R32 (NYCT Rolling stock class)

## R32

### Replaced

2007 (GE-rebuilt cars) 2008 (Phase II cars) 2009 (Some Phase I cars) 2018-2020 (All remaining Phase I cars)

### Successor

R160 (All R32 Phase IIs, some R32 Phase Is)R179 (All remaining R32 Phase Is)

### Operator(s)

New York City Transit Authority (1964-1968) Metropolitan Transit Authority (1968-2022)

## Specifications

### Fleet numbers

3350-3949 (original), 3350-3949, 3659 as 3348, no 3628 (current)

### Doors

8 sets of 45 inch (1,143 mm) wide side doors per car

### Weight

70,152 lbs (31,820 kg) pre-GOH, 79,930 lbs (36,260 kg) post-GOH

### Traction system

GE SCM 17KG192E3 DC propulsion system, with GE 1257E1, GE 1257F or Westinghouse 1447J traction motors.

### Braking

3.0 mph (4.8 km/h) per second (Full Service), 3.2 mph (5.1 km/h) per second (Emergency)

### Track gauge

1,435 mm (standard gauge)

The R32 is a New York City Subway car model built by the Budd Company. between 1964 and 1965 for use on the New York City Subway's B Division.

In June of 1963, the NYCTA contracted to build 600 R32-type subway cars to replace their remaining BMT equipment, some of which were 48 years old, exceeding the TA's 35-year age limit for their equipment. The Budd Company won with the lowest bid at $114,700 per car, using stainless steel, which was did not rust compared to carbon steel, which did rust. The experiment of the R11 / R34, also built by the Budd Company and using stainless steel, performed very well and the MTA was looking for more stainless steel cars.

In early 1964, the first R32s were constructed, and by August, 300 cars were built. A ceremonial introduction ride for the brand-new R32s was offered to the city's upper-class on September 9th, 1964 running from the New York Central's Mott Haven Yard in the Bronx, down to Grand Central Station in Manhattan. The cars officially entered service on the Q line on September 14th, 1964 after the New York Central standard third rail contact shoes were replaced with standard subway type contact shoes due to the voltage change on the TA's property. Sometime in late 1964, the R32s were assigned to the N line, to quickly be reassigned to the T and TT trains (West End Line). The last 4 cars (3946-3949) were delivered with Budd Pioneer lightweight trucks, although they were removed in 1976. In 1966, with the delivery of car 3949, the order was complete.

In 1974, a married pair of R32s (3700-3701) was sent to Los Angeles, California, USA to test out Flywheel energy storage equipment. Car 3700 received the upgrades, while 3701 remained unmodified. The cars were later tested at the USDOT in Pueblo, Colorado, and were returned to the MTA in 1976 for thorough testing of the upgrades.

R32s 3616, 3629, 3651, and 3766 were scrapped due to various accidents and mishaps pre-overhaul.

R32 #3659 was rebuilt to car 3348 after its mate, 3658, was lost in an accident. In 1974, car 3669 was involved in a derailment on the Franklin Avenue shuttle, which left a giant gash in its left side. Its mate, 3668, was rebuilt and renumbered to 3669 and was returned to service by 1976.

By 1976, the MTA's graffiti epidemic was reaching its peak, and the R32s were slowly starting to deteriorate due to the damage being caused to them by riders, and the MTA in the midst of a car shortage, overly taxing the R32s. Many solutions were thought of to save the subway from the graffiti epidemic. A solution was found to overhaul all equipment owned by the MTA (except for the newly-bought R62s, R62As, R68s, and R68As). Between 1988 and 1990, most of the R32s were overhauled by Morrison-Knudsen at their facility in Hornell, New York. 10 cars (3594-3595, 3880-3881, 3892-3893, 3934-3935, and 3936-3937) were rebuilt by General Electric in Buffalo, New York to test how GE rebuilt equipment. During GOH, many improvements to the R32 cars were made, including: A full rebuild of the interior, replacing front rollsigns with flipdot route signs (the placement of AC made the front rollsigns difficult to change), removing marker lights, and the "LOCAL" and "EXP" markers.

After refurbishment, the R32s were classified into sub-categories: R32 GE (GE-rebuilt cars) and R32 Phase I and Phase II (Rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen, but were equipped with different propulsion packages and various other equipment). The GE cars were rebuilt with R38 specifications, although they have never ran with R38s in a mixed set, and it was a very rare sight to see a MK-GE R32 mixed set.

The R160 car order would replace all GE, Phase II, and some Phase I R32s between 2007 and 2009. The GE cars were retired first in 2007, then came the Phase II cars. The R32s retirement plan was originally to replace all R32s and R42s with the R160 car order, although structural defects found in the NYCT R44s meant that most R32 Phase Is and 50 R42s would have to be replaced by the R179 car order 1 decade later instead of the R44s. All Phase II Pairs except 4 cars (3350-3353) would be scrapped. All GE cars were scrapped except for cars 3594-3595 which were sent to Floyd Bennett Field for FDNY training. In 2010, ten Phase I cars were taken out of revenue service would be used to handle work trains, such as garbage and refuse trains across the B Division. They were replaced by the remaining 50 R42 cars between 2020 and 2022. These cars are presumed scrapped.

The R32s were planned to be retired in 2017, although issues with the R179 order kept them in service until 2020, when the last pair was taken out of service on March 24th, 2020. The R179s were taken out of service in February and June 2022 due to major issues such as door problems, and permanently attached cars decoupling. Initially, the R160s took over service on the A and C lines in place of R179s. The R32s were reinstated into service on the J/Z lines during rush hours on July 1st, 2020. The cars were taken back out of service on October 15th, 2020 as the R179s were safe to re-enter service. One year later, in December 2022, the NYTM decided to officially retire the R32s with four Sunday trips running on the D line starting on December 19th, 2021. On December 19th, riders vandalized the final run cars by damaging one of their seats beyond repair, and changing the side rollsigns without permission. R32s 3360-3361 were progressively restored to their Pre-GOH appearance, changing the front flipdot sign back to its original appearance as a rollsign on December 26th, repainting the pantograph gates and storm doors blue, and on January 9th, repainting the car doors and number plates blue. The final run on January 9th, 2022 ran on the Second Avenue subway, the line that the R32s were intended to run on, and were retired with a parade running from Brighton Beach to Kings Highway using various R32s. In late 2022, the decision was made to scrap the remaining R32 cars, except 10, that would be used on various fan trips due to popular demand. The R32s ran their first fan trip on the Rockaway Line in August 2022, and will continue to make appearances on various ticketed NYTM trips, and the Parade of Trains.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R32\_(New\_York\_City\_Subway\_car)

https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/R-32\_(Budd,\_1964)

Written by FrogieFish3654 on 08/08/2023