R188's

I found this on nyctransit forums:
http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/ ... php?t=4404

what's your opinion?

What does CBTC mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicat ... in_control

google is your friend.

Interesting although what will become of the R62s if the R188s arrive in the next few years? It's not like the MTA is wallowing in enough money that they can just discard equipment with perhaps 15-20 years service life left. If CBTC is implemented will there be still be a motorman and conductor, just a motorman who also opens doors, or no crew at all? And will CBTC finally get rid of all the timers on the #7, once again allowing rapid transit to live up to its name?

BTW, some of the funniest comments in that thread are those calling for the R188 to be slanted for aerodynamics. Subway trains just don't spend enough time at high enough speeds to make aerodynamics a consideration at all. Even if CBTC allows the 7 express to run to its full potential, which might be around 60-65 mph between Queensboro Plaza and Willets Point, it won't be at that speed long enough for streamlining to save that big a percentage of energy.

The last and only time a car used a slanted design was the R40 in 1968, designed by Raymond Loewy of PRR and Studebaker fame. And the R40 proved to have serious flaws in the design.

This is just a rumor, the R62/A's are here to stay if you read though that thread you will see that "people in the know" don't even know about this "R188".

the story AFAIK is that the 7 and 6 will simply swap fleets. IIRC, i got that from the shop super at Corona during a NYTM tour

Found a link on Wikipedia. R188 contract will consist of 23 base order cars with an option of 163 cars. the remainder of the contract includes 7 base conversions of R142/R142A cars with an option for 124 conversions and 3 base conversion kits with an option of 186 kits. total CBTC compatible cars would be 506 cars.

Link:
http://www.mta.info/nyct/procure/con.../r34188sol.pdf

The first R188 train entered its 30 day revenue service test today.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... e_uploaded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/ ... -new-r188/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/ ... -near-you/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've been seeing a few R-62's on the 6 line recently, mixed in with the R-142's. They're obviously transferred from the Flushing line, going by the lights in the side markers for a green diamond or red circle around the route designation. I've also seen pictures on Facebook of new cars on the Flushing line. Are R-188's coming in?

An additional question that have in connection with the R-188's: What is a C unit? I already know that A means with a cab and that B means without a cab. But I've never heard of C.

railfan365 wrote:An additional question that have in connection with the R-188's: What is a C unit? I already know that A means with a cab and that B means without a cab. But I've never heard of C.

A C-unit is the "11th car" that was made brand new for each R188 set. From the R142's they got two five car sets of A-B-B-B-A to make a 10-car train. However, the Flushing Line needs 11-car sets, so they made an extra C-unit from scratch that gets inserted in next to the A unit at either end of the train.

You can tell which one is the C-unit because the interior lights look brighter than all the others. In this video, the second car is the C-car, as you can tell by the interior lights.

lirr42 wrote:

railfan365 wrote:An additional question that have in connection with the R-188's: What is a C unit? I already know that A means with a cab and that B means without a cab. But I've never heard of C.

A C-unit is the "11th car" that was made brand new for each R188 set. From the R142's they got two five car sets of A-B-B-B-A to make a 10-car train. However, the Flushing Line needs 11-car sets, so they made an extra C-unit from scratch that gets inserted in next to the A unit at either end of the train.

You can tell which one is the C-unit because the interior lights look brighter than all the others. In this video, the second car is the C-car, as you can tell by the interior lights.

Thanks. This is the first time that I've seen a distinction made among cabless MU cars.

Two R188 Shorts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I37SBCbR34U" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - Arriving at 5th Avenu - Bryant Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuEAgPsVP38" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - Departing TSQ 42nd Street

Roundtrip (7) video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL_7-MsttEE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image of the 7 extension as viewed from TSQ (fake wall removed): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ension.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Caught the R188 yesteday on my way to Woodside. It was running pretty nice.