General Electric cars: GE MCM 17KG137D1, with 17KC76A1 master controller Westinghouse cars: WH Unit Switch UPC-631B, with XM-179 master controller, using Air Compressor:WABCO 2-C-Y
The R17 was a New York City Subway car model built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1954 for the IRTA Division. A total of 400 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.
The first R17s entered service on October 10, 1955. Originally painted maroon red, the R17s subsequently received several different paint schemes, including bright red, platinum mist/blue, or plain white. The R17s were replaced by the R62As in the 1980s, and the final train of R17s ran on February 29, 1988. Some R17 cars were saved for various purposes, but most were scrapped.
Description
The R17s were numbered 6500–6899. They were one of three car classes purchased in the mid-1950s by the New York City Transit Authority to replace much of the pre-World War IIIRT High-Voltage (Hi-V) rolling stock, which included the Gibbs cars, the Deck Roofs, and the Hedley Hi-V cars. The cars were single unit cars capable of operating both independently or as part of a longer train.
Cars 6800–6809 were factory equipped with air conditioning when delivered.[2] However, the air conditioning experiment was considered a failure, and the cars were refitted with standard axiflow fans between 1962 and 1964.
As delivered, R17s came with low-running lights and very comfortable foam rubber seats. In 1957, sealed beam headlights were added to the cars. Additionally, vandalism and wear & tear contributed to rapid and frequent damage to the original seats, leading the Transit Authority to replace the seats with hard fiberglass benches similar in feel to the ones in use on New York City subway trains today.
While the cars received the fox red paint scheme like other cars that would go on to be later known as "Redbirds", that nickname was never given to these cars. The only nickname for the R17s was "Flat bottoms", which was given to the GE-powered cars by shop and operating personnel. The name was derived from the large box underneath the car that contained the switch group, resistor grids, and other propulsion control electrical equipment. Designed to simplify maintenance, in practice, the heavy box proved unwieldy. Resistance grids also generate a good deal of heat and therefore need to be cooled. Typically, this is done automatically on a subway car that uses a DC propulsion system, as the grids are exposed, and the train's natural movement creates a breeze that ventilates and cools the grids. But since the R17's grids were enclosed in the heavy box, ventilation and cooling would be provided by using the spinning rotor of the motor-generator to act as a fan feeding air into the box. The GE R17s were not the only subway cars with this arrangement. The GE-powered R16s, R21s, and R22s had a similar setup, and therefore the "Flat bottom" nickname applies to the GE cars in those classes as well for the same reason as above. The nickname never applied to the Westinghouse cars in either class. The GE cars built and delivered after the R22s have eliminated this unfortunate system, and reverted to the former exterior-mounted grids that are exposed as the train's natural movement creates a breeze that ventilates and cooled the grids starting with the R26s cars in 1959.
The major identifying characteristics of the R17 can all be found in its windows. These include the circular windows on the car end doors, similar to those found on the R15 and the B DivisionR11 and R16. The R17 also features large, rounded rectangle windows on its side doors, similar to those found on nearly every car in today's subway system. While similar to the R16 in outward appearance, as an A Division car, it is smaller and contains only three doors on each side of the car (instead of four). Side windows are of a two-pane, pull-down drop sash type (used until the Main Line R36s).
The R17, like many older New York City Subway cars built for the A Division, also features two sets of mid-car body passenger windows on each side. Normally arranged in two pairs of three on the R15, on the R17, one set of windows on each side contains a rollsign in lieu of a third window. The sign contains three readings arranged vertically on its box – the top two being the train's terminals, and the bottom being the train's route. This window and signbox pattern, first appearing on the R16, became the blueprint for the later R21 and R22, the Redbirds, and even influenced the design of trains still in service today.
Car 6812 was repainted with a gold exterior scheme with a view of being used in the Fifth Avenue Association's 50th Anniversary Parade; however, the car was withdrawn in favor of R22 7526.
Car 6552 received a speckled green interior paint scheme during the early 60s.
