After 58 years of service, the R-32 subway cars, nicknamed ‘Brightliners’, one of the oldest subway cars in the world, will be officially withdrawn from service and this Sunday one of them will symbolically make its last trip, as reported by the MTA.
“As we continue to work to modernize the transportation system and improve the customer experience, it is truly bittersweet to say goodbye to a fleet of historic R-32 trains that have served New Yorkers for nearly six decades,” said the Acting President of New York. City Transit, Craig Cipriano.
“A lot of history accompanies these trains and we are delighted to be able to offer the opportunity to ride them one – or even a few – more times in their last days,” added Cipriano, referring to the fact that there were also farewell trips for the trains. trains in December.
“These historic trains,” said New York City Transit Senior Vice President Demetrius Crichlow, “have witnessed decades of change in this city, taking passengers where they need to go to every corner of the city.”
“We are committed to improving the subway network by replacing aging infrastructure with a modern fleet of trains that meets the ever-changing needs of a boiling New York City,” added Crichlow.
The director of the New York Transit Museum, Concetta Bencivenga, said they were “delighted to contribute to the retirement of this iconic class of wagons,” and that they also hoped this would be “the beginning of the return of our beloved nostalgia rides.” .
These ‘nostalgia rides’ in retired subway cars are highly popular with many New York families.
The Museum put a message on social networks announcing the last trip on Sunday of the R-32 train.
“Do not miss the last farewell trips of the R-32 this Sunday! To commemorate its final journey, the R-32 train will run on the Q line, its original debut route in 1964,” the message reads.
Don’t miss the R-32 Final Farewell Runs this Sunday! To commemorate its final run, the R-32 train will run on the Q line, its original debut route in 1964.
Learn more and view route and schedule at https://t.co/maj5i6xdha.
Photo: Marc Glucksman / River Rail Photo pic.twitter.com/sgyNLxOBbr
— NY Transit Museum (@NYTransitMuseum) January 7, 2022
Sunday, January 9, 2022 – Final farewell of the R-32s
To commemorate their final run, the carriages will run the original 1964 debut route, on the Q line (the then-BMT Brighton Line).
Leaves Brighton Beach on the Q line at 10:00 am, 12:30 pm, 3:00 pm and 5:30 pm to 96th Street, making express stops on the Brighton and Broadway lines, across the Manhattan Bridge .
Departs from 96th St Station on Line Q at 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m. to Brighton Beach, making express stops on the Brighton and Broadway lines, across the Manhattan Bridge.
R-32.
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About the R-32
The R-32s were the first large fleet of mass-produced stainless steel railcars to be purchased by the NYCT, with a total of 600 railcars.
Built in Philadelphia by the Budd Company, they were nicknamed “Brightliners” for their stainless steel washboard-like exterior.
The first train with income circulated on September 14, 1964 on the current line Q, and in recent years they were mainly on the lines A, C, J, and Z.
Avant-garde in design for their time, the Brightliners quickly became a crowd favorite and remain a nostalgic favorite for many.
The wagons introduced different design elements from their predecessors, but which the MTA has been inspired by for their new wagons. In particular, the R-32 cars are the last class of subway car in service that has a front window through which passengers can look.
The wagons appeared in multiple blockbuster movies, including Bridge of Spies (2015), Spiderman: Homecoming (2017), and Joker (2019).
Many R-32s were retired in the late 2000s, when R-160 cars began to leak into the subway system.
A large part of these cars were sunk in the Atlantic Ocean as part of an artificial reef program.
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