I have two questions, were the R32’s design based on the R30? What was it like riding the R30? I never got the chance to ride any subway cars that were around before I was born. Since I was born in ‘95, some subway cars were already retired before my time. However, I do remember riding the Redbirds on the , and but I had no idea that B division had their own version of the Redbirds. I did spent the time on nycsubway.org reading They Moved The Millions and found it interesting about every single design of the subway cars (pre R-68). I was honestly quite annoyed that the current NTT fleet all look alike but after reading They Moved The Million, I realized that the transit agency has been doing this for decades. Here’s the way I look at it:
Subway Cars Following The R1 Design
R4, R6, R7, R9, and R10 with few minor changes to the exterior and interior.
Smaller version of the R10 designed for the A division called the R12 and R14.
R15 looks similar to R12 but with a major facelift, having an arch roof design.
R16 basically a R15 but for the B division.
R17 basically a R16 but for the A division.
R21 was just an updated version of the R17.
R22 similar to the R21 but with few minor changes.
R26 looks similar to R22.
R27, a upgraded version of the R16 with few modifications.
R28 basically an updated R26.
R29 is just an updated R28 model.
R30 is identical to the R27.
R32’s design looks like the R30.
R38 looks similar to the R32.
R33 is just a updated model of R29.
R36 looks similar to R33 but with a few changes.