Year 2013 in Review

[M. Friday 1986]

The year 2013 was an interesting time on the rails. We witnessed a number of interesting car moves and temporary swaps. We saw new equipment come and old ones go. We hit milestones, like the extension to Hudson Yards, which even though won't be open for another few months, saw it's first train (6-car R62A train) enter the new station.

Some of the highlights this year also include:

- The and (J)/(Z) swap that saw R32 cars running in the east this summer. Scores of photos were shared and car moves were documented.

- The line was split into two to allow the fix of the Montague Tunnels.

- A brief return of the Rockaway line that helped shuttle residents along the Rockaway Peninsula from November 2013 until the end of last May.

- Temporary closure of the Castle Hill Avenue and Middletown Road stations for repairs.

For us fans of the old equipment, we saw a number of cars leave us this year.

- The scrapping of the remaining R44 mainline cars and R44SI 402 this spring.

- The scrapping of numerous Redbird work cars, including R33WF and R33ML cars (and one R161 Rider Car).

- The scrapping of a handful of R32s, R40 slants, and R42 cars that sat around in storage for as many as four years.

- The scrapping of R36 World's Fair cars 9400-01.


- And the scrapping of R30 former school cars and that of the sole surviving R27 car, 8145, which I documented last October:

8424


8425


8463


8145


But the news wasn't all that bad.


While many have left us to the polished rails in the sky, some made it join a preserved fleet of those who soldiered on:

Redbirds of Concourse Yard - R26 7774-75, R28 7924-25, R29 8678-79, R36WF 9586-87. Soon to join R36ML 9542-43 and the 8 R33ML TOMC cars into the preserved fleet.


- With 9586-87 first up for body work (Photo by New York Transit Museum):


- R42 4572-73's debut at the Transit Museum (Photo by Transit Museum):


- The inclusion of the BMT Pump Car, car 5001(?) Photo also by the New York Transit Museum:


- And the monumental effort to restore this R6 car (photo by Craggy Mountain Line Railroad):


Speaking of Pump Cars, we saw the R110A cars being converted into pump trains, with cars 8002-03-04 and 8007-08-09 being Reach Cars, and cars 8001, 8005, 8006, and 8010 being considered for Pump Cars.

And of course we have the arrival of the R188 cars from Kawasaki that began service on the line later this year. And of course photos were posted and shared in the community.

What can we expect in 2014? Who knows? But some of the things I am hoping for is for an even more interesting year in railfanning (and of course busfanning as well). Hopefully 2014 sill bring us a complete restoration on those Redbirds...the World's Fair Low-V car...the R32/38/40/40M/42 consist to come to fruition...some exciting fantrips...and other things. With donations to the New York Transit Museum, BERA, Seashore, IRM, and others, we can probably help make these and other things happen!

-

I also want to take this time to thank each and every person I've been in contact with on here and elsewhere for sharing their knowledge and experiences with this community and for just being fantastic people. I also want to take the opportunity for thanking those who pretty much brought me back into this hobby. Believe it or not, it wasn't until I learned about the demise of R36WF cars 9400-01 and the scrappings of various equipment that renewed my interest in the railfanning community. Speaking of that, I want to thank Kevin Wong of R36 Preservation for keeping us posted on the R36WF cars making great effort to hopefully soon seeing Redbirds run again. I've been away for quite a long time previously - finishing college and building a career and I'm glad to be back.

And as a thank you to all, I decided to work on a small project. I compiled a list of all known preserved New York City Subway equipment that's still in existence onto one database for everyone to view in an easy to read matter. This list focuses solely on subway equipment; a list on other railcar equipment like Metro North and LIRR would be up to anyone else who would like to do so.

Link here!
NYCT Preserved Subway Equipment

This list isn't 100% complete, but it comes close. There's some bits and pieces that are missing, like rebuild dates for some equipment. That's where you guys come in. Whatever missing information or changes or corrections that should be made, please let me know and I'll update the list accordingly. The idea is to document all known subway equipment as accurately as possible on one list for all to see.

I want to thank contributors on "nycsubway.org", NYCTForums, and George Chiasson for the information that's been posted online on a number of these cars.

Que tengan un felíz año nuevo lleno de excellente salud, felicidad y prosperidad.
(Have a happy new year filled with excellent health, happiness, and prosperity.)

MF '86

[DJ MC]

Man a lot happened this year. 

[ttcsubwayfan]

You forgot to mention the reopening of South Ferry

[M. Friday 1986]

Man a lot happened this year. 

 

Oh yeah. Imagine what 2014 could bring.

 

You forgot to mention the reopening of South Ferry

 

Ah yes, of course! Good ol' South Ferry. And the return to the "exit only through the first 5 cars" rule.

[Turbo19]

And why didn't you mention the abundance of trolling this year?

Oh yeah. Imagine what 2014 could bring.

More trolling of course, and bullshit! Yeah!

[ScreechyFlange]

2013 sucked major balls. I hope 2014 treats us better with more Ntt's and hopefully a fare reduction with increased service.

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

2013 sucked major balls. I hope 2014 treats us better with more Ntt's and hopefully a fare reduction with increased service.

Well that ain't gonna happen, remember we have a fare increase next year.

[ttcsubwayfan]

And the only NTTs that will arrive this year are the 188s and the R179 test train (which is, as we all know, subject to change).

 

If the service is lousy, though, then you'll just be putting lipstick on a pig. And no amount of new cars will save you if the service sucks.

[realizm]

Wow! I'm looking at the condition of the carbody of R6 # 983. Its going to take a miracle to fully restore that car. I mean look at the rust damage, that is by no means an easy fix. 

[M. Friday 1986]

That R6 really does look rough. I gotta give those guys at Craggy Mountain Line Railroad tons of credit for giving that restoration a try. As time passes we'll see if they succeed.

[DJ MC]

Wow! I'm looking at the condition of the carbody of R6 # 983. Its going to take a miracle to fully restore that car. I mean look at the rust damage, that is by no means an easy fix. 

The Florida climate is tough as nails to anything around here. Time will pass and eventually the car will be restored. I wish everyone at the museum luck on it.

[MHV9218]

2013 sucked major balls. I hope 2014 treats us better with more Ntt's and hopefully a fare reduction with increased service.

 

Well, I can tell you what's not happening...