R36 World's Fair (New York City Subway car)

R36 7 local northbound at 33rd Street–Rawson Street. This picture was taken between 1986 and 1989 when the cars had just been repainted redThe R36 World's Fair (also known as R36WF) New York City Subway cars were built in 1963-1964 by the St. Louis Car Company, St. Louis, Missouri. They were in service mostly on the IRT Flushing Line (NYCS service|7 train route) and for the 1964 New York World's Fair. These were the last entirely LAHT bodied (non-stainless) cars built for the New York City Subway.

Early history

In 1962, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) ordered 430 cars for the NYCS service|7 train. This route would run to the World's Fair grounds in Flushing Meadows in Queens. The first 40 cars were singles (R33 World's Fair), with the rest R36 cars. (Single cars were needed since the NYCS service|7 service runs 11-car trains, and R36's come in only pairs.) The cars were to be painted in a light blue turquoise "Bluebird" scheme (see "Paint Schemes" below) and with large picture windows unlike other IRT cars. Thirty-four R36s were built for the IRT Main Line and had small drop sash windows.

The first R36 cars (9346-9350) arrived in fall 1963, shortly after the R33 WF's first arrived in September. With the fair opening April 12, 1964, R36 cars were being built and delivered in larger quantities. More cars arrived throughout 1964, enough to replace the R12, R14 and R15 on the NYCS service|7 service by that close of that year.

The 1970s

Through the 1970s the R36s were the mainstay of the NYCS service|7 service. The cars kept their original paint until 1972, when some were repainted in the new "Silver & Blue" scheme. Around 1975-78, the entire subway system was covered in graffiti. Most cars had their original paint covered up by then or were given a new white "anti-graffiti" covering by 1982.

The GOH program and rebuilding

The R36 were the first cars to be rebuilt in the NYCTA's General Overhaul Program (GOH) in the 1980s. This program improved car life by rebuilding older cars and keeping other cars in a state of good repair. A trial rebuild project was done on selected Westinghouse R36 cars in 1981-83. Beginning in late 1984, the other R36 cars were rebuilt at rate of 200 cars per year, with the majority of them done in-house at the NYCTA's main shop at Coney Island, Brooklyn. Other were rebuilt by General Electric in Buffalo, New York and by Amtrak at its Beech Grove, Indiana and Wilmington, Delaware shops. The last remaining cars were sent out for rebuild in mid/late 1985 and by 1986 all cars were fully back in service rebuilt.

Post Overhaul

After rebuilding, the NYCS service|7 service's R36 cars were first repainted in a red scheme starting around 1985-86. At first the scheme, known as "Silver Fox" or "Gunn Red" after NYCT chief David L. Gunn, was a graffiti resistant red that was also easy to clean. By 1989, the Gunn Red would evolve into the Redbird scheme best known to many New Yorkers, with beige interiors, red exterior paint and interior doors and black and silver exterior trim along the car windows, roof and undersides.

In 1999 the R36 cars were the most reliable in the NYCT fleet, with a Mean Distance Between Failure (MDBF) rate of 194,150 miles, despite being 35 years old at the time. While in decent shape mechanically, rust holes were beginning to form in the sides of most of the cars by 2000.

In the 1990s and until mid 2001, cars 9478-9523 usually ran on the NYCS service|6 service at Westchester Yard in the Bronx. Previously, many R36 WFs had been assigned to the NYCS service|1 and NYCS service|4 services.

Phasing out

In 1998, New York City Transit announced that it would phase out its Redbird cars. The Redbirds — R26, R28, R29, R33 and R36 — would be replaced by modern R142 cars.

Most of the Redbirds (over 1,100) were submerged off the coast of Delaware, New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia as artificial barrier and diving reefs.

While the Redbirds on the IRT Main Line were beginning to be retired starting in early 2001, the NYCS service|7 service was all Redbird until January 2002. That month, a set of R62A's arrived from the IRT Main Line. As R142 sets were delivered, the NYCS service|3 and NYCS service|6 services would give up their R62A's to the NYCS service|7, replacing R36's. R36's were still plentiful in 2002, since R142 delivery was slow that year.

By mid-2003 Redbird sets were dwindling on the NYCS service|7 service. Only a few sets were running by fall. The last Redbird train ran along the NYCS service|7 on November 3, 2003, marking the retirement of the Redbird cars.

Since then, some of the remaining R36s have been used on occasion for work service. One pair (9564-65) was transferred to Coney Island in December 2004 for conversion of 9565 to a visitor center at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens, but R33 ML 9075 was used instead (January 2005). 9564-65 have since been sunk.

The future

There were uncredited rumors that the R36's would run in service one last time in 2004 on the NYCS service|7 service for the Centennial of the New York City Subway and the 40th Anniversary of the 1964 World's Fair. Although the R36WF fleet did not make it out for the centennial, 8 R33 MLs did, and were painted in various historical paint schemes. 9400-01 are likely candidates for a Redbird museum train.

The R36 in media and culture

Eight WH cars (9356-57, 9360-61, 9394-95, 9412-13) and two GE cars (9712-13) in addition to one R33 WF (9327) were wrapped and painted in New York Mets colors on October 24, 2000 prior to Game 3 of the 2000 World Series between the Yankees and Mets.

In addition, the R36 cars have made cameo roles in various TV shows and movies. They appear in several scenes in "Spider-Man" (2002), on The King of Queens and the opening credits of NYPD Blue. Nicolas Cage rides the 7 in "It Could Happen to You" (1994). In the 1988 movie "Cocktail", Tom Cruise gets off R36 9700 at Vernon-Jackson station. In "Willard", Willard is seen boarding a Redbird.

Paint schemes

The R36 cars have worn many paint schemes since 1964.
*World's Fair Light Blue "Bluebird" (Turquoise blue) (1964-1981)
*NYCTA/MTA Silver & Blue (1972-1981)
*Plain White (1981-1986)
*Red, nickname: "Redbird" (1986-)

R-36 World's Fair (WF) Specifications

*Car Builder: St. Louis Car Company in St. Louis, Missouri
*Unit Numbers: 9346-9523/9558-9769
*Car Body: LAHT carbon steel
*Car Length: 51 feet, ¹⁄₂ inches (15 m)
*Car Width: 8 feet, 9 inches (2.67 m)
*Car Height: 11 feet, 10³⁄₈ inches (3.616 m)
*Height railhead to floor: 3 feet, 9 inches (1.14 m)
*Total Weight: 69,400 lb (31,480 kg) (pre-rebuild)
*Track Gauge: 4 feet, 8¹⁄₂ inches (1.435 m)
*Total Seating: 44
*Propulsion System: Westinghouse XCA248 "(cars 9346-9523)", General Electric 17KG192 "(cars 9558-9769)"
*DC Motors: Westinghouse (WH) 1447C, General Electric (GE) 1240A5
*Power: 100 horsepower (75 kW), 4 per car
*Brakes: WABCO "SMEE" with ME42 brake valve (electrodynamic) Braking System
*Cab Arrangement: Half-width conductor/operator cab at "#1" end, half-width conductor cab at "#2" end
*Coupling/Numbering Arrangement: All married pairs.
*Price per car (new, 1963-1964): USD$110,563
*Note: Prior to rebuilding, all R36 WF cars were equipped with air conditioning system instead of the original Axiflow ceiling fans.

External links

* [http://www.nycsubway.org/cars/r3336wf.html nycsubway.org - NYC Subway Cars: R33/R36 World's Fair]
* [http://www.hopetunnel.org/subway/nyct/r36wf.html R36 photos]
* [http://www.geocities.com/R36redbird/R36.html R36 WF technical sheets and drawings]