The IRT SMEE Fleet (R-12 -- R-36)
The scene at West Farms Square in the Bronx, with R-33 9068 on the #5 in August 2002. Photo by David Pirmann.
Roster
Other ways to view the above table: Printable (PDF)
Description
Length over Anticlimbers 51' 0.5" |
Width at Door Sills 8' 9" |
Total Weight 73,100-76,104 lbs. |
Height from Railhead 11' 10" |
Height, Railhead to Floor 3' 8 1/4" |
Seating Capacity 44 |
By Omar Pagan, Ed Davis, George Chiasson, Dave Pirmann, and SubTalk contributors.
The so-called IRT "SMEE" fleet consisted of all cars built for the former Interborough lines between 1948 and 1964, including the popular "Redbird" cars retired in 2003. The SMEE fleet numbered 2,860 entirely-compatible cars. It was common up until the General Overhaul period in the late 1980s to see trains made up of different car types in different liveries.
Beginning in 1940, when the Board of Transportation unified the three divisions of the subway system, car design was centrally managed and the first of these types, the R-10 for the Independent lines, was ordered in 1947. These cars had a number of improvements over the old designs, newly designed trucks and more powerful motors, door motor improvements, lighting improvements, etc., and a new type of braking system, the "SMEE": Straight Air Motor Car Electric-Pneumatic Emergency, which combined dynamic and air braking in a single package. As Ed Davis described in They Moved the Millions, the "inclusion of dynamic braking was the most significant improvement on the R-10 and all stock to follow... the traction motors, by having field polarities reversed, act as generators and serve as a brake by retarding motor speed, thence thru the gearing the speed of the axles is reduced and train speed reduced. The beauty of this system is that brake shoe wear is reduced tremendously and therefore maintenance costs reduced."
The R-12, ordered from American Car & Foundry in 1948, was the first "IRT" sized car based on this new design, shorter, narrower, and with straight longitudinal seats and one less door pair per side compared to the R-10. There were 100 of these cars and another 150 nearly identical twins ordered under contract R-14, also from ACF, in 1949. The R-15, R-17, R-21, and R-22 contracts followed from 1950 to 1958, nearly identical-looking cars built by ACF and St. Louis Car Co. These cars were nearly entirely replaced later by the R-62 and R-62A deliveries.
The R-26/R-28 cars were the oldest of the Redbirds, so called because of their dark red livery worn in the cars' later years. The first of these was built in 1959, again by ACF, and rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen from 1985 to 1987. Because of their deterioration and wear-and-tear throughout the years of hard work, they were the first Redbird cars in 2001 to be stripped, reefed, and replaced by the R-142/R-142A cars. Like the R-26 and the R-28 cars, the R-29s also suffered deterioration and overwork, especially those on the IRT #6 Pelham line (cars 8570-8690). These cars were also rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen in 1985 to 1987.
Before these cars were retired, a number of these cars served in work service. Cars 7818-19 and 7846-47 were used for a brief period as Refuse Collection Cars in 2002. These cars reportedly went back to passenger service but were eventually stripped and reefed. Also in 2002 during the summer months, cars 7848-49 were used as temporary school cars at the south side of East 180th Street Yard at the end of Track 10. The pair was reportedly mechanically dead in November 2002 and remained in the yard through March 2003, with the front end signed for the IRT #5 - Dyre Avenue line. These cars were later scrapped. The last R-26/R-28 cars to be reefed were cars 7862-63 in October 2003.
Some R-29s were also in work service for a while. In 2001, the MTA tested out four Pelham-assigned cars for switch dolly work service. These were cars 8600-01 and 8634-35. But for some reason, after only a few months, the MTA opted to strip the cars and reef them. In November 2002, cars 8716-17 and 8718-19 were used for work service. They were first seen operating along with Rail Adhesion Car R-33 #8885. These cars were also stripped and reefed sometime in 2003.
The R-33s were the first mainline cars to be rebuilt by the Metropolitan Transit Authority beginning in 1987 and ending in 1991. After general overhaul, the R-33's improved performance made the cars one of the most dependable subway cars in the system. That is why the R33s are preferred to be converted into work cars rather than other Redbird types.
However these cars suffered from rust, especially the R-33 cars on the Lexington Avenue IRT #4 line (9216-9305, and later 8836-8857 from IRT #5). By the end of their service, all of the IRT #4 Redbirds were really out of shape. In some cases, some cars had small holes under windows and when it rained, water would seep though the roof and make large puddles on the floor. One pair, cars 9294-95, were so worn out that their car numbers could not be seen on the number plates. The last R-33s were retired on April 15, 2003 from the Lexington Avenue IRT #4 line.
