The R32 was a New York City Subway car model built by the Budd Company from 1964 to 1965 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of 600 R32s were built, numbered 3350–3949, though some cars were re-numbered. The R32 contract was divided into two subcontracts of 300 cars each: R32 (cars 3350–3649) and R32A (cars 3650–3949); the former was paid by the city's capital budget and the latter was paid through a revenue bond. All were arranged as married pairs.

The R32s were the first mass-produced stainless steel cars built for the New York City Subway. A ceremonial introduction trip for the new R32 "Brightliners" cars was held on September 9, 1964. Various modifications were made over the years to the R32 fleet. In the late 1980s, all of the R32 cars were rebuilt, with ten cars being rebuilt by General Electric and the remaining cars being rebuilt by Morrison–Knudsen. As part of the refurbishment, the original rollsigns and express/local marker lights at the end of each car were replaced with flipdot signs. After refurbishment, the R32 and R32A cars were renamed R32 Phase I, R32 Phase II, and R32 GE.

The R160 order was to replace all R32s in the late 2000s. However, about one-third of the original fleet remained when it was decided to retire the NYCT R44s instead. The R179 order replaced the remainder of the R32s in the early 2020s. The R32s temporarily resumed service from July 1, 2020 through October 8, 2020 when the R179s were pulled from service. A series of farewell trips with the final train of R32s running in passenger service began on December 19, 2021 and concluded on January 9, 2022. After retirement, most of the R32s were scrapped, sunk as artificial reefs, or placed into storage, but some have been preserved, and others retained for various purposes.

Description

The R32s were numbered 3350–3949, although some cars were re-numbered outside of this range or to different numbers in this range. They were the first cars to introduce all-mylar route and destination rollsigns instead of the former cotton cloth or linen type rollsigns found on prior rail cars.

The R32 contract was divided into two subcontracts of 300 cars each: R32 (cars 3350–3649) and R32A (cars 3650–3949). The R32As were funded through the proceeds of a revenue bond, while the R32s were paid for out of the 1963–1964 New York City capital budget. The two subcontracts differed with the first 150 R32s (3350–3499) having visible bulkhead horns; these were the last cars to be built with this feature. This feature can also be found on the Redbirds, R27s, and R30s, along with various older trains. Another distinctive difference was the interior lighting featuring backlit ad-signs on R32A cars 3800–3949.

The R32s were the first mass-produced stainless steel cars built for the New York City Subway. Two previous Budd orders (the BMT Zephyr and the R11s) were limited production and/or experimental orders. The horizontally ribbed, shiny, and unpainted stainless exteriors earned the cars the nickname Brightliners. The use of stainless steel reduced the weight of each car by over 4,000 pounds, when compared to previous models.

History

In June 1963, the New York City Transit Authority contracted with Budd for 600 IND/BMT cars (300 pairs) to replace older equipment (cars that had exceeded the TA's 35-year limit of age), including the BMT D-type Triplex articulated cars and some of the BMT Standards. At the time, this was the largest railcar order ever placed in the United States for subway cars.

The cars were ordered for $68,820,000, of which half was provided by New York City and half through the sale of bonds by the New York City Transit Authority. Budd had bid on previous contracts with the NYCTA, but had never won a City contract for a production run of cars until the R32s, as Budd built only stainless-steel equipment, and the TA refused to allow a differential in competitive bids for this higher-quality construction.

Budd won the contract by offering the lowest bid of $114,700 per car. The next lowest bidder came in at $117,900 per car, which was for low-alloy steel cars. Budd introduced stainless steel equipment to the modern New York City Subway system, a plan that was met with limited success. NYCTA allowed a premium for subsequent stainless steel contracts, and all subsequent equipment was at least partly constructed of stainless steel. However, the Budd Company never benefited from the change, as they failed to win further contracts from the NYCTA, and the company has since halted the production of railroad cars.

The R32 cars originally came with blue passenger doors and blue storm doors. The passenger doors of many cars were repainted silver from 1974, as the graffiti epidemic worsened. Some cars retained or regained blue passenger doors towards the start of the General Overhaul (GOH) program, which replaced all the doors with stainless steel versions.

On August 18, 1964, the NYCTA approved a modification to the 300 R32s already constructed. The modification was required to ensure proper clearance in tunnels. Since the cars were 4,000 pounds lighter than other subway cars when new, they did not sink as low on standard trucks and springs. The modification was to the body bolster.

A ceremonial introduction trip for the new R32 "Brightliners" cars was held on September 9, 1964, operating from the New York Central Railroad's Mott Haven Yards in the Bronx to Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan along the Park Avenue main line (presently operated by Metro-North Railroad). The new cars were then placed into service on the on September 14, 1964, after their New York Central's spring-loaded under-running third rail shoes were replaced with gravity-type overrunning subway third rail shoes. The R32s were originally assigned to the BMT Southern Division service only, initially on the Brighton Line (Q train) and the Sea Beach Line ( train), but were eventually reassigned to the West End Line ( and TT trains).

Cars 3946–3949 were delivered with Pioneer trucks and disc brakes in 1966. These trucks were replaced with standard trucks in 1976.

