Forum: travel.stackexchange.com
Tags: <trains><public-transport><where-on-earth><factoids>
Title: Oldest subway/underground/metro rolling stock still in operation
Question: As a rider of various subway/metro/underground systems I was curious where would I find the oldest fleet still in operation.   NYC subway C line has cars built in the mid 60s. I was wondering if there is anything older than that?

Answers:
sents: text: If Wikipedia is up-to-date, then Buenos Aires has a good claim to having the oldest subway coaches in commercial service in the world, built between 1913 and 1919.
text: They have been running on line
text: A since its inception.
text: These trains were being phased out as of 2010; I'll let someone with a better grasp of Spanish determine whether they are still running now.
text: I thought some impoverished East European cities had old stock, but they all seem to have renewed anything pre-1970.
text: The London Underground ran A60 and A62 for about 50 years, since the early 1960s.
text: These trains were due to be phased out in the early 2010s; the TfL plans called for A stock lasting until 2015, but the replacement seems to have been expedited.
text: The Metropolitan line might still be running some.
text: In the Tube, the 1959 stock is no longer doing passenger service but is still used for deicing in winter.
text: Pyongyang runs trains imported from Berlin, both West and East.
text: The Dora trains were built between 1957 and 1965 and are now running a quarter way around the world from their youthful home.
text: If you're willing to accept streetcars, then Hong Kong is still running rebuilt cars from the 1950s (older cars from the 1930s have been scrapped).
text: The Isle of Wight line (in England) still has 1938 ex-London Underground rolling stock in active service.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/277/Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
score: 14
sents: text: The Schwebebahn suspended monorail in Wuppertal, Germany, not far from Cologne, still trots out Emperor Wilhelm's Kaiserwagen , built in 1900, for special occasions and tourist charters.
text: It's not in daily service though.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/1893/lambshaanxy
score: 13
sents: text: They’re not exactly the oldest and they are not a subway but an S-train, but they still fulfil the remaining requirements somewhat, especially since they use third rail electrification: The S-Bahn in Berlin still has four historic EMUs that will operate for touristic reasons.
text: Two are class ET 165 as seen in the image (taken from Wikipedia ).
text: They were originally introduced in 1928 and actually ran in daily traffic until the 1990’s.
text: The two that are remaining have been kept in different modifications: One is still in the original 1928 interior design according to Wikipedia.
text: (The other one has a 1950’s interior.)
text: Another two historic EMUs are class 167 .
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/43483/Jan
score: 7
sents: text: It's above ground
text: and it's not in regular service, but the good folks at Market Street Railway in San Francisco occasionally roll out streetcar
text: No. 578 , built in 1896.
text: I rode it last September: http://imgur.com/gallery/zw3fP
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/47317/Stephen
score: 4
sents: text: They are DMU's with two axles used only by CFR (national rail company), built from 1935 to 1950, first refurbished in the 60s changed their motor from a Ganz of 130 hp to a Raba-Man of 180 hp, at the second main refurbishment from 2008
text: some of them got a new motor a Volvo Penta 226 hp, and a new paint scheme.
text: More details (but in romanian) http://transport-in-comun.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=423 more pictures and discussions (in romanian, but if you want to ask something in that forum most people know english) http://www.forumtrenuri.com/t3848p225-automotoare-clasa-77-malaxa
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/46263/Shinkasen
score: 3
sents: text: In Romania, Malaxa railbus class 77, built in the 30s, runs on different routes, with a low number of passagers.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/46238/user46238
score: 2
sents: text: Besides the antique cable cars, which are a protected National Monument, San Francisco runs historic streetcars on a daily basis.
text: ("F" line.)
text: Most are the PCC streetcars from the 1940s and 50s.
text: Some are Peter Witt streetcars originally from Milan, which were built in 1928.
text: There is one from Melbourne, Australia built in 1929.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/18431/Andrew Lazarus
score: 1
sents: text: It's probably not the oldest, and the attraction isn't open yet, but it is possibly the quirkiest: Photo by Richard Pope, CC-BY, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/memespring/311144302/in/photostream/
text: Mailrail was a narrow gauge, underground railway used for moving post and mail around London.
text: It closed in 2003, however, at some time in the near future (between 2017 and 2020)
text: it is going to be reopened for visitors, as part of The Postal Museum : Just down the road, Mail Rail allows the public into the tunnels of the Post Office’s private underground railway for the first time in its hundred-year history.
text: Visitors can ride a looping mile of track to encounter the industrial heritage and secret geography of the capital.
text: It's not quite clear exactly which rolling stock and carriages they will be using, however according to this page , the two existing passenger carriages were built upon 1927 and 1930 base units.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/26433/CMaster
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
Buenos Aires has subway coaches that were built between 1913 and 1919 and are still in commercial service, and the Isle of Wight line still has 1938 ex-London Underground rolling stock in active service. While Hong Kong's streetcars from the 30s have been scrapped, it is still running rebuilt cars from the 50s; San Fransisco also runs historic streetcars on a daily basis in addition to its antique cable cars. In Romania, Malaxa railbus class 77, built in the 30s, runs on different routes, with a low number of passagers. The Schwebebahn  suspended monorail in Wuppertal, Germany, still operates Emperor Wilhelm's  Kaiserwagen , built in 1900, for special occasions and tourist charters.
Old rolling stock is in daily use in a number of places, including San Francisco, the Isle of Wight and Buenos Aires. In Wuppertal, Kaiser Wilhelmàs carriage is used on special occasions.