R-40 -- R-40M (St. Louis Car)
From nycsubway.org
R-40 car 4425 mid-consist on the "A" line at 190th Street/Overlook Terrace. Photo by David Pirmann, April 2009.
Contents |
Roster
| Designation | Original Numbers | End Style | A/C as built? | Current Numbers | Manufacturer | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-40 | 4150-4249 | Slant | Fans | Same | St. Louis Car | 1967-69 |
| R-40A | 4250-4349 | Straight (Modified) | Air Cond | 4450-4549 | St. Louis Car | 1967-69 |
| R-40 | 4350-4449 | Slant | Fans | 4250-4349 | St. Louis Car | 1968-69 |
| R-40A | 4450-4549 | Slant | Air Cond | 4350-4449 | St. Louis Car | 1968-69 |
- Cab Arrangement: Half-width driving cab at "A" end, half-width conductor control cab at "B" end
- Coupling/Numbering Arrangement: All married pairs.
- Stainless steel
- 60' long, 10' wide
- Mismatched pairs: 4426 & 4429, 4258 & 4261, 4460 (R40M) & 4665 (R42)
 Slanted grab irons only (1968) |
 Low handholds (1968) |
 Low handholds and pantograph gates (1968) |
 High handholds (1969) |
 High handholds and chains, but still relatively clean (1969) |
 The low point (1981) |
 R-40M as delivered (1969) |
 R-40M after gates were installed (1981) |
Description
The futuristic front end of the R-40 cars, as delivered, was designed by Raymond Loewy. The slant front end soon proved to be impractical and dangerous for passengers to pass from car to car. Attempts to improve the safety of the slanted ends immediately resulted in disastrous changes to their appearance. Throughout 1968 and the course of the cars' delivery, the simple handholds were first augmented with larger protruding handhelds, pantograph gates, and finally, even larger (higher) handholds. (The metalwork and chains did not age well during the life of the R-40 car, turning the once futuristic cars into ugly ducklings.) By April 1968 it had already been decided that even such modifications were not a solution, and the 100 remaining cars on the order were redesigned. The modified ends were designed by the design firm of Sundberg-Ferar, which also designed the MTA "Metropolitan" (M1) cars for the MTA commuter railroads, and the R-44/R-46 front ends. The R-40 "M" cars retained their smooth front, blue belt rail paint, and large rollsigns until circa 1979-1980 when the signs were changed (to the MTA color bullets) and pantograph gates were installed. "R-40M" was not an official designation, although it is now in common use to distinguish the R-40 cars with the modified (non-slant) end design.
4150-4249, 4350-4449 (present numbers 4150-4349) were built under Contract R-40, and 4250-4349, 4450-4549 (present numbers 4350-4549) under Contract R-40A. The fleets were renumbered in 1971 such that all of the slant-end cars were numbered in order (with the side effect at the time of also numbering the cars without, and with, air conditioning in order too).
Cars rebuilt 1987-1989 by Sumitomo. During the overhaul, air conditioning was added to the slant-end cars that did not have it (4150-4249, 4250-4349).
Last Run of the R-40 Slant-front Cars: 6/12/2009, cars: N-4425-4424-4415-4414-4398-4399-4257-4256-4433-4432-S, on the "A" line.
Last Runs of the R-40 Modified-front Cars: All remaining R-40Ms were cut out of their mixed R-40M/R-42 consists the week of August 25th, 2009. The last cars in service were as follows: 4544/4545 (8/25 on V), 4546/4547 (8/26 on R), 4510/4511 (8/26 on R), 4530/4531 (8/26 on R), 4460/4665 (8/27 on V), 4540/4541 (8/27 on V), 4484/4485 (8/28 on V). Last revenue train containing R-40M cars was (N)-4752/4753-4660/4461-4485/4484-4720/4721-4763/4762-(S), on the V, Friday morning, August 28, 2009. Laid up at Jamaica Yard after the AM rush. Two R-40M pairs (4506/4507 and 4518/4519) were assigned to the Refuse Train (based 38th Street) on or about July 14, 2009 and remained active as non-revenue equipment through September 2, 2009, but were "reefed" 9/26/2009.
Datasheets
R-40 drawing from NYCT Revenue & Non-Revenue Car Drawings.
