R33 (New York City Subway car)

The first set of R33 cars was placed in service on the 1 train on November 15, 1962. Five hundred cars were built and served on all IRT subway lines.[1][2] In 1972 they became the first A Division cars to be retrofitted with air conditioning when cars 9086/7, 9118/9, 9162/3, 9226/7, 9282/3, & 9294/5 were retrofitted at the 239th Street Yard with a modified version of the Stone Safety Air conditioning unit designed to fit on the smaller IRT cars, and by 1982 all R33 cars had received air conditioning. The cars were also rebuilt between 1986 and 1991.

Before they were rebuilt, the R33 cars were grouped as follows:

• Cars #8806–9075 had General Electric electrical equipment
• Cars #9076–9305 had Westinghouse electrical equipment

From 1987 until early 1991, the R33 cars were overhauled and rebuilt by the MTA's 207th Street and Coney Island Overhaul Shops. All cars were refitted with General Electric equipment. Existing General Electric cars received New York Air Brake Newtran brake packages; the former Westinghouse cars received an updated brake package from the Westinghouse Air Brake Company.

After rebuilding, R33 cars served on the 2, 4, and 5 trains, and occasionally on the 7 train.

In 1996, New York City Transit announced that it would begin phasing out all Redbirds with the arrival of the R142 and R142As, which entered service in 2000.[3] The last train of R33s consisting of pairs 8842-8843, 9090-9091, 9240-9241, 9294-9295, 9302-9303, made its last trip on the 4 route on April 20, 2003.[4]

Most of the retired cars were stripped and dumped into the Atlantic Ocean to form artificial reefs. However, many R33 cars were saved for various purposes throughout the New York City Subway system. The full list includes:

• 8885 - converted into a rail adhesion car for the IRT Dyre Avenue Line after a derailment south of the Franklin Avenue station that led to the retirement of its mate, 8884.[5] The car is hauled by other cars during the fall season.
• 8912–8913 - used as a static display at the Tiffany Street Iron Shops, a training facility for elevated structure workers in Hunts Point, Bronx. This pair was previously involved in a derailment at the 239th Street Yard.
• 9010–9011, 9016–9017, 9068–9069 and 9206–9207 - preserved for the New York Transit Museum. They were repainted into various vintage paint schemes and used for various purposes since retirement, specifically on the Train of Many Colors.
• 9075 – on display outside Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens, Queens. The car was retrofitted with swinging doors and converted into a tourist center, but was closed in 2015 due to low patronage.[6] Since then, the car is now used as a landmark and for movie shoots.[7]
• 21 pairs were painted yellow and black and converted to work service as R161 rider cars RD400-RD441 from 1999 to 2004, allowing the retirement of the older R71 rider cars. RD407 (ex-8869) was damaged in a derailment and was scrapped in 2013. RD440-RD441 were further converted into de-icer cars.

Other cars were retained for work service until 2013, when they were scrapped. The full list includes:

• Pairs 8812–8813, 8834–8835, 8996–8997, and 9000–9001 – used to haul refuse trains until being scrapped in 2013. It was based from the 38th Street Yard, and was replaced with R32s restricted to work service.
• Pair 8888–8889 – used to haul refuse trains until being scrapped in 2013. It was based from the Westchester Yard, but in 2011 was mothballed when Westchester Yard stopped using subway cars for work service.
• Pair 9156–9157 – used for police training at Floyd Bennett Field until late 2013, when the pair was replaced by R110B 3001. The cars were moved to Linden Yard, and then up to the 207 Street Yard in 2014 for disposal.

• 
  R33 car 9206 on display at New York Transit Museum
• 
  Two different paint schemes that the R33 cars bore: kale green & Gunn red
• 
  Car 9075 on display at Queens Borough Hall
• 
  Car 9010 on the Train of Many Colors in 2008
• 
  R161 rider car RD432

• R29 (New York City Subway car), also built by St. Louis Car Company
• R36 (New York City Subway car), also built by St. Louis Car Company