| R42 | |
|---|---|
 An R42 train on theJ atMarcy Avenue | |
 Interior of an R42 car | |
| In service | 1969–2020 |
| Manufacturer | St. Louis Car Company |
| Built at | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Replaced |
|
| Constructed | 1969–1970 |
| Entered service | May 9, 1969 |
| Refurbished | 1988–1989 |
| Scrapped | 2007–2008 (all CI-rebuilt cars) 2007–2013 (most MK-rebuilt cars) |
| Number built | 400 |
| Number in service | (48 in work service)[1] |
| Number preserved | 5 |
| Number scrapped | 347 |
| Successor | R160 andR179 |
| Formation | Married Pairs |
| Fleet numbers | 4550–4949 |
| Capacity | 44 (seated) |
| Operators | New York City Subway |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Stainless Steel with Carbon Steel chassis, roof and underbody, Fiberglass A-end bonnet and B-end top bonnet |
| Train length | 2 car train: 120.4 feet (36.7 m) 4 car train: 240.8 feet (73.4 m) 6 car train: 361.2 feet (110.1 m) 8 car train: 481.6 feet (146.8 m) 10 car train: 602 feet (183 m) |
| Car length | 60 ft (18.29 m) |
| Width | 10 ft (3,048 mm) |
| Height | 12.08 ft (3,682 mm) |
| Platform height | 3.76 ft (1.15 m) |
| Doors | 8 sets of 50 inch wide side doors per car |
| Maximum speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Weight | 74,388.5 lb (33,742 kg) |
| Traction system | General Electric (GE) SCM propulsion system using Westinghouse 1447J motors 115 hp (85.8 kW) on all axles |
| Acceleration | 2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h⋅s)) |
| Deceleration | 3.0 mph/s (4.8 km/(h⋅s)) (Full Service) 3.2 mph/s (5.1 km/(h⋅s)) (Emergency) |
| Electric system(s) | 600VDCThird rail |
| Current collection | Contact shoe |
| Braking system(s) | CI rebuilds: New York Air Brake SMEE / Newtran (dynamic and friction), A.S.F. simplex unit cylinder clasp (tread) brake MK rebuilds: WABCO "SMEE" Braking System, A.S.F. simplex unit cylinder clasp (tread) brake |
| Safety system(s) | tripcock |
| Coupling system | Westinghouse H2C |
| Headlight type | halogen light bulbs |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
TheR42 was aNew York City Subway car model built by theSt. Louis Car Company between 1969 and 1970 for theIND/BMTB Division. There were 400 cars in the R42 fleet, numbered 4550–4949. It was the last 60-foot (18.29 m) B Division car built for the New York City Subway until theR143 in 2001, and the last car model class to be built inmarried pairs.
The first R42 cars entered service on May 9, 1969. Various modifications were made over the years to the R42 fleet. In the late 1980s, the R42 cars were rebuilt byMorrison–Knudsen and theConey Island Rapid Transit Car Overhaul Shop.
TheR160 order was to replace all R42s in the late 2000s, but 50 cars of the original fleet remained, when it was decided to retire theNYCT R44s instead. TheR179 order replaced the remainder of the R42s in the late 2010s. The R42s temporarily resumed service from January 8 through 24 in 2020 when the R179s were pulled from service. The final train of R42s ran in passenger service on February 12, 2020. After retirement, most of the R42s were sunk as artificial reefs, scrapped, or placed into storage, but a handful have been preserved and others retained for various purposes.
The R42s were numbered 4550–4949. They were the first fleet of New York City Subway cars to be fully equipped with Stone-Safety 10 tonair conditioning systems/units.[2] Such units were similarly found on the last tenR38s (4140–4149) and all two-hundredR40As (4350–4549).
The R42s were also the first cars to use solid-state converters in place of the motor-generators as standard equipment and were also the last cars to be equipped with the tried-and-true, and extremely reliable WABCO RT-2 or SMEE braking system temporarily, until returning in 1983 with theR62s for the IRT division, after disastrous results with the newer WABCO RT-5 or P-Wire braking systems used on theirR44 andR46 cars of the 1970s. They were also the last cars to not have the two-note warning chime that was present on the R44 and all of the train models following it.
As the R42s and the straight-ended R40As were nearly identical, they were often operated together in mixed-consists.
On May 9, 1969, cars 4554–4555 entered service on theN as part of a mixed consist with straight-endedR40As. By January 5, 1970, all cars were in service.[3]
Initially, the R42s suffered from air conditioning and brake malfunctions, frequently injuring crew members.[4]
In 1973, cars 4764–4765 were sent toGarrett AiResearch's facilities inLos Angeles,California, to test out an experimentalflywheel energy storage and energy-saving system and equipment.[5] Car 4764 received this energy storage, conservation equipment, and machinery with batteries and amber-type digital readouts indicating the amount of energy used by the equipment, while 4765 remained untouched. These cars were later tested at the UMTA and theUSDOT testing facility inPueblo, Colorado for evaluation, before being returned to the MTA in 1976 for in-service testing on all BMT/IND lines to check the effectiveness of the technology.
