Composite (New York City Subway car)

Composite
1904 Rendering of an IRT Composite
Manufacturer	Jewett Car Company St. Louis Car Company Wason Manufacturing Company John Stephenson Company
Replaced	1950
Constructed	1903-1904
Entered service	1903-1950
Refurbishment	1916
Scrapped	1953
Number built	500
Number preserved	0
Number scrapped	500
Fleet numbers	2000-2059 (Jewett trailers) 2060-2119 (St. Louis Car trailers) 2120-2159 (Wason trailers) 3000-3039 (Jewett motors) 3040-3139 (Stephenson motors) 3140-3279 (St. Louis Car motors) 3280-3339 (Wason motors)
Capacity	Before 1909-1912: 162: 52 (seated) 110 (standing) After: 162: 44 (seated) 118 (standing)
Operator(s)	Interborough Rapid Transit Company NYC Board of Transportation
Specifications
Car body construction	Wood with Copper Skin
Car length	51 feet 1.5 inches (15.58 m)
Width	8 feet 11.375 inches (2,727 mm)
Height	12 feet 1.375 inches (3,693 mm)
Floor height	3 ft 2.5 in (0.98 m)
Doors	Before 1909-1912: 4 After: 6
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	Motor car (before 1916): ~81,600 lb (37,000 kg) (after): 73,788 lb (33,470 kg) Trailer car (before 1916): ~60,000 lb (27,000 kg) (Note all trailer cars were converted to motor cars in 1916)
Traction system	Motor car (before 1916): Westinghouse Type 'M' switch group, using GE 69 or Westinghouse 86 motors (200 hp or 150 kW each). Two motors per car (both on motor truck, trailer truck not motorized). Motor car (after 1916): GE PC type switch group, using GE 259 motors (120 hp or 89 kW each). Two motors per car (both on motor truck, trailer truck not motorized). Trailer car (before 1916): None (Note all trailer cars were converted to motor cars in 1916)
Power output	Before 1916: 200 hp (149 kW) per traction motor After 1916: 120 hp (89 kW) per traction motor
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Third rail
Current collection method	Top running Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	Before 1910: WABCO Schedule AM(P) with 'P' type triple valve and M-2 brake stand 1910-1916: WABCO Schedule AMRE with 'R' type triple valve and ME-21 brake stand After 1916: WABCO Schedule AMUE with UE-5 universal valve and ME-23 brake stand
Coupling system	Before 1910: Van Dorn After 1910: WABCO J
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The Composite consisted of a New York City Subway car class built in 1903 and in 1904 for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and its successor, the New York City Board of Transportation.

The Composite derived its name from its build as a "protected wooden car." The car frame was made of steel, while the car body itself was made from wood encased in a layer of copper sheathing. The copper skin was intended to protect the car in the event of a fire in the subway. Therefore the result was a body composed of several materials (as in a Composite material) and became known simply as a "Composite."

Because of the Composites' copper sheathing, IRT crews and shop personnel coined the nickname for the cars: Copper Sides.

The first IRT subway in New York would prove to be the first attempt at an underground heavy rail subway. For example, the underground portion of Boston's Green Line, which opened in 1897, had been light rail. Therefore the IRT and its chief engineer George Gibbs felt compelled to develop a subway car that would be stronger and safer than any previously designed railway cars. This inevitably led them to the conclusion that it would be best to design an all steel car to run in the new tunnels.

However, car manufacturers of the time were unwilling to undertake such an experimental proposition. Steel was deemed too heavy for any practical applications. Conventional wisdom of the day (since proven to be false) held that an all steel car would vibrate itself to pieces, claiming wood was "necessary" for its damping effects on the car's vibration. It was also widely believed that a steel car would be very loud, and poorly insulated from temperature extremes such as heat and cold. With a large backlog of orders for wooden cars, manufacturers had no incentive to explore the new technology as there was still plenty of demand for wooden railcars. The IRT knew that the October 27, 1904 opening of the new subway route was fast approaching, and that rolling stock had to be designed and built soon or the line would not be ready. With time running short to order rolling stock, a wood-based alternative had been proposed - a protected wooden car to be known as a Composite.