R-40 (Slant) Datasheet from NYCT Revenue & Non-Revenue Car Drawings
R-40M Datasheet from NYCT Revenue & Non-Revenue Car Drawings
Photo Gallery
 Image 5316 (207k, 1024x672) Photo by: Doug Grotjahn Collection of: Joe Testagrose Location: Fort Hamilton Parkway |
 Image 12826 (151k, 820x620) Photo by: Joe Testagrose Location: Avenue J |
 Image 31753 (164k, 1044x701) Photo by: David Pirmann Location: Coney Island Shop/Overhaul & Repair Shop |
 Image 39020 (211k, 1044x788) Photo by: Richard Panse Location: 36th/Washington Aves. |
 Image 49971 (171k, 1044x788) Photo by: John Barnes Location: Kings Highway |
 Image 58860 (106k, 820x620) Photo by: Gary Chatterton Location: 30th/Grand Aves. |
 Image 61670 (76k, 800x600) Photo by: Phillip Lee Location: Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens |
 Image 78065 (217k, 1044x596) Photo by: Danny Molina Location: 2nd Avenue |
 Image 85135 (369k, 1044x703) Photo by: David-Paul Gerber Location: Newkirk Plaza (fmrly Newkirk Ave.) |
 Image 87661 (118k, 1024x768) Photo by: Andrew Johnson Location: West 4th Street/Washington Square |
 Image 93707 (225k, 1044x788) Photo by: Glenn L. Rowe |
 Image 95483 (230k, 1044x788) Photo by: Glenn L. Rowe Location: Lefferts Boulevard |
 Image 97875 (200k, 1044x788) Photo by: Glenn L. Rowe Location: Lefferts Boulevard |
 Image 98817 (295k, 1044x788) Photo by: David-Paul Gerber Location: Rockaway Boulevard |
 Image 102448 (236k, 1044x712) Photo by: Brian Weinberg Location: 207th Street |
More Images: 1-50 51-100 101-150 151-200 201-250 251-300 301-350 351-400 401-450 451-500 501-550 551-600 601-650 651-700 701-750 751-800 801-850 851-900 901-950 951-1000 1001-1050 1051-1100 1101-1150 1151-1200 1201-1250 1251-1300 1301-1350 1351-1400 1401-1450 1451-1500 1501-1550 1551-1600 1601-1650 1651-1700 1701-1750 1751-1800 1801-1850 1851-1900 1901-1950 1951-2000 2001-2050 2051-2100 2101-2150 2151-2200 2201-2250 2251-2286
NOTE: Due to the R-40 and R-40M cars having been renumbered, the photos indicate the car number when the photo was taken. So some of the photos will show R-40 and R-40M cars with the same numbers, taken before and after the renumbering. Where known, the original number of the car is indicated in the photo caption.
Car Notes
| Green | Preserved, saved for preservation, or exists in some state |
Yellow | Converted to work service (and later scrapped or still in use) |
Red | Wrecked/Damaged in accident (and possibly repaired), or scrapped prior to the bulk of the type |
| Number | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4150-4249, 4350-4449 | Delivered with fans; air conditioning installed later.
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| 4162-4163 | East New York Yard school car.
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| 4200-4201 | Yard accident, Coney Island, 1971.
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| 4248 | Involved in collision at Dyckman St in the 1980s. Repaired and returned to service. | ||||
| 4259 | Hit by "M" train outside 9th Avenue, 2/5/1995. Was worked on in Coney Island shops for years but never returned to service. Moved to SBK yard for scrapping, 7/20/2007.
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| 4260 | Derailed in tunnel near 9th Avenue, 8/15/1994. | ||||
| 4280-4281 | On display at New York Transit Museum, November 2009.
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| 4318-4333 | Temporarily renumbered CB-20 to CB-35 (in order) to reflect an ongoing Cobra brake shoe test. These cars could only run with like modified cars.
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| 4323 | Sustained fire damage at Pitkin Yard at some unknown time. Repaired and returned to service. | ||||
| 4334-4349 | Temporarily renumbered AS-10 to AS-25 (in order) to reflect an ongoing Anchor brake shoe test. These cars could only run with like modified cars.
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| 4351-0,4359-8,4352-3,4354-5 | First R-40 train in revenue service, on the "F", March 23, 1968. Slanted-end doors initially were unlocked but by April 5, the danger was obvious and they remained locked. By mid-April it was definite that the car ends would be redesigned.
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| 4420-4421 | 4420 involved in accident at Church Ave. on 2/12/1973 with R-6 1236. | ||||
| 4427-4428 | Collision at Bushwick/Aberdeen, 1/8/1996. Scrapped, 2001.
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| 4442-4443 | Concourse Yard School Car.
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| 4461 | Ran into "M" train on Williamsburg Bridge (R-42 4664), 6/5/1995. Rebuilt into a slant-front car and renumbered 4260.
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| 4501 | Collided with R-16 6304 on "GG" train nr. Roosevelt Ave., 5/20/1970. Two passengers were killed in the R-16 subway car on the GG line. Repaired & returned to service.
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Detailed Roster
Other ways to view the above table: Excel | Printable
Other ways to view the above table: Excel | Printable