-44's is why Jamaica's last R-32's were sent to 207th Street, and that more R-46's are going there and to Pitkin. As to the lines serviced by Jamaica, I've been seeing some R160's on the lowly R and V lines.
 #814398  by jtr1962
 
railfan365 wrote: The R-44's are presently being scrapped due to structural defects.
All of them? Or only the worst ones?

Interesting turn of events. Quite a few of us had hoped at least some of the R-32s would see 50+ years in service. Now it looks like that's going to happen. In terms of durability, the R-32s were probably one of the best subway cars ever. The bodies all looked to be in great shape last I saw of them on the E. They probably could have gone another 45 years with a rebuild, had that been economically feasible.
 #814449  by railfan365
 
jtr1962 wrote:
railfan365 wrote: The R-44's are presently being scrapped due to structural defects.
All of them? Or only the worst ones?

Interesting turn of events. Quite a few of us had hoped at least some of the R-32s would see 50+ years in service. Now it looks like that's going to happen. In terms of durability, the R-32s were probably one of the best subway cars ever. The bodies all looked to be in great shape last I saw of them on the E. They probably could have gone another 45 years with a rebuild, had that been economically feasible.
It seems that they're all going - based on what I've seen.
 #814555  by R36 Combine Coach
 
jtr1962 wrote:
railfan365 wrote: The R-44's are presently being scrapped due to structural defects.
All of them? Or only the worst ones?

Interesting turn of events. Quite a few of us had hoped at least some of the R-32s would see 50+ years in service. Now it looks like that's going to happen. In terms of durability, the R-32s were probably one of the best subway cars ever. The bodies all looked to be in great shape last I saw of them on the E. They probably could have gone another 45 years with a rebuild, had that been economically feasible.
The Budd quality of the R32s paid off, just like Amtrak and VIA's Heritage cars.
 #853171  by railfan365
 
Here's another update on B division subway car assignments - which is on another thread:

The R-44's are ALL retired except for the 63 on SIR as of last Saturday.

All 240 R-32's still in service are assigned to 207th Street for service on the C, and occasional service on the A.

All 50 R-42's still in service are based in East NY and running on the J/Z.

The R-46's are divided between Jamaica and Pitkin, running on the A, F, G, and R.

The R-68's are divided between Concourse and Coney, running on the B,D,N, and Franklin Avenue Shuttle.

The R-143's are exclusively on the L.

The R-160's, the new workhorse of the system, are divided among Jamaica, Coney, and East NY. They're running on the E, F, J, Z, L, M, N, Q, and R.

As to the propositin that the R-32's were well made - I agree, although I regret that none were kept in their original condition with fans. My other favorite model was the R-10's.