In 1974, cars 3700–3701 were sent to Garrett AiResearch's facilities in Los Angeles, California, to test out Flywheel energy storage system equipment. 3700 received energy conservation machinery with batteries and amber-type digital readout indicating the amount of energy used by the equipment, while 3701 remained unmodified. These cars were later tested at the UMTA, and the US Department of Transportation's Testing Facilities in Pueblo, Colorado, for evaluation, and were returned to the MTA in 1976 for in-service testing on all BMT/IND Lines to check the effectiveness of the technology.

Overhaul and mishaps

Cars 3616, 3629, 3651, and 3766 were scrapped due to collision damage sustained in various accidents in the 1970s and 1980s. Their mates were paired with other cars.

Car 3659 was rebuilt as an even-numbered car and renumbered to 3348 following the loss of its even-numbered mate in an accident. Car 3669 was retired following a derailment, so its even-numbered mate 3668 was rebuilt into an odd-numbered car and renumbered to 3669.

The R32s were rebuilt between 1986 and 1990 under the General Overhaul (GOH) program as a result of deferred maintenance in the transit system during the 1970s and 1980s. Ten cars were rebuilt off-property by General Electric at its facility in Buffalo, New York (cars 3594–3595, 3880–3881, 3892–3893, 3936–3937, and 3934–3935) as prototype rebuilds, with the car interiors resembling the rebuilt R38s. The remainder of the fleet was rebuilt by Morrison–Knudsen at its facility in Hornell, New York. Morrison–Knudsen was selected as the contractor in April 1986 to rebuild 290 cars (later amended to 296 cars) in the fleet; they would again be selected one year later to rebuild the remaining cars. All cars received air conditioning which necessitated the removal of the route and destination rollsign curtain mechanisms, as the air conditioning units made the location where the front signs are located inaccessible for train crew members to change manually; the rollsigns were replaced with electronic flipdot displays controlled from the crew member's cab that displays only the route. The distinctive "EXP" (express) and "LOCAL" marker lights were removed. By June 1990, all overhauled cars were in service.

After refurbishment, the R32 and R32A cars were renamed R32 Phase I, R32 Phase II, and R32 GE. The R32 Phase I cars (re-built by Morrison–Knudsen) had WABCO Air Brake packages, GE Master Controllers, and Thermo King HVAC units. The R32 Phase II cars (also re-built by Morrison–Knudsen) had NY Air Brake equipment, Westinghouse Master Controllers, and Stone Safety HVAC units. The ten prototype rebuild R32 GE cars differ from the Phase I and II cars as they were rebuilt to R38 specifications. They had experimental Sigma HVAC Units powered by A/C motors and solid state inverters, original traction motors rebuilt to 115 horsepower instead of the traditional 100 horsepower units, backlit ad signs, and different bulkhead designs. Since the cars were sent out to be overhauled based on how poorly they were performing (worst first), there were R32s and R32As rebuilt in both Phase I and Phase II configurations. There were about a dozen or more pairs that are composed of R32 and R32A mixes.

Retirement

In July 2002, the MTA awarded contracts to Alstom and Kawasaki for the delivery and purchase of new subway cars (the R160) in order to retire the R32s, as well as the other B Division 60-foot cars (R38s, R40s, and R42s). In December 2007, an arrangement was made with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to create artificial reefs with the R32s and other retired subway car models off of the coast of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, similar to how the A Division Redbirds were processed and reefed from 2001 to 2003.

The R32 fleet began being withdrawn from service in June 2007, with the first cars being reefed in March 2008. The General Electric-rebuilds were the first to be removed from passenger service amongst the fleet; the last four General Electric-rebuilds on the active roster (cars 3880–3881 and 3934–3935) made their last trip on the on August 29, 2007. The Phase II-rebuilds were next to be removed from passenger service amongst the fleet after the General Electric-rebuilds starting in March 2008; the last two Phase II-rebuilds on the active roster (cars 3421 and 3558) made their last trip on the on October 13, 2008. The Phase I-rebuilds were next to be removed from passenger service amongst the fleet after the Phase II-rebuilds starting in November 2008; however, on December 18, 2009, the MTA decided to move forward with retiring the New York City Transit R44s instead of the remaining R32s. As a result, 252 Phase I-rebuilds (246 of which were available for active service) were retained when the MTA decided to place a hold on retiring any 60-foot cars. By December 2010, only 232 active cars remained, 222 of which were assigned to 207th Street Yard, operating on the A and C. These had periodically underwent intermittent SMS (Scheduled Maintenance Service, a life-extension program) cycles – at a cost of $25 million – to extend their useful lives.

In March 2012, the MTA awarded a contract to Bombardier for the delivery and purchase of new subway cars (the R179) in order to retire the remaining R32s and R42s. The R32s were originally slated for retirement in 2017, but the R179s experienced delays in delivery. Subsequently, plans were changed to retain the R32s in order for them to provide a backup fleet and support service increased frequencies until in 2022, when they would finally be replaced by the R211s. By January 2020, it was again decided to retire the R32s with the R179s.