NEW R-211 subway cars have arrived on the 8th Avenue line, currently serving the A express line. Since I moved to Queens and take the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station, I have my choice of subways, the 7th Avenue IRT (1, 2, 3 trains) or the 8th Avenue IND (A, C, E). Until very recently the A train, one of the lengthiest lines in the system, running from Inwood to South Jamaica, Far Rockaway or Rockaway Park, oddly was stocked with some of the oldest cars in the system, the R-32s introduced in 1964, and the R-46, introduced in 1974.
I remember when the R-46s were brand new, and I seem to recall very thin carpeting at first, an experiment soon done away with in favor of black rubber flooring and then linoleum. They were the first cars with the “bing-bong” sounder when the doors closed, and introduced the bright orange-yellow color palette that was continued in the R-62 series on the IRT and R-68b series for the IND/BMT. For many years R-46s were employed on the F and R lines as well as the A and C. The R-46 can be differentiated from the R-62 and R-68 by the wallpaper with faint renderings of the New York State emblem.
The R-46 days are numbered. It will take a few years, but the remaining trainsets on the A and C lines are being replaced by the new technology R-211 cars; all new trainsets for the past couple of decades have had a relentless light and dark blue scheme, instead of the warmer orange and yellow.
For me, what will miss most are the perpendicular window seats. Instead of facing glowering fellow passengers, I could look out the window. In the subway, most of the time, there isn’t much of a view in the tunnel, but I’m an aficionado of subway station design and architecture, and I especially liked riding elevateds in the R-46 and watching the city go by. I haven’t done it for a few years but the A train’s run across Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway Peninsula in an R-46 is especially rewarding.
No doubt there will be special fan trip rides when the end is nigh, but catch the R-46 in regular service while you still can. The R-68, which also features perpendicular window seating, will last awhile longer, but the man with the scythe awaits them as he awaits us all.
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3/24/23
17 comments
What,no straps to hang onto?How are kids supposed to perform gymnastics like we
used to do?I used to be able to swing from side to side from one end of the car to the
other without my feet touching the floor.
The R-44s were the first cars with the door chimes.
The MS Multi-section car (Green Hornet) was the first with door chimes.
…& now a fitting musical tribute:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Take+the+a+Train+Duke+Ellington&&view=detail&mid=5A187E1B852BC8FA29A85A187E1B852BC8FA29A8&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%
Yup, I used to take the A train to Harlem when I attended City College.
The even older R44 cars, of 1973 vintage, still run on the Staten Island Railway’s single route between St. George and Tottenville. These venerable cars will also be gone soon, as R211s will replace them as well. The SIR R211s will differ slightly from their subway brethren because of different signal systems and operating characteristics. And of course the electronic maps that show real-time station sequencing will be different as well.
The R44 had different “armrests” than the R46. R44’s were prone to catching fire, and the damaged units were replaced with R46-type “armrests”. The older R44’s also had supports under the window seats, and all R44 units had a small swing door at the cab on even cars. R46’s never had carpets, only select few R44’s which were quickly eliminated for some obvious reasons. I recall The Budd Metropolitan 1 & 1A with NYS emblems, but in another color.
The A does not go to Jamaica, Runs to Ozone Park – Lefferts Boulevard Station
And sadly the R-44/46 were the beginning of the end for us “railfan window” aficionados….I remember always being bummed out when one would appear…..
Hello All- I thought the “F” line also used the R-46???
“oddly was stocked with some of the oldest cars in the system” Dare I point out that much of the route served majority-Black neighborhoods?
The R44 cars on the Staten Island Railway are 50 years old and go through some of the whitest neighborhoods in NYC. Sorry, Joe, but let’s not look for racism to be the fault of every issue in town.
Edward: By this time you should be able to recognize virtue signaling (“..full of sound & fury, signifying nothing”: William Shakespeare/”Hamlet”).
I agree with you.
I think F line used them first.
I am responding to Mike Of Bensonhurst.
I lived in Jamaica, Queens during the 1980s and there were definitely R-46’s on the F line.
Does anyone remember the SOAC “State of the Art” car that ran on some IND lines in 1973? Their interiors were similar to the R-46’s.