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Oh BTW the Last R44 in Subway Service is...

RTOMan

By RTOMan,
in New York City Subway

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Grand Concourse

Grand Concourse

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Well I missed out and I am kinda surprised they were all retired this week. Oh well, I don't miss them.

Plus I got some pics of them on June 25th when I thought a whole bunch of them were going to go with the soon to be displaced R46s from the defunct (V) line.

The only thing about the R44s that I'll miss will be those 'glass' partitions. I love how they keep the ppl standing by the doors from 'hanging above me'.

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Zman

Zman

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Well after reading the thread i see quiet a few posters felt the way i felt....

 

Good Effing Riddance.......

 

Operational wise i couldnt stand those trains.....

 

Me being 6'4 and 240 lbs makes working in those cabs "close quaters"...

 

Not me. I actually didn't mind the 44's. Mind you if given the choice, I took a 38 every time.

 

At least with a 44 I didn't have to worry about getting my hand numb like with these garbage NTT's and their stupid T handles.

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KNIGHTRIDER3:16

KNIGHTRIDER3:16

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Not me. I actually didn't mind the 44's. Mind you if given the choice, I took a 38 every time.

 

At least with a 44 I didn't have to worry about getting my hand numb like with these garbage NTT's and their stupid T handles.

 

(W)ell after reading this thread I've noticed some posters did appreciate and felt the way I did.

<R>44 and this guy above gets A thanks and another for putting the 38's

out there but hey when the R46's leave as well ,This discussion will never fail to be talked about .

 

PS (H)ey Skaterboy ....;) <R>38's for life lol

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R68 Subway Car

R68 Subway Car

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I will remember the R44s for the distinctive noise and interior looks and many innovations but it was a car with many flaws that needed to be retired. My favorite cars are the R68s and R68As with their natural traction motor noises which sound like the R44s so nothing is lost with this car going away.

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Eric B Train Operator

Eric B

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They had cars with different colors seats too. Though now I am also curious why would they built seats in perwinkle, but when it came up to the R44/46/68/68A's they didn't come with perwinkle seats like the R143, R160A/B, and the R142/A.
That was part of the entire interior color scheme. Orange went well with the faux wood paneling and the accompanying beige walls. Before, the schemes were all shades of blue. For the silvery 62/68, they just kept the orange. With the NTT's, they went with a white and blue scheme.

 

Not me. I actually didn't mind the 44's. Mind you if given the choice, I took a 38 every time.

 

At least with a 44 I didn't have to worry about getting my hand numb like with these garbage NTT's and their stupid T handles.

You actually preferred those crummy Westcodes?
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Zman

Zman

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LOVED those trains!!!!!!

 

A shame they had to go so quick...

 

(W)ell after reading this thread I've noticed some posters did appreciate and felt the way I did.

<R>44 and this guy above gets A thanks and another for putting the 38's

out there...

 

The 38's were a motorman's train. Brakes were great, A/C often worked in the cab, good power, steady window when you wanted fresh air when outside. Shame they're gone.

 

You actually preferred those crummy Westcodes?

 

I guess that I found the "code" to those Westcodes. I never popped up (a couple near-misses though), rarely had to use more than 60 lbs. straight air to break it down at top speed, and was easily able to make smooth stops with them.

 

And compared to the NTT's, my answer to your question would be one big HELL YEAH!

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bklyntekgeek

bklyntekgeek

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Had my last ride on the R-44 this past week. Took pictures and videos too. Glad I was able to say my goodbye ;)

 

Still..will miss them. They been there since I moved into Bklyn as a kid. I heard one passing by my house on Friday afternoon.

 

Will miss hearing their brake release and their glass partitions. Loved taking a nap on them coming home from work every day lol. Wonder if it's possible to transplant some of the R44 parts over to the R46 like the glass partitions and then some.

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R32 3348

R32 3348

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Will miss hearing their brake release and their glass partitions. Loved taking a nap on them coming home from work every day lol. Wonder if it's possible to transplant some of the R44 parts over to the R46 like the glass partitions and then some.

I agree. Those glass partitions were a really good idea.

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bklyntekgeek

bklyntekgeek

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Yeah. Took me awhile to get use to the R-46's lol. I keep forgetting there's no partition by the door lmao.

 

But if they can add those partitions to the R-46's it'll be great!

 

They done that before when the R-44's came back without them from MK.

I remembered the MK R-44's were rebuilt without the partitions. Then down the line they were installed.

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INDman Train Operator

INDman

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Yeah. Took me awhile to get use to the R-46's lol. I keep forgetting there's no partition by the door lmao.

 

But if they can add those partitions to the R-46's it'll be great!

 

They done that before when the R-44's came back without them from MK.

I remembered the MK R-44's were rebuilt without the partitions. Then down the line they were installed.

 

R44s AND R46s had those partitions pre-GOH. They were only removed on the R46s after GOH.

