About the Trains

These are the oldest members of the New York Transit Museum fleet, featuring lightweight wooden-bodied coaches mounted on steel underframes. A conductor manually opened and closed the gates and rang a ceiling-mounted bell when passengers were safely on board to signal the motorman to proceed. After 30 years of service on Brooklyn elevated lines the cars were refitted with side doors, painted in blue and orange to match the color scheme of the 1939 World’s Fair, and placed into service on the IRT Flushing line (today’s 7 train) for service to the Fair.

Modeled after Boston Elevated Railway cars, the Standards measure 67 feet long and 10 feet wide and contain 78 seats with an additional 14 drop-down auxiliary seats. The standing capacity of 182 people helped address the chronic overcrowding of the early subway years. The Standards introduced destination roll signs, larger windows, and brighter lighting.

The first cars designed for the new Independent Subway were called R1 (the “R” is for “Rolling Stock”) and ushered in the era of the “modern” subway car that had a larger capacity and was optimized for efficient passenger movement to and from the platform. From 1928 through 1940, five types of practically identical cars based on this design—nicknamed “Arnines”—were produced. They featured seating for 60 and standing room for 222, which was a 30% increase over the largest capacity subway car in current service. These cars were the core of the NYTM exhibit back in 1976!

Debuting in 1949, R11s were the first stainless steel subway cars of the post-war era. The ten car order was nicknamed the “Million Dollar Train” because of how much it cost to build. R11 cars were ordered as prototypes for a new fleet for the planned Second Avenue Subway. In the wake of the Korean War and skyrocketing materials costs, the Second Avenue Subway project was put on hold. The first phase opened in 2017. In 1964, all the R11 cars were overhauled to become R34s, and ended their service life on the Franklin Avenue Shuttle. (R32s, R11, and R16 as train of many metals.)

Subway service to Rockaway Beach opened along an old Long Island Rail Road line in 1956, and the Transit Authority used the new R16 cars to inaugurate service. R16s served New York City’s commuters from 1955 to 1987, mostly on the BMT Eastern lines (today’s J, L and M). The gracefully curved handholds and crosswise seating made the R16 an attractive modern car inside and was the first series of NY subway cars to have factory equipped PA systems. The bodies were of sheet steel, painted in the classic Pullman green color. The porthole windows in the end doors were repeated from earlier car designs.

R32s were the subways’ first mass-produced stainless-steel cars, and their ribbed exteriors inspired their nickname “Brightliners”. Their introduction in 1964 allowed the BMT Standards and Triplexes to be phased out on lines going to Coney Island. The R32s were much lighter than their predecessors by about 4,000lbs and were known for being fast. They were often thought of as the best running cars by operating personnel. (R-32s, R11, and R16 as train of many metals.)