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BU cars is the generic term for BRT elevated gate cars used on predecessor lines of the New York City Subway system. Various orders of these cars were built by the Osgood-Bradley, Brill, Cincinnati, Laconia, Pullman, Gilbert & Bush, Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wason, Pressed Steel, Brooklyn Heights Railroad, John Stephenson, and Jewett car companies. [1]
These cars consisted of a variety of equipment used on the BRT and later BMT. Some cars were inherited from steam railroads that became part of the BRT, while others were built new for the BRT as late as 1907. In 1913, the BRT introduced an advanced steel car design for subway service (the AB Standard), thus ending BU cars' production.
The term BU was derived from the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad (BUERR) Company, one of the last operating companies of Brooklyn elevated lines before the BRT formed the New York Consolidated Railroad in 1912 to absorb the BUERR and other properties.
Historians disagree as to whether the term "BU" was commonly used before the BMT was purchased by the City of New York in 1940, or whether it was mainly an introduced term to describe the wooden elevated cars of the former private company.
The primary distinguishing feature of BU cars is that they were elevated cars built mostly or substantially of wood, with or without steel frames, where passenger access to the cars was provided by open platforms at both ends of each car. A trainman between each pair of cars manually opened and closed folding gates to admit or bar passengers from entering or leaving.
All gate cars used in BRT elevated service can be described as BUs. This excludes several classes of elevated equipment:
The BU cars should not be confused with the Manhattan El cars, a series of gate cars that were operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company.
| Current Numbers | 1407 | 1273 | 1404 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 numbers | 1622A | 1622B | 1622C |
| 1957 numbers | 1622A | 1622B | 1603C |
| 1937 numbers | 1407 | 1273 | 1404 |
| Body builder | Jewett | Laconia | Jewett |
| Frame builder | Pressed Steel | Pressed Steel | Pressed Steel |
| Build Date | 1907 | 1903 | 1907 |
Three BU cars that were converted to closed Q-type cars in 1938 for BMT service to the 1939 New York World's Fair were converted back into BU gate cars in the Coney Island Rapid Transit Car Overhaul Shop for the transit museum in 1979. The conversion was made of wood with steel frames and dates from 1903 to 1907. However, the cars retain their 1957 lowered roofs and 1950 lightweight trucks, as well as modified marker light positions on the ends. [2] They also remain unitized as a three car set, rather than as three self-contained cars as originally built.
These cars are the oldest operational members of the New York Transit Museum fleet. Those built in 1907 were the last BU cars ever built. They are fully operational and are occasionally used on museum-sponsored excursions; however, when the excursion goes through underground subway tunnels, they must be towed by steel cars. For safety reasons, passengers may not ride in these cars in subway tunnels; non-employees must ride in the accompanying steel cars during the tunnel portions of the trip.
The three museum BUs are currently numbered and coupled as 1407-1273-1404. They were rebuilt from Q-type unit 1622A-B-C in the late 1970s. As part of the June 22, 1965 "Transit Day" commemoration at the World's Fair, Q-type 1622A-B-C were rehabilitated and repainted in the original colors used for the 1939–40 World's Fair, blue and orange, [3] which are also the colors of the New York City flag. After they were converted back into gate cars, they were given their original numbers and received the red paint scheme that they originally wore when they were brand new.
Besides the three cars preserved at the New York Transit Museum, many other still-extant cars have been preserved; [4]
The BMT Brighton Line, also known as the Brighton Beach Line, is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train, but is joined by the B express train on weekdays. The Q train runs the length of the entire line from Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue to the Manhattan Bridge south tracks. The B begins at Brighton Beach and runs via the bridge's north tracks.
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway system, it forms the B Division of the modern New York City Subway.
The Independent Subway System was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway. It was first constructed as the Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan in 1932. It was originally also known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR).
The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. As part of the Dual Contracts, the IRT and BRT would build or upgrade several subway lines in New York City, then operate them for 49 years.
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 Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the New York Stock Exchange.
The R32 was a New York City Subway car model built by the Budd Company from 1964 to 1965 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of 600 R32s were built, numbered 3350–3949, though some cars were re-numbered. The R32 contract was divided into two subcontracts of 300 cars each: R32 and R32A ; the former was paid by the city's capital budget and the latter was paid through a revenue bond. All were arranged as married pairs.
The New York City Subway is a large rapid transit system and has a large fleet of rolling stock. As of November 2016, the New York City Subway has 6418 cars on the roster.
The 103rd Street–Corona Plaza station is a local station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of 103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue. It is served by the 7 train at all times.
The 69th Street station is a local station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 69th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in the Woodside, Queens, it is served by the 7 train at all times.
The New York Transit Museum is a museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The main museum is located in the decommissioned Court Street subway station in Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. There is a smaller satellite Museum Annex in Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. The museum is a self-supporting division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Starting in 1899, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation operated rapid transit lines in New York City — at first only elevated railways and later also subways.
The AB Standard was a New York City Subway car class built by the American Car and Foundry Company and Pressed Steel Car Company between 1914 and 1924. It ran under the operation of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) and its successors, which included the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the New York City Board of Transportation, and the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA). The cars were designed following the signing of the Dual Contracts, which called for a major expansion of the BRT. A total of 950 cars were built.
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 C-type was a series of elevated New York City Subway cars originally built by the Osgood-Bradley, Laconia, and Jewett car companies, and rebuilt by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company between 1923 and 1925 from former BU cars.
The Ninth Avenue station is a bi-level express station on the BMT West End Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and 39th Street in Brooklyn. Each level has three tracks and two island platforms. The upper level serves the BMT West End Line while the lower level formerly served the BMT Culver Line. Only the upper level is still in service and is served by the D train at all times.
The ME-1 was a rapid transit car built from 1925 to 1926 by the Standard Steel Car Company for the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company and later also used in the New York City Subway. 100 cars were built, numbered 300–389 (motors), and 500–509 (trailers). They were the first electric cars to run in revenue service on the SIRT.
Manhattan El is a term used to describe Interborough Rapid Transit Company (RT) elevated gate cars used on predecessor lines of the New York City Subway system. These cars were built by the Pullman, Wason, Gilbert & Bush, Bowers & Dure, Barney & Smith, Jewett, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and American Car and Foundry companies.