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Roadcruiser1

Roadcruiser1

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Their fiberglass and carbon structures and sides were falling apart almost like the R40's. The reason why most of the American made subway cars have left NYCS is that fiberglass and carbon has a life span of 40 years which is the same age for those subway cars. They can't go past 40 years without major structural repairs that would cost millions of dollars. It's cheaper to replace the cars then repair them.

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Fresh Pond

Fresh Pond

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Wirelessly posted via (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 1.6; en-us; T-Mobile G1 Build/DMD64) AppleWebKit/528.5+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Mobile Safari/525.20.1)

 

Lol parody eulogy...

 

Dearly beloved. We're gathered here today to mourn the loss of the R44. Brought down in its 2nd prime by some frame problem or some crap loke that. To some people, they were the best there is, and to others *cough LRG cough cough* :P, they "were a piece of s**t." But we all remember them as one thing. A subway car. For about 40 years (I don't know the exact number I never really gave a damn about it lol) they toiled underground for the (MTA) non-stop. They seen what NYC can throw at them and threw it right back. They broke the mold for a subway car by being 75' long, compared to the standard 60' car and by being the 1st (true) subway car to have that cute, but overly annoying door chime. Many loved them for their forward facing seating while others loved them for their glass partitions "to keep some fat chick ass out my face" (as some people might say). Loved by many, hated by many more, they're hauling subway angels up in subway heaven for subway Jesus now :P

 

Me personally, good riddance to them. One less type of subway car to worry about lol

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Eric B Train Operator

Eric B

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I guess that I found the "code" to those Westcodes. I never popped up (a couple near-misses though), rarely had to use more than 60 lbs. straight air to break it down at top speed, and was easily able to make smooth stops with them.

 

And compared to the NTT's, my answer to your question would be one big HELL YEAH!

I guess they could be figured out, but to me, they seemed rickety and awkward, especially when you're cramped up on top of it with the panel in your chest, and your legs having to straddle the brake shaft, and it's a heavy 75ft car that tends to slide.

 

I would have like to have seen them and the 46's rebuilt again, with the NTT braking, which would remove those shafts and restore them to similar to the way they were designed with the P-Wire. The 44's would have all received the stainless steel or aluminum strip on the side.

 

Or, as an alternative to the Westcodes, I would have liked the similar M1-6 controllers, which looked like single handed version of the GE's. Before the NTT's, the GE's were what I always preferred.

 

While a pain to operate (to me), I liked them as the original "new train" that ran on the (A)(D) and (F). The first time I rode in one, it was the one with the carpeting, so it was the completely different experience from all the other cars. When they were pulled off of the (D) and sidelined, for a few years, the 46's were only in Queens, and I noticed the differences (especially that whistle they were making), and wondered where the originals were.

 

I was looking forward to them still being on the (C) Thanksgiving when I work the line, just for the novelty of operating the different, newer car on that line.

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Princelex

Princelex

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I am so late with this but I heard the news about the last day of the R44's and I'm sad about it. I loved those trains, I really did. They were fast as hell, they can put your ass to sleep real quick and the break release was the HOTNESS! No other train before or since has made a sound as distinct and as cool as the R44's IMHO. Yes they were plagued with problems almost from the start but through their issues, they were still here until the bitter end. Plus, they ushered in the whole 75 foot train era, so you got to give them credit for something. Say what you will about them, but the R44's had us talking for nearly 40 years while getting you from point A to point B in the process. I know for me, the (A) train will never be the same without them, even if the trains that are on the (A) currently look practically identical to them. The R44's rocked and I'm glad I got to ride these trains for as long as I did.

 

Long live the R44's!!!

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Eric B Train Operator

Eric B

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I also liked the original brake release sound (which was the same as the M1-6). I thought the new sound was awkward.

 

And then in Staten Island, the GOH gave them the same sound as the R62/68A/GOH 32-42, which I saw as the new SMEE sound, and didn't fit the 44's.

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bklyntekgeek

bklyntekgeek

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I am so late with this but I heard the news about the last day of the R44's and I'm sad about it. I loved those trains, I really did. They were fast as hell, they can put your ass to sleep real quick and the break release was the HOTNESS! No other train before or since has made a sound as distinct and as cool as the R44's IMHO. Yes they were plagued with problems almost from the start but through their issues, they were still here until the bitter end. Plus, they ushered in the whole 75 foot train era, so you got to give them credit for something. Say what you will about them, but the R44's had us talking for nearly 40 years while getting you from point A to point B in the process. I know for me, the (A) train will never be the same without them, even if the trains that are on the (A) currently look practically identical to them. The R44's rocked and I'm glad I got to ride these trains for as long as I did.

 

Long live the R44's!!!

 

Couldn't agree more. And love that post.

 

I lived on the (A) my entire life.

 

The R-44's pretty much were THE (A) along with the R38's.

 

Missed them sadly and ain't the same without them.

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