Why do the car lights blink on the R-33/R-36 World's Fair/Flushing Line cars but not the other Redbirds?
The original carbody lighting design called for the lights to be run directly off the 600V supply (with a polarity reverser relay when florescents came along). A relay called the ELR (Emergency Lighting Relay) was also across the line. When the 600V failed (car crosses a contact rail gap), the relay goes off and the normally-closed contacts of the relay apply 37V battery voltage to a set of emergency, or "battery" lights. On the IRT redbirds, these are incandescent bulbs located along the center of the car. There are some inside the long fluorescent glass fixture, and there is one each in the center of each axiflow fan.
When the R-26/R-28/R-29 fleet was overhauled by MK, the battery lights were removed from the center of the fans and PA speakers replaced them. On these cars, a solid-state converter replaces the older motor-generator set for converting 600V to battery voltage, and the same converter unit also contains a solid state lighting inverter to take the battery voltage, chop it to AC, and step it up to drive the fluorescent bulbs. When 600 goes off on these cars, the lights stay on fully for up to about 30 seconds. In prolonged power-out, the inverter gradually shuts down banks of lights until only two lights are on in the entire car.
The Flushing cars were rebuilt in 1985 by Coney Island, before the more thorough car overhaul program was devised. They left a lot of "old technology" behind, including the Motor-Generator and the classic SMEE pneumatic units. That's why those are the only cars that still go "puff" when the doors close, and why the lights still blink out across third rail gaps.
Datasheets
Related Documents
- They Moved the Millions, Chapter 5, The IRT Second Generation, a more extensive description of the SMEE fleet on the IRT lines is provided in Ed Davis's They Moved the Millions.
- A History of the IRT SMEE Cars, 1948-1964, George Chiasson, Jr.'s extensive documentation about the IRT SMEE car classes.
- A Historic Perspective of the R-26, R-28, and R-29, a look at the final years of the early "Redbird" classes, by George Chiasson, Jr.
- IRT SMEE Fleet Disposition, George Chiasson, Jr. summarizes the disposition/whereabouts of the R-26 thru R-36 "Redbird" IRT SMEE cars.
- R-33 WF/R-36 WF Last Revenue Run Photos (11/3/2003), the railfan and press community turned out in a large group for the last run of the Redbirds, on the #7 line in November, 2003.
- Scrapyards and Car Disposal. The Redbird fleets (R-26, R-28, R-29, R-33/R-33 WF, R-36/R-36 WF) were scrapped beginning in 2001 and continuing into 2004. Most of the cars were sent to artificial reefs along the Atlantic coast.
Photo Gallery
Five Random Images | ||||
Image 68871 (214k, 1024x683) Photo by: Steve Zabel Collection of: Joe Testagrose Location: Queensborough Plaza | Image 127562 (65k, 1000x422) Photo by: Robert Callahan Location: Pelham Parkway | Image 146239 (224k, 1044x596) Photo by: Nicholas Noel Location: 34th Street-Hudson Yards | Image 151434 (442k, 1200x800) Collection of: David Pirmann Location: Hunters Point Avenue | Image 157701 (468k, 1220x820) Photo by: Richard Panse Location: Grand Central |
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 | ||||||||||
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.... | Cars 5709, 5710, 5711, 5712 converted to station wash train.
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.... | 5812, 5823, 5831, 5833, 5842, 5843, 5844, 5857, 5861, 5875, 5877, 5895, 5950, 5965, 5984, 5985, 5989, 6214, 6762, 7234, 7241, 7269, 7287, 7318, 7319, 7322, 7327, 7338, 7380, 7397, 7436, 7472, 7502, 7515, 7518, 7522, 7608, 7633 converted to Rider Cars. See R-71 Rider Cars for details.
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.... | Cars 6721, 6726, 6813, 6850, 7055, 7077, 7083, 7100, 7133, 7136, 7145, 7168, 7210, 7211, 7243, 7278, 7289, 7296, 7303, 7340, 7345, 7446, 7505, 7550, 7568, 7569, 7579, 7588, 7657, 7659, 7691, 7701 converted to Continuous Welded Rail Handlers. See R-123 Continuous Welded Rail Cars for details.
