R28 (New York City Subway car)

R28
R28 cars 7926 and 7927 on display at the Illinois Railway Museum
In service	1960–2002
Manufacturer	American Car and Foundry
Constructed	1960-1961
Scrapped	2001–2002
Number built	100
Number preserved	4
Number scrapped	96
Formation	Semi-Married Pairs
Fleet numbers	7860-7959
Capacity	44
Operator(s)	New York City Subway
Specifications
Car body construction	LAHT carbon steel
Car length	51.04 feet (15.56 m)
Width	8.75 feet (2,667 mm)
Height	11.86 feet (3,615 mm)
Doors	6 per car
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	70,000 lb (32,000 kg) (post-rebuild)
Traction system	General Electric 17KG192 (7860-7909 formerly Westinghouse)
Prime mover(s)	Westinghouse (WH) 1447J/JR, General Electric (GE) 1257F1
Power output	115 hp (85.8 kW)
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Third rail
Current collection method	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	WABCO, "SMEE" (electrodynamic)
Coupling system	H2C
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The R28 was a New York City Subway car built in 1960 and 1961 by American Car and Foundry (ACF). They were a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the A Division's R26s and closely resemble them. The average car cost per R28 was $114,495. They operated on the IRT A Division in married pairs.

The R28s were the last ever passenger cars built by ACF, with the closure of the Berwick assembly plant following the delivery of the final cars delivered in January 1961. ACF has since focused on solely freight rolling stock.

The first set of R28/R26s was placed in service on the 6 train on October 12, 1959. By 1982, all cars in this series have received air conditioning as part of a retrofitting program. Rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen in Hornell, New York between 1985 and 1987, the R28s were repainted as Redbirds and were the first cars to be repainted in the scheme. They re-entered service particularly on the 2 and 5 trains.

As time wore on, heavy service took their toll on these cars. The R142 and R142A car orders replaced the entire R28 fleet. The first R28s were retired in May 2001 until the last train with R28s ran on October 7, 2002, with the last pairs of R26s and two pairs of R29s (the latter of which was retired weeks later).

After retirement, many cars were stripped to help create the Redbird Reef. They made their last trip on October 24, 2002 on the 5 service.