R10 2952 Posted June 8, 2009 Share #1 Posted June 8, 2009 Do you guys recall the glorious years of the Redbirds? From May 10th, 1984, to November, 2003, they ran the rails of the IRT. Does anyone also remember the "Greenbird" ML R-33s (what was that all about?), and the Redbird R-17s/R-21/22s? Did any R-14s or R-15s ever make it to become Redbirds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 8, 2009 Share #2 Posted June 8, 2009 I've never been in a Redbird. First subway car I was in was an R62. How was the ride? Comparable to an R32? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AA 8th Avenue Posted June 8, 2009 Share #3 Posted June 8, 2009 sorry meant to answer not thank. The ride of the old cars was like a 32 just hotter in the car. No A/C!!! there weren't as many timers and speed limits and I never saw an r15 redbird however 12/14 did have redbirds. the green paint job was a try at the other original color of the older cars like the r16, 27/30 and the r10s as well had that paint just the ta trying to have uniformity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PATCOman Posted June 8, 2009 Share #4 Posted June 8, 2009 I sure miss those redbirds. Those R142s are just not the same as those redbirds. I remember they would fly on the and ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainfan22 Posted June 8, 2009 Share #5 Posted June 8, 2009 Yes, I remember the redbirds, use to ride them all the time on the & lines. They were really fun to ride its sad that there retired, at least we still have the R62/A's thankfully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R421969 Posted June 8, 2009 Share #6 Posted June 8, 2009 I remeber way back before I even knew anything about the subway ( early 90s ) I had liking towards them because of there color. i noticed they had a particular smell to them as well, similiar to the smell the nostalgia train has. but all thos was when I lived in BK, so when I mived to queens 12 years ago I had forgotten about them, so when I realized I rhode them it was too late to fully appreciate. I always tried to grab those swinginh handles lol, never could though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanfortitude Posted June 8, 2009 Share #7 Posted June 8, 2009 train = Redbird everytime I think of the I picture the redbirds. Even nowadays when I ride the I turn around to the tunnel and I'm secretly hoping I see something red enter the station. They made their mark on the lines they ran on without a doubt and for me they were trademarks of the . I didn't see much of the and as a kid so it didn't work that way for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgedPolaris Posted June 9, 2009 Share #8 Posted June 9, 2009 Redbirds on the will always be my favorite subway car. As a kid, especially riding the LIRR under Woodside, they'd look so dark and foreboding against a night sky. Inside, they had a real old-school feel with the red side/end doors and metal "straps" that lined the corners of the ceiling. The lights would still flicker when the train bounced around, and I mean... sets of those rolling above Queens was the coolest. Like they're the most iconic subway car there is, IMO. Coolest subway car to exist in revenue service in my lifetime. I realize they were beyond their useful lives, but they should have never taken them off the . (somehow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R10 2952 Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted June 9, 2009 ...however 12/14 did have redbirds... Really? WOW! It must have been amazing; a ride on an R14 Redbird. I remember them well. Very fast, very loud, and very red, and sometimes rusted. They really were the first subway car that I absolutely liked. In fact, my fascination with the subway all began with the Redbird. I'll always remember the orange door indicator lights (just like R-38), lights blinking, straps swinging, and rollsigns being messed up (cuz they had the dials, not the key-slots). i would have loved to have ridden a Redbird/Greenbird R-10/12/14/15/16/17/21/22/27/30.:tup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted June 10, 2009 Share #10 Posted June 10, 2009 I sure as hell remember them. I used them a lot to get to and from school, work and to visit this girl I used to date in Crown Heights in the early nineties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted June 10, 2009 Share #11 Posted June 10, 2009 Yup I remembered them. I use to always ride on the Line the R36 and the R26-33. The ive rode them from time to time all when I was a kid. I miss them a lot. the only think that can bring my memory back is the SMEE Tours. I will ride them this june with