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The Interborough Fleet (1900-1939) [Composites, Hi-V, Low-V]

Low-V Datasheet from NYCT Revenue & Non-Revenue Car Drawings

What's a "Composite"?

Rolling stock design for New York's first subway, the Interborough Rapid Transit, began with a fleet of cars known as the "Composites". These were built with wooden bodies and steel underframes. They had enclosed vestibules and manually operated sliding doors at the ends. It was feared very soon, however, that the Composite cars, mixed in service with the all steel Hi-V "Gibbs" cars would lead to disaster, the wooden car frames standing no chance in a collision with the steel cars. This problem was solved by 1915 when new steel carbodies were built and the Composite's trucks were recycled. The wooden carbodies were then given new lighter weight trucks and lived out the rest of their service career on the elevated lines.

What's a "Flivver"?

(From a SubTalk post by Joe Frank) The "Flivver" IRT car bodies, appearing exactly like Low-V bodies externally, were the result of some unique circumstances on the old Interborough.

After a number of incidents in the new subway, the IRT Company realized that their original design of "Composite" cars (steel underframes and support members with wooden bodies), were not so fireproof nor as structurally sound as they had hoped. The Public Service Commission ordered those cars removed from being run interspersed with heavier steel car types, and removal outright from continuous subway tunnel operation around 1915.

The Composite cars were then re-equipped to serve part time on the newly third-tracked Manhattan & Bronx Elevated lines. These cars had various modifications performed at this time, in particular all of the 1902-1903 factory-installed high-voltage control gear was removed, and the original 1902-1903 trucks were replaced with "lightweight" high-traction trucks custom-built by the IRT shops at 129th street, with one motor in each truck.

The high voltage components and trucks stripped from the Composite cars were used to equip a new fleet of steel Pullman-built of cars, ordered in 1915, resulting in 178 new steel subway cars with the Composite's traction control parts. These cars were not wired up in the traditional Hi-Voltage electrical system, but instead had a Low-V style control system in the cabs and Hi-V type Westinghouse Triple-R ME-21 AMRE braking-control system.

These cars had Low-V 32-40 volt battery boxes for Low-V type control use. They also had the Hi-V style large controller handle and cabinet in the motorman's cab, reworked for 3 points of power, like a Low-V car controller would have. Because of these electrical and braking cross-patches, these cars (124 motor cars, 4037 to 4160, 54 trailer cars, 4161 to 4214) were not compatible with either of the two predominant control systems of the IRT, the 625 Hi-V motors cars ordered 1904-1911, and the large fleet of Low-V cars that began delivery in 1915. The motormen and shop men called them "Flivvers" in a somewhat demeaning way, but their official name was "Low-Voltage - AMRE".

These Flivver cars were found to work well only in certain train consist arrangements, and they were kept coupled in these same consists. Attempts to make up and break various Flivver consists, as was normal procedure for shortening and lengthening trains throughout the system, resulted in some strange and poor operating characteristics. So, cars in trainsets that ran well together, were by strict observance kept in those trainsets, and stored in layup as same.

The Flivvers typically were found on the Seventh Ave - Bronx Park & 180th St. expresses, as well as occasionally on Lexington-White Plains Road express service. Near the end of their service lives, many were run as straight 10 car motor expresses, and were regarded as being "pretty damn fast" running sets. They last ran in late 1962.

New York City Transit has an operable museum train of Low-V cars (5290, 5292, 5443, 5483), plus World's Fair Low-V 5655 at Coney Island Yard and Low-V trailer 4902 at the New York Transit Museum. Car 5466 was restored along with the four others in the museum train, but was eventually sold to the Shore Line Trolley Museum. Other cars are located at the Seashore Trolley Museum and the Trolley Museum of New York.

More Information

• They Moved the Millions, Chapter 2, The IRT Subway
  A more extensive description of the various Interborugh car types and subclasses is provided in Ed Davis's They Moved the Millions.

• Chronological Roster, IRT Subway Division
  George Chiasson, Jr.'s review of the Interborough fleet.

Car Notes