History
The first train of R17s was placed in service on the 6 train on October 10, 1955. All 400 cars were delivered by January 1956. In 1959–60, with the delivery of the R26s and R28s and their being placed in 6 service, the G.E. equipped cars were transferred to the West Side Lines and became part of the R21/22 fleet. On November 1, 1962, fifty R17s (#s 6500–6549) were transferred from the Mainline IRT to the 7, allowing for ten-car operation on that route. Shortly thereafter, an additional thirty cars (6550–6577, 6580, 6581) were similarly transferred to augment this service.[3]
The R17s were delivered in a maroon paint scheme. Some were repainted bright red ("tartar red") in the late 1960s. All cars received the TA sliver/blue paint job starting in 1970. In the early 1980s, they were painted plain white, and eventually, 16 cars were repainted fox red for 42nd Street Shuttle service in 1985–86. All 16 of the fox red cars were sent to the Flushing Line to fill in for the R33 singles while they were being overhauled. The red R17s were the last to remain in service, running on the 5 train and being mixed with both rebuilt and unrebuilt R26–R33 cars.[4] A few survived until February 29, 1988, on the 42nd St. Shuttle, one of which was set aside for preservation at the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, Connecticut.
During the course of their careers, two cars (6673 and 6786) were wrecked in 1957 as a result of a collision near Zerega Avenue, and three cars (6595, 6597, and 6601), along with 7740, and the automated shuttle train car numbers 7509, 7513 & 7516 were all destroyed by this fire – at the 42nd Street Shuttle fire at Grand Central on April 21, 1964.
Retirement
6895 (renumbered to 36895) at the Concourse Yard, awaiting scrapping
The R17s were replaced by the R62As, as they had reached the end of their planned service lives. The final train of R17s ran on February 29, 1988, in the 42nd St. Shuttle service.
The majority of the remainder of the fleet was scrapped, but some R17 cars were saved for various purposes throughout the New York City Subway system, including:
Car 6609 – restored in 1976 and displayed at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn. It is fully operational and runs periodically on museum-sponsored "Nostalgia Trains", specifically on the Train of Many Colors.
Car 6688 – preserved at the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, Connecticut. It is fully operational, though modified with trolley poles, and runs frequently during the summer months for rapid transit themed programming.
Cars 6835 and 6899 survive as work cars, converted to R71 hose reach cars, and overhauled under the R159 program.[5]
Car 6895 (renumbered to 36895) is currently in storage at Concourse Yard with R21 7267 (renumbered G7267) and has not moved since 2002. This car is still classified as a work car and was used on a special trip sometime during the 1990s. Although it was reported that the cars may be operational and preserved, the car was stripped of parts in 2009 (such as sash windows and rollsigns). Both cars still remain, but are awaiting scrapping.[6]
Car 6762 was converted to an R71 rider car after retirement, but was replaced with R161s (R33s converted into rider cars) in the mid-2000s and eventually reefed.[7]
Cars 6813 and 6850 were converted to R123 continuous welded rail holder cars for set DCR and overhauled under the R128 program,[8] but were replaced with R157 flat cars in the 2010s and eventually scrapped.[9]
In film
Cars 6671 and 6609 were featured at Grand Central Terminal in the 1971 film The French Connection in a scene where Gene Hackman's character is tailing a heroin smuggler. At that time, the cars were painted in the MTA platinum mist/blue band livery.
The interior of a repainted red R17 operating on the 5 train can be briefly seen in the opening credits of Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987).
A decommissioned R17 is featured in the film Mimic as the escape vehicle for the film's protagonists.
Car 6688, which belongs to the Shore Line Trolley Museum, appears in the 2014 film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as well as the 2019 film Joker.
Related Research Articles
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT was purchased by the city in June 1940, along with the younger BMT and IND systems, to form the modern New York City Subway. The former IRT lines are now the A Division or IRT Division of the Subway.
The New York City Subway is a large rapid transit system and has a large fleet of electric multiple unit rolling stock. As of November 2016, the New York City Subway has 6418 cars on the roster.
The Train of Many Colors is one of the New York Transit Museum's nostalgia trains used for A Division excursions, which is made up of cars that were formerly used on Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) lines. The name comes from the fact that the cars are painted in many varying schemes from different eras.
