R42 (New York City Subway car)

Post-delivery and Overhaul

In 1974, cars 4764-4765 were sent to Garrett AiResearch's facilities in Los Angeles, California to test out Flywheel Energy Storage System equipment.^[3] Car 4764 received energy conservation 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 the USDOT Testing Facilities in Pueblo, Colorado for evaluation, and were 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 retired R1 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.

Between 1988 and 1989, the R42s underwent overhaul as a result of deferred maintenance in the New York City Subway during the 1970s and the 1980s. 282 cars (most cars from 4550 to 4839) were overhauled by Morrison-Knudsen while the last 110 cars (4840–4949) were rebuilt in-house by the Coney Island Overhaul Shop in Brooklyn. The one minor difference in appearance between the two overhauls was that many cars of the Coney Island version featured the original blue door indicator lights at the ends of the cars, whereas these lights were removed from the Morrison-Knudsen rebuilds. Coney Island cars retained original Westinghouse XM829 master controllers in their cabs. The eight cars that were not rebuilt were 4680-4681, 4685, 4714-4715, 4726, and 4766-4767, which were prematurely scrapped due to damage sustained in various accidents during the 1970s and 1980s. As cars 4684 and 4727 lost their mates in separate incidents, the two cars were paired with each other and subsequently overhauled.

On June 6, 1995, cars 4664-4665 were involved in a collision on the Williamsburg Bridge with straight-ended R40A cars 4460-4461. Car 4664 was scrapped in 2000 (along with cars 4685 and 4726, which were not involved in the accident) and R40A 4461 was taken out of service, leaving 4665 to be mated with R40A 4460.^[4][5]

On November 6, 2007, an M train of R42s was involved in an accident when the motorman attempted to relay it south of the Chambers Street station. As the R42 fleet was being retired at the time, the entire consist^[6] was hauled to the 207th Street Yard for reefing instead of being repaired even though only the first two cars suffered major damage.^[7][8]

Retirement

Initial Plans

Retired R42 cars being shipped out to the Atlantic Ocean for reefing.

Retired R42 cars awaiting processing at Sims Metal Management in Newark, New Jersey.

The R160s replaced most of the R42 fleet. The NYCTA-rebuilt R42s were retired from late 2007 to mid-2008. Subsequently, most Morrison-Knudsen-rebuilt cars followed starting in late 2008 until December 2009, when it was decided to retire the NYCT R44s in their place due to structural issues. Most retired cars were sunk as artificial reefs.

However, after the reefing program ended in April 2010, retired R42s were trucked to Sims Metal Management's Newark facility to be scrapped and processed, an action that occurred between April 2013 and July 2013 with already-retired cars and is expected to occur with the remaining in-service cars when they retire.^[9]

Several retired R42 cars were saved for various purposes throughout the New York City Subway system, including:

• 4572-4573 - preserved, repainted, and set aside for the New York Transit Museum. This set was used in the famous chase scene in the film The French Connection. The cars have been used on several recent NYTM fan trips, specifically as a part of the Train of Many Metals (TOMM). ^[10]
• 4665 (and its R40A mate 4460) - preserved by the Railway Preservation Corp. The pair is stored at Coney Island Yard.
• 4736-4737 - donated to East New York's Transit Tech High School^[11] on April 14, 2009, replacing R30 car 8337, which was reefed a few months later.^[12]