R44 | |
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An R44 train on the Staten Island Railway at Oakwood Heights.
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Interior of a Staten Island Railway-operated R44 car.
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In service | 1971–2010 (NYCTA cars) 1973-present (SIR cars) |
Manufacturer | St. Louis Car Company |
Built at | St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
Replaced |
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Constructed | 1971–1973 |
Refurbishment | July 1991 – January 1993 |
Scrapped | 2012-2013 (NYCT cars & one damaged SIR car) |
Number built | 352 |
Number in service | 63 (SIR cars) |
Number preserved | 1 |
Number scrapped | 284 NYCTA cars and 1 SIR car (+4 NYCTA cars stored on property) |
Formation | Single units (SIR), 4 car sets (NYCTA) |
Fleet numbers | 5202–5479 (NYC Subway) 388–435, 436–466 (even) (SIRTOA) (cars originally numbered 100–435, 436–466 (even)) |
Capacity |
A car: 72 (seated) B car: 76 (seated) |
Operator(s) |
New York City Subway (1971-2010) Staten Island Railway (1973-present) |
Depot(s) | SIRT (63 cars) |
Service(s) assigned | Staten Island Railway – 63 cars (15–16 trains) |
Specifications | |
Car body construction | Stainless steel with carbon steel chassis and underbody, with fiberglass end bonnets |
Car length | 74 ft 8.5 in (22.77 m) (over anticlimbers) |
Width | 10 ft (3,048 mm) (over threshold) |
Height | 12.08 ft (3,682 mm) |
Platform height | 3.76 ft (1.15 m) |
Doors | 8 |
Maximum speed |
Test: 87.75 mph (141.22 km/h) Service: 55 mph (89 km/h) - 60 mph (97 km/h) |
Weight |
A train car: 88,950 lb (40,347 kg) B train car: 84,530 lb (38,342 kg) |
Traction system |
NYC Subway: Westinghouse E-CAM XCA448F propulsion with Westinghouse 1447F motors 115 hp (85.8 kW) on all axles Staten Island Railway: General Electric SCM-CAM 17KG192A1 propulsion with GE 1257E1 motors 115 hp (85.8 kW) on all axles |
Prime mover(s) | electric motor |
Acceleration | 2.5 miles per hour per second (4.0 km/(h·s)) |
Deceleration | 3.0 miles per hour per second (4.8 km/(h·s)) (Full Service) 3.2 miles per hour per second (5.1 km/(h·s)) (Emergency) |
Electric system(s) | 600 V DC Third rail |
Current collection method | Contact shoe |
Braking system(s) |
NYC Subway: Westcode (dynamic and friction), WABCO tread brake unit Staten Island Railway: WABCO RT5C (dynamic and friction), WABCO tread brake unit |
Safety system(s) | dead man's switch, tripcock |
Headlight type | halogen light bulbs |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The R44 is a New York City Subway car model built from 1971 to 1973 by the St. Louis Car Company in St. Louis, Missouri for the IND/BMT B Division and the Staten Island Railway. The cars replaced many R1-R9 series cars and all 1925 Standard Steel built SIRTOA ME-1 trains, providing Staten Island with a new fleet of railcars. Currently, only the Staten Island Railway operates this model, as the NYCTA cars were retired in 2010 due to various issues.
A total of 352 R44 cars were ordered: 300 cars for the New York City Subway (numbered 100–399, with 278 of the cars later renumbered 5202–5479) and 52 cars for the Staten Island Railway (also known as ME-2 or MUE-2 cars, numbered 400–435 and even numbers between 436–466).
The R44s originally came in singles, but needed each other to run, much like the "married pairs" of the R26/27/28/30/32/36/36WF/38/40/40A/42 cars. The NYCTA cars were reassembled after overhaul into ABBA sets of four; A cars are evenly numbered with operator cabs while B cars have odd numbers and no cabs. The SIR cars were never reassembled and remain set up as singles.