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.... | Cars 6835, 6899, 7121, 7346, 7376, 7413, 7432, 7571, 7629 converted to Pump/Reach Cars. See R-71 Reach Cars for details.
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.... | Cars 7183, 7187, 7203, 7208, 7224, 7246, 7261, 7358, 7408, 7420, 7450, 7460, 7475, 7486 (and possibly others) converted to Garbage Motors (G prefix to carnumber).
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.... | Cars 7194, 7313, 7337, 7343, 7355, 7368, 7379, 7389, 7392, 7490 converted to Revenue Collector cars; cars 7314, 7374, 7386, 7410, 7422, 7424, 7444, 7449, 7459, 7496 converted to Locker Cars (1R714-1R723) and paired with the corresponding car 0R714-0R723. See R-95 Revenue Collector Cars for details.
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.... | Cars 8816, 8817, 8820, 8821, 8858, 8859, 8862, 8863, 8868, 8869, 8878, 8879, 8890, 8891, 8892, 8893, 8914, 8915, 8936, 8937, 8950, 8951, 8954, 8955, 8956, 8957, 8964, 8965, 8986, 8987, 9020, 9021, 9032, 9033, 9038, 9039, 9066, 9067, 9070, 9071, 9138, 9139 converted to Rider Cars. See R-161 Rider Cars for details. | ||||||||||
5703-5706 | 5703 used as revenue collection car 1950-1964. 5703-5706 modified in 1964 for use on Bowling Green-South Ferry inner loop shuttle service. All scrapped.
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5708 | Converted to revenue collection car R707. Scrapped.
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5714 | Converted to work motor E45; since scrapped.
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5756 | Converted to Weld Car W-303. Scrapped. | ||||||||||
5760 | New York Transit Museum collection. Restored to operable status and used on several fan trips beginning in 2003.
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5767 | Converted to revenue collector car 0R-711. Scrapped. | ||||||||||
5781 | Converted in 1973 to IRT 75-foot test car XC875. Used for clearance testing around the IRT to test the feasability of ordering longer cars for the IRT division. Scrapped.
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5782 | Survives, last seen at 207th Street Yard in MTA blue/silver livery. Mechanical condition unknown.
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5784 | Derailed outside of Wall Street on #2, (1969?). Scrapped.
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5815 | Derailed near 180th St., 12/29/1969. Removed by crane on Bronx River Parkway; cut in two for removal.
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5871, 5872 | 5871 and 5872 were used as fire department training cars. 5871 to be preserved for the New York Transit Museum. 5872 was scrapped.
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6216-6225 | First IRT cars delivered with public address system, 1950. | ||||||||||
6239 | New York Transit Museum collection. This car was used to test an early air conditioning system. Restored to operable status and used on several fan trips beginning in 2003.
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6595, 6597, 6601, 7740, 7509, 7513, 7516 | 4/21/1946: 6595, 6597, 6601, 7740, destroyed in Grand Central shuttle fire. 7509, 7513, 7516 were the automated "SAM" test train used on the IRT Times Square-Grand Central Shuttle; cars were not harmed by fire but were never returned to revenue service. 7513 scrapped 7/1967. 7509 became XC375 (see below).
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6609 | New York Transit Museum collection. Restored to operable status and used on several fan trips beginning in 2003.
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6673, 6786 | 8/29/1957, accident, no other info available. | ||||||||||
6688 | Shore Line Trolley Museum collection. Operable, recently repainted.
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6895 | Still on the property as of 6/2014. Last seen at Concourse Yard.
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7161, 7675, 7589 | Wrecked in derailment at Utica Ave. portal, 7/3/1981. | ||||||||||
7190 | Derailed & hit ceiling near Times Square (1980s). | ||||||||||
7194 (0R714), 7424 (0R715) | Possibly New York Transit Museum collection, was on display in the museum in 2007 and again 2011. Present status unknown.
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7196, 7216, 7425 | Converted to work car.
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7261 | Converted to Garbage Motor (G prefix to carnumber). Last used at Corona Yard for storage; was scrapped in 2002.
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7366 | Converted to work car 37366. Was used for the Signal Dolly Work Train and scrapped in 2002.
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7371 | Converted to signal dolly/rider car 37371. Selected for decommissioning in 2004, this car was first displayed in the New York Transit Museum as a temporary installation while the IRT SMEE museum cars were being used on various fan trips; it was then used on a fan trip itself in May 2005 along with R-33 9327; then both were shipped in June 2005 to the Seashore Trolley Museum.
