R32 (New York City Subway Car) - History

History

The R32 contract was divided into two subcontracts of 300 cars each: the R32s and R32As. The R32As were funded through the proceeds of a revenue bond while the R32s were paid for out of the 1963-64 New York City capital budget. The two subcontracts differed only in interior lighting (R-32 Interior Lighting:, R-32A Interior Lighting featuring backlit ad-signs ).

In 1964, the New York City Transit Authority contracted with Budd for 600 IND/BMT cars (300 pairs) to replace older equipment, including the BMT D-type (Triplex) articulated cars. Budd had bid on previous contracts with the NYCTA, but had never won a City contract for a production run of cars until the R32s, as Budd built only stainless-steel equipment and the TA refused to allow a differential in competitive bids for this higher-quality construction.

Budd won the contract by offering the lowest bid of $117,000 per car. Budd low-balled the price to win the contract and introduce stainless steel equipment to the modern New York City subway system, a plan that was met with limited success. NYCTA allowed a premium for subsequent stainless steel contracts, and all subsequent subway equipment was at least partly constructed of stainless steel. However, the Budd Company never benefited from the change, as Budd failed to win further contracts from the NYCTA and the company has since halted production of railroad cars.

The last four of these cars (3946-3949) were delivered with Pioneer trucks with disc brakes in 1966. The trucks were later replaced with standard trucks in 1976.

From 1988 to 1990, as part of the NYCTA General Overhaul (GOH) program, the R32 cars were rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen at its shops in Hornell, New York. Ten R32 cars, which have since been retired, were rebuilt by General Electric in its Buffalo, New York facility. During the rebuilding process, the route and destination rollsigns located above the storm doors were removed and replaced with flipdot electronic route signs. The distinctive marker lights were also removed.

The R32s are numbered 3350-3949. One car, originally numbered 3659, lost its even-numbered mate in an accident, so it was rebuilt as an even-numbered car and renumbered to 3348. 3348 was reefed in 2009.

After their refurbishment, R32 and R32A cars were renamed R32 Phase I, R32 Phase II and R32 GE. The R32 Phase I cars (re-built by Morrison Knudsen) have WABCO Air Brake packages, GE Master Controllers, and Thermo King HVAC units. The R32 Phase II cars (also re-built by Morrison Knudsen) have NY Air Brake equipment, Westinghouse Master Controllers, and Stone Safety HVAC units. Since the cars were sent out to be overhauled based on how poorly they were performing (worst first), there are R32s and R32As in both Phase I and Phase II. There are also about a dozen or more pairs which are composed of R32 and R32A mixes. The R32 GEs are slightly different from their Phase I and II brothers as they still retain their original traction motors, feature backlit ad signs, and somewhat different bulkhead designs.

The cars are maintained at the 207th Street Yard and run on the A during the summer months and the C during the remainder of the year. The swap is an effort to lessen strain on the car's HVAC system, as the A contains stretches of above ground stations where air circulates more freely, whilst the C runs entirely underground, where the air can become stifling during periods of hot temperatures. Twenty cars are running on the temporary H train on the IND Rockaway Line . Ten cars are maintained at the 36th-38th Street Yard and used for work service.

The R160 order was intended to replace all of the R32 fleet, but this was halted due to structural issues found on the R44s that led to their retirement. The 10 GE and all Phase II R32s have been retired as well as some Phase I cars. After retirement, most cars were stripped and sunk as artificial reefs. As of July 2008, pair 3352-3353 is at the New York City Transit Museum. These cars were the lead set on the R32s' premiere trip on September 9, 1964. Cars 3350-3351 have also been set aside for preservation by the Railway Preservation Corp., while G.E. cars 3594-3595 have been moved to Floyd Bennett Field and set aside for anti-terrorism training.

The remaining cars are currently undergoing SMS (Scheduled Maintenance Service), at a cost of $24 million, to extend their useful lives through 2017. They are expected to be replaced by the R179 beginning in 2015.