R16 (New York City Subway car)
| R16 | |
|---|---|
R16 car 6387 bypassing Avenue H station on the Train of Many Metals | |
Interior view of R16 car 6387 | |
| In service | 1955–1987 |
| Manufacturer | American Car and Foundry, USA |
| Replaced | BMT Zephyr BMT Bluebird compartment cars |
| Constructed | 1954–1955 |
| Entered service | January 10, 1955 |
| Scrapped | 1983 (6400–6499) 1987 (6300–6399) |
| Number built | 200 |
| Number preserved | 4 |
| Number scrapped | 196 |
| Successor | R46 and R68 |
| Formation | Single unit cars |
| Fleet numbers | 6300–6499 |
| Capacity | 70 (seated) |
| Operators | New York City Transit Authority |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | LAHT carbon steel |
| Car length | 60 ft (18.29 m) |
| Width | 10 ft (3.05 m) |
| Height | 12.08 ft (3.68 m) |
| Platform height | 3.76 ft (1.15 m) |
| Doors | 8 sets of 50 inch wide side doors per car |
| Maximum speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Weight | GE cars (6400–6499) 84,532 lb (38,343 kg), WH cars (6300–6399) 86,270 lb (39,131 kg) |
| Traction system | Westinghouse 1447C; GE 1240A4 Westinghouse UPC631A; GE MCM 17KG113D1 |
| Power output | 100 hp (75 kW) / 4 per car |
| Acceleration | 2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h⋅s)) (?) |
| Braking system(s) | WABCO ME42 SMEE |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MTA_NYC_Subway_"Train_of_Many_Metals"_vintage_train_passing_Ave_H.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
The R16 was a New York City Subway car model built by the American Car and Foundry Company from 1954 to 1955 for the IND/BMT B Division. A total of 200 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.
The first R16s entered service on January 10, 1955. Various modifications were made over the years to the R16 fleet. The GE-powered cars were found to be less reliable than the WH-powered cars, so the New York City Transit Authority planned to retire them early in 1977 with R46s. However, problems with R46 cars kept the GE-powered R16s in service until 1983. The WH-powered R16s were retired in 1987 with the delivery of the R68s. Some R16 cars were saved for various purposes, but most were scrapped.