R32s - Where to Find

I'm planning to go to NYC this summer, where do I have the highest chance of getting an R32? I know that it's normally the C train but I also know that trains are often switched to the J/Z train.

Normally in the summer the 32's get sent to the J/Z because the C running entirely underground overtaxes the AC on them and they benefit from being run above ground...which works well for you because underground photography as a whole sucks.

That said you'll still find some on the C

Just be aware of your surroundings - some of the stations out on the J are not in the most fantastic of neighborhoods

So how much of the J/Z trains are usually R32s? What runs on the C train while they're reassigned?

The C gets the 160's.

When they swap you won't be chasing after 3 sets on a line - there'll be enough, don't worry. I'm not sure how many sets actually get swapped but let me put it to you this way: last year when the R9's were run on the M the day before weekend service to Manhattan restarted, my camera was littered with 32s on the J - and that was the beginning of June.

Also just FYI - the J/Z also has R42s running around too, so be on the lookout for those.

How hard is it to find an R42?

There's only 50 of those left in service, as opposed to 222 32's (according to Wikipedia), so more of a pain to find.

Do they still run any R-32's on the "A" line during the summer? I seem to recall something about their air-cond. units running better with exposure to the cooler air around Jamaica Bay in the summer.

Why are the R32s assigned to the C train?

Well, for at least the last 40 years the oldest cars have been on the C-Line. In the mid-1970's the "C" was the last stand of the R-1 thru 9's! But I don't really know the reason why.........

207th yard/shops is where retired cars were loaded onto barges to be reefed, so it made sense to assign the fleets that were being retired to 207th. This is why the A/C saw the string of retiring SMEEs in the late 2000s (R32, R38, R40, R40M, R42)

Car assignments by barn as of last December: http://www.thejoekorner.com/carassignme ... 202014.htm

For complicated reasons, the C only runs 8 car trains. Of the operating fleet, only the R32s, the R143s and R160A-1s would keep the stats quo on the length.

the R32s have CR controls in their #1 cabs along with the operator controls, something later corner cab cars left out. 8 car trains of R40-42 for example, operated 3-4/5-6 . On 32s, with their extra controls, and on the NTTs as linked sets, the active door controls are in the middle of the train.

To OP: There were several sets of 160's on the C that I saw yesterday. Of course I got a 32

Also from what I have heard the change-over this year may be permanent now that 207 can handle 160's.

I guess R32 fans can thank Bombardier for screwing up the R179 delivery program.

jackintosh11 wrote:How hard is it to find an R42?

Hard. I waited 30 minutes to catch one but it never came so I ended up riding an R160A. When I got to terminus, there was an R42 on the layup track at the end of the station. I've seen them parked more than running whenever I make the trek out to the J/Z line

Kamen Rider wrote:I guess R32 fans can thank Bombardier for screwing up the R179 delivery program.

Yes we can !

Head-end View wrote:Well, for at least the last 40 years the oldest cars have been on the C-Line. In the mid-1970's the "C" was the last stand of the R-1 thru 9's! But I don't really know the reason why.........

Didn't the L and J/Z trains have the last Arnies? The R1s-R9s lasted a long time on the C, but in the last year or so, I thought they were all gone...

jackintosh11 wrote:So how much of the J/Z trains are usually R32s? What runs on the C train while they're reassigned?

AFAIK, not all of the R32s are re-assigned. I've seen R32 Cs in the summer before. C train gets R160As

jackintosh11 wrote:I'm planning to go to NYC this summer, where do I have the highest chance of getting an R32? I know that it's normally the C train but I also know that trains are often switched to the J/Z train.

Look to the J/Z first-They will have a higher guarantee of more cars. If it is more convenient, look at the C, but keep in mind that they are very hard to find in the summer. Last summer they had a couple A R32 sets right?