Redbird trains were eight New York City Subway train models so-nicknamed because of their red paint. The Redbirds totaled 1,410 cars of the following types on the A Division lines: R26, R28, R29, R33, R33S, and R36. There were also 550 cars on the B Division lines: R27 and R30/A. All were built by the American Car and Foundry Company and the St. Louis Car Company.
The R33S was a New York City Subway car that was built by St. Louis Car Company in 1963 for the IRT A Division. They were purchased for service on the IRT Flushing Line, which was the closest line to the 1964 New York World's Fair. A total of 40 cars were built, arranged as single cars. While in regular service, each R33S was coupled to five two-car consists of R36 cars to make 11-car trains for the 7 and <7> routes.
The R36 was a New York City Subway car model built by the St. Louis Car Company from 1963 to 1964. The cars are a "follow-up" or supplemental stock to the A Division's R33s, which some of the cars closely resemble. A total of 424 cars were built, arranged in pairs. The order includes World's Fair cars comprising 390 cars, and Main Line cars comprising 34 cars.
The R12 was a New York City Subway car built by the American Car and Foundry Company in 1948. A total of 100 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.
The R21 was a New York City Subway car built by St. Louis Car Company from 1956 to 1957 for the IRT A Division. A total of 250 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.
The R33 was a New York City Subway car model that was built by St. Louis Car Company in 1962 and 1963. The cars are a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the A Division's R29s and closely resemble them. The cars were also referred to as R33MLs to distinguish them from the R33Ss. A total of 500 cars were built, numbered 8806–9305, and arranged in pairs.
The R16 was a New York City Subway car model built by the American Car and Foundry Company from 1954 to 1955 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of 200 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.
The R27 was a New York City Subway car model built by the St. Louis Car Company from 1960 to 1961 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of 230 cars were built, arranged in married pairs. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.
The R30 was a New York City Subway car model built by St. Louis Car Company from 1961 to 1962. The cars were a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the B Division's R27s and closely resembled them. A total of 320 cars were built, arranged in married pairs. Three versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars, General Electric (GE)-powered cars, and R30As.
The R22 was a New York City Subway car built by the St. Louis Car Company from 1957 to 1958. The cars were a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the A Division's R21s and closely resemble them. A total of 450 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.
The R28 was a New York City Subway car model built by American Car and Foundry (ACF) from 1960 to 1961. The cars were a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the A Division's R26s and closely resemble them. The average car cost per R28 was $114,495. A total of 100 cars were built, arranged in married pairs.
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.
The Q-type and QX were a New York City Subway car class originally built by the Osgood-Bradley, Brill, Laconia, and Jewett car companies, and rebuilt in 1938 by the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) from former BU cars.
The Hedley Hi-V was a New York City Subway car class built from 1910 to 1911, which were motor cars, and then in 1915 an order for trailers that were numbered 4223–4514. All were built by the American Car and Foundry, Standard Steel Car Company, Pressed Steel Car Company, and Pullman Company. These were the first cars built with center doors. They were also the last high voltage cars built for the system because high voltage cars were a hazard to both the train operators and track crews. Thus, all subway cars delivered afterward were low voltage cars.
The Deck Roof Hi-V was a New York City Subway car class built from 1907 to 1908 by the American Car and Foundry for the IRT and its successors, the New York City Board of Transportation and the New York City Transit Authority.
The Gibbs Hi-V was a New York City Subway car class built from 1904 to 1905 by American Car and Foundry for the IRT and its successors, the New York City Board of Transportation and the New York City Transit Authority. It was the first all-steel subway car ordered for New York City.
The A Division, also known as the IRT Division, is a division of the New York City Subway, consisting of the lines operated with services designated by numbers and the 42nd Street Shuttle. These lines and services were operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company before the 1940 city takeover. A Division cars are narrower, shorter, and lighter than those of the B Division, measuring 8.6 by 51 feet.
References
↑ Gene Sansone, New York Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars, ISBN0-8018-6886-6, pp. 203 - 210
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