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7509 | Converted in 1973 to IRT 64-foot test car XC375. Scrapped 7/12/1996. From the April, 1982, Bulletin of the New York Division Electric Railroader's Association: On April 1st, a clearance test train left Mosholu Yard at 6:00 pm and operated over various IRT lines. The train was composed of three motors, car 8776, XC 375, 8777 and three more motor cars. The motor cars were single unit R-17, R-21 or R-22 cars.
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7602 | Accident at Morris Park Ave., 11/24/1979.
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7774-7775 | Stored at Unionport Yard, present status unknown.
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7888-7889, 8696-8697 | 4/12/2000: Derailed north of 59th Street, repaired and returned to service. 7888-7889 scrapped in July 2002, 8696-8697 scrapped in December 2001. | ||||||||||
7924-7925 | This pair of cars retained its original windows, instead of the ones installed during the early 1990's rebuild project. Possibly used as rail adhesion gel train? Still on the property as of 6/2014. Last seen at Concourse Yard.
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7926-7927 | At Illinois Railway Museum, outside Chicago. Arrived at IRM on 7/19/2007. Before this date, the cars sat idle on NYCT property for almost three years. The cars experienced some grafitti and some paint chipping, revealing a possible all-white scheme. They were taken to Illinois by freight rail.
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8678-8679 | Possibly used as rail adhesion gel train? Still on the property as of 6/2014. Last seen at Concourse Yard.
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8686-8687 | Had experimental lightweight trucks for a period in the 1960s. | ||||||||||
8706 | 8/26/1996: Derailed on switch 11, 239th St. Yard (8th car in consist of 20); minor damage sustained. Repaired and returned to service. Scrapped in July 2001. | ||||||||||
8812-8813 | Assigned to work service (36th St. Yard). Scrapped 2013.
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8816-8817 | In June 2003, cars 8816-17 and 9020-21 were used as revenue cars for the Concourse and 8th Avenue lines and for a brief time on the Queens Boulevard lines. These cars operated with R-22 Revenue Cars and were renumbered 18816-17, 19020-21. They were taken out of revenue collection service in Fall 2004 and were then converted to work cars RD413 and RD412 respectively. | ||||||||||
8832-8833, 8912-8913, 8980-8981, 9152-9153, 9154-9155 | 2/3/1998: 239th Street Yard lead accident. 8832-8833, 8912-8913, 9154-9155 back in service as of 12/17/1998. 8980-8981, derailed; 8980 scrapped in 2000, 8981 mated with 9152 9152-9153 derailed and burned; scrapped in 2000.
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8834-8835 | Assigned to work service (Coney Island Yard). | ||||||||||
8884 | 7/15/1997: Derailed, scrapped on site at Rogers Junction. | ||||||||||
8885 | Mate of 8884 now in work service as rail adhesion train.
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8888-8889 | Assigned to work service (Westchester Yard). | ||||||||||
8912-8913 | In the summer of 2004, cars 8912-13 were taken the Tiffany Street Iron Shops, a training and fabrication facility for el structure maintainers, in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. They are part of a elevated structure mock-up that stretches about 180 feet, with station and platform included.
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8942-8943, 9015, 9063, 9064, 9065, 9130, 9154-9155, 9225 | 7/21/1998: Collision 105th & B'way. Collision on southbound track. 8943, 9064 pushed out of center castings; back in service by 10/23/1998. 9063, 9105, 9130, 9154-9155, 9180-9181, 9225 sustained coupler and anticlimber damage; back in service as of 9/1/1998. 9065 sustained drawbar damage; back in service as of 9/1/1998. | ||||||||||
8968-8969 | Caught fire (Accident at Utica Ave. portal?) (1980s) | ||||||||||
8996-8997 | Converted to refuse motors based at 36th St Yard.
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9000-9001 | Severe fire damage at Borough Hall in the 1980s. Floor was replaced, and cars were returned to service. They survived to go through the GOH program. Later converted to refuse motors based at 36th St Yard.
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9010-9011 | New York Transit Museum collection. Part of "Train of Many Colors" fleet. Carries "MTA" silver and blue livery.
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9016-9017 | New York Transit Museum collection. Part of "Train of Many Colors" fleet. Carries bright red with yellow trim livery.
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9018-9019 | Were converted to Signal Dolly service but were scrapped 8/2003.
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9056 | Transported to Washington, D.C. for 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Scrapped afterward.
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9068-9069 | New York Transit Museum collection. Part of "Train of Many Colors" fleet. 9068 carries kale green with silver roof livery; 9069 in redbird red livery.