In 1977, pantograph gates, salvaged from retiredR1 through R9 cars, were modified and installed on the front ends of the R42s. Baloney coiled spring type inter car safety barriers were also installed on the blind ends of the married pairs.
The R42s were rebuilt between 1988 and 1989 under the General Overhaul (GOH) program as a result of deferred maintenance in the transit system during the 1970s and 1980s. 286 cars (in the 4550–4839 range) were rebuilt off-property byMorrison–Knudsen inHornell, New York,[6] and all 110 cars numbered 4840–4949 were rebuilt in-house at theConey Island Overhaul Shop inConey Island, Brooklyn. The Coney Island rebuilds retained their original blue door indicator lights at the ends of the cars as well as their original master controllers; the indicator lights were removed by Morrison-Knudsen.[7]
On June 6, 1995, cars 4664–4665 were involved ina collision on theWilliamsburg Bridge with straight-endedR40A cars 4460–4461. Car 4664 was scrapped in 2000 (along with cars 4685 and 4726, which were not involved in the accident) andR40A 4461 was taken out of service, leaving 4665 to be mated with R40A 4460.[8][9] This pair today survives as part of the museum fleet.[10]
On November 6, 2007, an eight-car train was involved in an accident on theM when the motorman struck thebumper block south of theChambers Street station. As the R42 fleet was being retired at the time, the entire consist[11] was hauled to the207th Street Yard for reefing instead of being repaired, even though only the first two cars suffered major damage.[12][13]
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In July 2002, the MTA awarded contracts toAlstom andKawasaki for the delivery and purchase of new subway cars (theR160) in order to retire the R42s, as well as the other B Division 60-foot cars (R32s,R38s, andR40s).[14] In December 2007, an arrangement was made with theDelaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to create artificial reefs with the R42s and other retired subway car models off of the coast ofCape Henlopen, Delaware, similar to how theA DivisionRedbirds were processed and reefed from 2001 to 2003.[15]
The R42 fleet began being withdrawn from service, starting with the Coney Island-rebuilt cars from July 2007 to March 2008, due to lack of quality control when the fleet was being overhauled at the Coney Island Overhaul Shop.[16][17][18] A majority of the Coney Island-rebuilds were out of service by November 2007.[19] Subsequently, with the exception of the eight cars involved in the November 6, 2007 accident, most Morrison–Knudsen-rebuilt cars followed beginning in December 2008; however, on December 18, 2009, the MTA decided to move forward with retiring the New York City TransitR44s instead of the remaining R42s. As a result, 64 Morrison–Knudsen-rebuilds (50 of which were available for active service) were retained when the MTA decided to place a hold on retiring any 60-foot cars.[20] 50 cars (4788–4817 and 4820–4839) remained and were assigned toEast New York Yard, operating on theJ and Z. These 50 cars periodically underwent SMS (Scheduled Maintenance Service, a life extension program) cycles.
In March 2012, the MTA awarded a contract toBombardier for the delivery and purchase of new subway cars (theR179) in order to retire the remaining R32s and R42s.[21][22] Since the delivery of the four-car R179 sets, demand for the R42s drastically lowered. By late April 2019, they were no longer formally assigned for revenue service, becoming a contingency fleet.[23] With the R179 delivery completed, the R42s were gradually phased out until the last train made its final trip on theJ on December 30, 2019.[24][25][26][27] However, from January 8 through January 24, 2020, the R42s were restored to revenue service due to the R179 being pulled from service.[28][29] On February 12, 2020, the R42s were officially retired when the last train made its final trip on theA as part of a ceremonial farewell excursion sponsored by theNew York Transit Museum.[2][4][30][31]
Following retirement, nearly all cars retired by the R160s were stripped of parts and sunk asartificial reefs. After the reefing program ended in April 2010, leftover retired R42s were trucked toSims Metal Management's Newark facility to be scrapped and processed in mid-2013.[32] Meanwhile, the then-50 remaining cars retired by the R179s were gradually reassigned to work service starting in summer 2020; they handle such tasks as providing traction for B Division rail adhesion trains and refuse collection trains. Of the 50 cars in work service, car 4816 was damaged in an accident at Coney Island Yard in October 2022; it was removed off property along with its mate 4817 in April 2023.
Other R42 cars were saved for various purposes throughout the New York City Subway system.[33] The full list includes:
An R42 is featured in filmThe French Connection. The cars have been used as a chase scene and crashes into anR32.[34]
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