R29/R99 (New York City Subway car)
The R29 was a New York City Subway car model built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1962 for the IRT A Division. A total of 236 cars were built, arranged in married pairs.
| R29 | |
|---|---|
 A graffiti-covered R29 train at Times Square-42nd Street in May 1973 | |
| In service | 1962–2002 |
| Manufacturer | St. Louis Car Company |
| Built at | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Family name | Redbirds |
| Replaced |
|
| Constructed | 1962 |
| Entered service | April 28, 1962 |
| Scrapped | 2001–2002 |
| Number built | 236 |
| Number preserved | 2 |
| Number scrapped | 234 |
| Formation | Married Pairs |
| Fleet numbers | 8570–8805 |
| Capacity | 44 |
| Operator(s) | New York City Subway |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | LAHT carbon steel |
| Car length | 51.04 feet (15.56 m) |
| Width | 8.75 feet (2,667 mm) |
| Height | 11.86 feet (3,615 mm) |
| Doors | 6 sets of 50 inch wide side doors per car |
| Maximum speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Weight | 70,000 lb (31,751 kg) (post-rebuild) |
| Traction system | General Electric 17KG192H3 or Westinghouse XCA248B |
| Traction motors | General Electric 1257E1 or Westinghouse 1447J/JR (?) |
| Power output | 115 hp (86 kW) |
| Electric system(s) | 600 V DC Third rail |
| Current collection method | Contact shoe |
| Braking system(s) | WABCO, "SMEE" (electrodynamic) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The R29s entered service on April 28, 1962, and received air conditioning by 1982. The fleet was rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen between 1985 and 1987. The R29s were replaced in the early 2000s with the delivery of the R142 and R142A cars, with the last train running in October 2002. After being retired, most R29s were sunk into the ocean as artificial reefs, but two cars have survived.
Description
The R29s were numbered 8570-8805. Between 1985 and 1987, the R29s were overhauled under contract R99. Therefore, it is also acceptable to refer to the cars as R99s, provided one is referring to them in their post-overhaul state.
The R29s are very similar to appearance to the R26s and R28s, with the exceptions that they were built by a different company and permanently paired with link bars (instead of couplers). They were also the first subway cars to feature a bright red paint scheme.
History
The first set of R29s debuted on the 7 service on April 28, 1962. After initial in-service testing, the first train of R29s (8570-8579) operated on 7 service as a special 10-car train on April 29, 1962. On May 1 of that year, it was transferred to the 1 service. The original intention was to assign all of these cars to the 7 service, while transferring the existing R12 and R14 cars on the line to the mainline IRT services to begin replacing their existing Low-Voltage cars, many of which were approaching 50 years of age at the time. However plans had changed, and it was decided to order new R33S single cars and R36 married pair cars to completely re-equip the 7 service in time for the new 1964-5 Worlds Fair exhibition in Flushing instead; these cars were also ordered during 1962.
Four cars (pairs 8686-8687 and 8804-8805) were tested with G70 trucks. Use of these trucks was discontinued in 1970.[1]
By 1982, all R29s received air conditioning.
After being rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen in Hornell, New York as Redbirds between 1985 and 1987 under the R99 retrofitting program,[2] they were split into two groups with different propulsion equipment. The Westinghouse cars, 8570-8687, ran on the 6 service alongside the R36s and some Westinghouse R36WFs, while the General Electric cars, 8688-8805, ran on the 2 and 5 services with the R26 and R28 cars.
Retirement
In 1996, New York City Transit Authority announced their plans to phase out the Redbirds with the R142 and R142A fleets. They were gradually phased out from the Summer of 2001, until the last train consisting of pairs 8708-8709, 8716-8719 and 8784-8787, made their final trip on the 5 on October 24, 2002.[3][4]
As the R29 cars were being retired, some were used in work service, including pairs 8600-8601 and 8634-8635, which were used for signal dolly service in 2001, and cars 8716-8719, which were used in 2002 for transporting one of three Rail Adhesion Cars throughout the system (R33 8885). These pairs of cars were later reefed.[5]
After retirement, pair 8678-8679 was retained for work service and stored at the Unionport Yard[6] until July 2013, when the pair was moved to Concourse Yard for storage, along with R26s 7774-7775 and R28s 7924-7925. 8678-8679 remains in storage, while the rest of the fleet was stripped of all parts and sunk into the Atlantic Ocean to create artificial reefs.
Route assignment history
| Service | Years In Service | Cars |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1962 | Cars 8570–8579 (4/28/62 to 4/30/62 only) |
| 1 | 1962 | All cars from 5/1/62 onward |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | 1963–1966 | All General Electric and Westinghouse cars |
| 2, 4, 5 | 1966–1976 | All General Electric cars |
| 1, 3 | 1966–1970 | All Westinghouse cars |
| 6 | 1970–1983 | First 30 Westinghouse cars |
| 1, 3 | 1970–1985 | Last 88 Westinghouse cars |
| 2, 5 | 1976–1981 | All General Electric cars |
| 2 | 1982–1985 | All General Electric cars |
| 1, 3 | 1983–1985 | All Westinghouse cars |
| 2, 5 | 1985–2002 | All rebuilt General Electric cars |
| 6 | 1985–2002 | All rebuilt Westinghouse cars |
| 7 | 1978-1985 | Some General Electric and Westinghouse cars |
See also
- R33 (New York City Subway car) & R36 (New York City Subway car) - follow-up orders to the R29s, also built by St. Louis Car Company.
References
- Car 8686 in 6 service at Whitlock Ave.
- http://www.thejoekorner.com/cars/rroster.htm
- https://erausa.org/pdf/bulletin/2002/2002-12-bulletin.pdf
- George Chiasson, Jr. "A Historic Perspective of the R-26, R-28, and R-29". New York City Subway Resources. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_IRT_SMEE_Fleet_(R-12_--_R-36)
