Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #1542049  by Pensyfan19
 
Just like a mainline commuter railroad, anything can happen on subway systems. I don't think there have been many R211s testing yet and I don't know yet when they will be testing. We could certainly the R32s continue to run some more time once things get closer to normal.
Just like the M9s. They've been delayed for so long that the LIRR has to refurbish their M3s. :P (God for the railfans who would do anything to ride a M3 nowadays, even though the M3s and M9s are OOS due to the pandemic)

But I do agree with you all. It will be sad to see these legends leave after over 55 years of service. I was even on the R32 a few times when I was in the city frequently, and they will be missed by me as well. :(
 #1542052  by Backshophoss
 
Other than the Museum fleet cars,several batches of R32's are being converted to Work Motors and trash haulage duty.
There's no stripping of the vR32's and R42's due to lack of manpower due to the virus,also the trucking Co used by NYCTA
is being reorganized due to Bankruptcy
 #1542217  by GirlOnTheTrain
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote: Thu May 07, 2020 11:18 am Just like a mainline commuter railroad, anything can happen on subway systems. I don't think there have been many R211s testing yet and I don't know yet when they will be testing. We could certainly the R32s continue to run some more time once things get closer to normal.
There are no 211's anywhere near TA property for testing. It's unclear if Kawasaki has even finished building a whole trainset. Those clickbaity headlines about new trains in 2021 are a crock.

Plus, as we saw with the R42's - the problem child 179's can still develop catastrophic problems that cause the entire fleet to be yanked from service. It's a damn good thing they were able to drag the 42's out of the yard.
 #1543640  by Head-end View
 
I saw a copy somewhere of the NYCTA official memo announcing the retirement of the R-32 as a car class. In other words they don't officially exist anymore. That sounds pretty definite to me.
 #1543673  by Pensyfan19
 
Head-end View wrote: Sat May 23, 2020 8:07 pm I saw a copy somewhere of the NYCTA official memo announcing the retirement of the R-32 as a car class. In other words they don't officially exist anymore. That sounds pretty definite to me.
Then it's official. They will be missed. :( :( :(

Any bets on which cars might be preserved?

Do you think someone would convert these cars into multiple units like when Vivarail converted retired London Underground D-Stock trains into multiple units? (Probably won't come close to meeting US Safety standards at all. :P )
 #1543699  by Backshophoss
 
There're several dozen R-32's tapped for work motor service and trash duty,Believe 4 cars are part of the Museum fleet
 #1544677  by MACTRAXX
 
G/T: Interesting news about the R32 fleet - to the rescue!!!

A NYDN article mentions the R32 "resurrection" with the latest R179 problem and
again the middle 1960s date lamenting the age of these cars is noted - conveniently
failing to mention that these cars were extensively rebuilt around 30 years ago...

Good thing that NYCT was smart enough to not retire the R32 fleet so fast and that
track and storage place were available for them during the downturn in service.
How long the R32 cars remain in service is going to depend on what it takes to get
the R179 fleet retrofitted with better drawbars if that turns out to be necessary...

With millions of dollars spent on the R179 cars this may take some time to get the
fleet out of the "hangar queen" category and be worthy at some future date.
Until then the R32 cars roll on...with the head (or rear) end view...MACTRAXX
 #1544691  by Head-end View
 
I'm not sure this is possible. The TA had previously announced internally that the R-32 no longer existed as an official car class.
 #1544693  by GirlOnTheTrain
 
They can just as easily supercede that memo if they need equipment to make service - and come Monday's reopening they claim they're running a full weekday schedule. It's not like the equipment was already hauled off and scrapped.
 #1547349  by GirlOnTheTrain
 
A week late, but the 32s are running again. The space near the cabs is roped off for social distancing purposes.

They're trying to run them as minimally as possible, so catch them on Z trips.
 #1547351  by R36 Combine Coach
 
GirlOnTheTrain wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:08 pm They're trying to run them as minimally as possible, so catch them on Z trips.
The R32s have also appeared on Sunday schedules, three sets reported on 7/5.
 #1547429  by Head-end View
 
Cars are back in service, but the front end of the lead car is roped off, so we can't stand at the front window? Well frig me for being a railfan........ :(