R21 (New York City Subway car)

R21
A graffiti-covered R21 train on the 5
In service	1956–1987
Manufacturer	St. Louis Car Company
Built at	St. Louis, Missouri
Replaced	All Gibbs Hi-Vs All Deck Roof Hi-Vs All Hedley Hi-Vs
Constructed	1956–1957
Number built	250
Number in service	(2 in work service)
Number preserved	2
Number scrapped	246 238 scrapped 8 in storage
Successor	R62A
Formation	Single unit cars
Fleet numbers	7050–7174 (General Electric) 7175–7299 (Westinghouse)
Capacity	44 (seated)
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Specifications
Car body construction	LAHT Carbon steel
Car length	51 ft 0.5 in (15.56 m)
Width	8 ft 9 in (2,667 mm)
Height	11 ft 10 in (3,607 mm)
Doors	6 sets of 50 inch wide side doors per car
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	General Electric cars: 77,607 lb (35,202 kg) Westinghouse cars: 78,604 lb (35,654 kg)
Traction system	Westinghouse 1447C or General Electric 1240A4
Power output	100 hp (75 kW) per traction motor
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Third rail
Current collection method	Top running Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	WABCO ME42A
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The R21 was a New York City Subway car built by St. Louis Car Company from 1956 to 1957 for the IRT A Division. A total of 250 cars were built, arranged as single units. Two versions were manufactured: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars and General Electric (GE)-powered cars.

The first R21s entered service on November 7, 1956. The R21s were replaced by the R62As in the 1980s, and the final train of R21s ran on December 30, 1987. Four R21 cars were preserved, while the rest were scrapped.

Description[]

The R21s were numbered 7050–7299. They were similar to the R17s, except that they featured windows of a slightly different design. The cab doors were mounted the same way as the newer R62 and R62A subway cars; however, this was not repeated on the next order for R22 subway cars, which reverted to the normally mounted cab doors.

There were two versions of the R21: Westinghouse Electric-powered cars (7050–7174) and General Electric-powered cars (7175–7299).

History[]

The first set of R21s was placed in service on the 1 train on November 7, 1956, replacing most of the IRT "high-voltage" type cars. They ran in service for most of their service lives on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, but some cars were sent to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in later years.

Retirement[]

Car 0R714 on display at the New York Transit Museum

Car 7203, rebuilt for use in the film Money Train and numbered 51050

The R62A fleet started replacing the R21s in the 1980s, and their final day in revenue service was on December 30, 1987.

The majority of the fleet was scrapped, but some R21s have been set aside for preservation over the years, including:

• 7194 – converted to R95 revenue collection car 0R714. The car was retired in 2006 and is now preserved by the New York Transit Museum. This car is currently the only operating R21 on MTA property.^[1]
• 7203 – rebuilt as the "money train" in the 1995 American crime thriller film Money Train by Columbia Pictures, and given the car number designation 51050. After production, this car was donated to the New York Transit Museum. It is currently in storage at the Coney Island Complex.^[2]

As of 2016, two other R21s survive as work cars, including:

• 7121 – converted to R71 hose reach car P7121 and overhauled under the R159 program.^[3]
• 7287 – converted to R71 de-icer car RD345 and overhauled under the R159 program. This car is currently located at the Westchester Yard.^[4]

Car 7267 (renumbered G7267) is currently at Concourse Yard coupled up to R17 6895 (renumbered 36895) and is classified as a garbage motor. The mechanical condition of 7267 is unknown, and both cars have not been moved since 2002. In 2009, the car was stripped of parts, such as sash windows and rollsigns. Both cars are now awaiting scrapping.^[5]

Cars 7234, 7241, 7269, 7276, and 7287 were converted to R71 rider cars after retirement, but were replaced with R161s (R33s converted to rider cars) in the mid-2000s and eventually reefed.^[6]

Cars 7055, 7210, 7211, 7243, 7278, 7289, and 7296 were converted to R123 continuous welded rail holder cars for set CCR and overhauled under the R128 program,^[7] but were replaced with R157 flat cars in the 2010s and are expected to be scrapped.^[8]

References[]

Media related to R21 (New York City Subway car) at Wikimedia Commons