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9075 | 9075 was on display outside Queens Borough Hall beginning January 2005. In July 2022 it was sold at auction to a private collector in Los Angeles for $235,700, the car was removed from the QBH property October 16, 2022. (NY Times article.)
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9108 | Caught fire, repaired and returned to service (1993). Scrapped with rest of fleet in 2003. | ||||||||||
9114 | Caught fire, repaired and returned to service (late 1960s). Scrapped with rest of fleet in 2003. | ||||||||||
9156-9157 | Sent to NYC Emergency Services training school at Floyd Bennett Field.
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9203, 9224 | 10/25/1973: Fire in master controller unit of 9203, in Pelham line tunnel near Longwood Avenue station. Fire also affected car 9224 which had a large floor section cut out during firefighting (it was subsequently scrapped). The following train ended up rear-ending the disabled train due to low visibility caused by the smoky fire.
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9206-9207 | New York Transit Museum collection. Part of "Train of Many Colors" fleet. Carries "MTA" silver and blue livery.
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9213 | Caught fire, late 1960s. | ||||||||||
9294-9295 | First IRT cars retrofitted with air conditioning, placed in service 9/5/1973. | ||||||||||
9306 | New York Transit Museum collection. Part of "Train of Many Colors" fleet. Carries original World's Fair livery. Residing in the Transit Museum since it opened in 1976, this car was restored to operable status and used on several fan trips beginning in 2003.
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9307-9345 | Most cars of the R-33 World's Fair fleet converted to work service after retirement in 2001. Most cars were renumbered, with a "1" placed next to the car number plates. For example, car 9335 is now 19335. Many of these were scrapped in 2013.
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9307 | New York Transit Museum collection. Part of "Train of Many Colors" fleet. Repainted in August 2017 into replica World's Fair livery. Operated Nostalgia Train excursion on 8/19/2017.
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9308 | New York Transit Museum collection. Repainted in Summer 2019 into replica World's Fair livery. | ||||||||||
9310 | New York Transit Museum collection. Part of "Train of Many Colors" fleet. Carries redbird red livery. Operated Nostalgia Train excursion on 8/19/2017.
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9321 | The only one of the R-33 World's Fair fleet to be reefed during the Redbird reefing program, in the summer of 2001.
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9327 | After the final run of the Redbirds, this car was first displayed in the New York Transit Museum as a temporary installation while the IRT SMEE museum cars were being used on various fan trips; it was then used on a fan trip itself in May 2005 along with R-22 work car 7371; then both were shipped in June 2005 to the Seashore Trolley Museum. 9327 was one of the "Subway Series" cars, decorated with New York Yankees and New York Mets' logos for the 2000 World Series.
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9343 | New York Transit Museum collection. | ||||||||||
9349, 9410 | Taken out of service due to anticlimber damage; mates 9411 and 9348 temporarily mated and used in service; 9349, 9410 repaired and remated to original mates in 2/2000.
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9400-9401 | Remained on the property from 2004 to 2013, never used for anything. Scrapped October 2013. | ||||||||||
9440 | Rhode Island car.
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9542-9543 | In 2004, these cars were on display in the New York Transit Museum. Present status unknown.
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9564-9565 | These cars, the easternmost pair of Redbirds on the final revenue run on 11/3/2003 (see above), were finally moved to the SBK yard in Brooklyn for asbestos abatement and scrapping in July 2007. | ||||||||||
9582-9583 | Stored at Unionport Yard, present status unknown.
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9584-9585 | Stored at Unionport Yard, present status unknown.
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9586-9587 | Th These cars were used on the final revenue run of the redbird fleet on 11/3/2003. After, they were used in work service as part of the rail adhesion train with R-33 8885. New York Transit Museum collection. Part of the "Train of Many Colors" fleet. Carries redbird red livery.
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9588-9589 | These cars, used on the final revenue run of the redbird fleet on 11/3/2003, are stored at 207th St. Yard (as of 10/2007), status unknown. | ||||||||||
9658 | Neighborhood Youth Corps car.
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9744 | State of Missouri car.
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9748 | Commonwealth of Massachusetts car.
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9759 | Damaged 8/28/1973 in Steinway Tunnel near 1st Avenue crossover when concrete ceiling duct fell onto train. 1 person died as a result. Car repaired and returned to service. | ||||||||||
9762 | State of Vermont car.
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9766 | State of Kansas car.
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MDBF Data
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