the Lows vs for teh tour on the (2)/(5). The R32/38s are just like the Redbird but the IRT versions are much better then the IND/BMT. The IRT versions were the true SMEE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2Julio Posted June 10, 2009 Share #12 Posted June 10, 2009 Yup I remembered them. I use to always ride on the Line the R36 and the R26-33. The ive rode them from time to time all when I was a kid. I miss them a lot. the only think that can bring my memory back is the SMEE Tours. I will ride them this june with the Lows vs for teh tour on the (2)/(5). The R32/38s are just like the Redbird but the IRT versions are much better then the IND/BMT. The IRT versions were the true SMEE SMEE = Braking system scheme, how is something "true" SMEE?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave160 Posted June 10, 2009 Share #13 Posted June 10, 2009 Those redbirds were great, although i only rode them for a few years before they were scrapped. I always loved how the lights went off at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted June 10, 2009 Share #14 Posted June 10, 2009 SMEE = Braking system scheme, how is something "true" SMEE?:confused: lol sry i mean that they are the true redbird cars(Car type) compared to its B Div brothers, even tho the R32 shares a memory of the Rbirds.. for today in '09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestSideJeff Posted June 15, 2009 Share #15 Posted June 15, 2009 OHH yes! Best cars ever. I always loved the way the Redbirds hummed when they pulled out of stations and accelerated. The rumble, the number plates... The hasn't been the same since October 2003. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EE Broadway Local Posted August 7, 2009 Share #16 Posted August 7, 2009 I loved the Redbirds. I think the oldest I.R.T. car that became a Redbird was actually the R-21s as I believe the R12s, R14s, R15s and R17s were retired by then, when the Redbird program began. I thought the Redbird paint scheme was the second best on the R36WF on the right behind the original Aquamarine and Cream paint scheme. I think I recall seeing an I.R.T. car in kale green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainfan22 Posted August 7, 2009 Share #17 Posted August 7, 2009 How was the ride? Comparable to an R32? Yea but more like an R38. Those R32s and R38s do have an Redbird feel to them. I miss the R38s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubwayGuy Posted August 7, 2009 Share #18 Posted August 7, 2009 Some of the R17 cars made it to the redbird scheme. There are pictures from 1986 or 1987 or so of R17 cars running on a fantrip throughout the system painted in redbird livery. And of course there's 6688 which is currently painted in its "as retired" redbird color scheme. (Disclaimer: neither photo by me) 1987 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedyracer90 Posted August 8, 2009 Share #19 Posted August 8, 2009 Did any of the redbirds have WH propulsion? I only remember riding the R33s on the and the R36s on the which had the GE "wind up" sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubwayGuy Posted August 8, 2009 Share #20 Posted August 8, 2009 Did any of the redbirds have WH propulsion? I only remember riding the R33s on the and the R36s on the which had the GE "wind up" sound. Sure. It was common for the redbirds car contracts to be split between Westinghouse and GE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R62A 1991 Posted August 8, 2009 Share #21 Posted August 8, 2009 Yes...back when walking through the subway cars WAS legal, my dad and I caught a redbird local to New Lots at Kingston Av (late night, like 12 AM). We stopped in the middle of Rockaway Av & Junius St. He thought that there must be a work train up ahead, and we decided to speed through the cars to try and see it. And at the VERY last second, I get to the railfan window just in time to see the train use the lead to the Junius St middle track. Best memory I have of the redbird, other than taking a long ride on the to the Bronx Zoo in 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarrylR.14 Posted August 8, 2009 Share #22 Posted August 8, 2009 Yes...ironically when I was 7 or 8 , I wanted to ride on the R62s than the Redbirds when they were being introduced to the that year but everytime it was the Redbirds that I rode. (I did manage to ride on an R62, I think) but now to see it gone, it saddens me. A great childhood memory was lost.(I think i still have my old pic when i was 3 or 4 yrs old that has the redbirds in the background...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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