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The R40 was a B Division New York City Subway car built between 1967 and 1969 by the St. Louis Car Company in St. Louis, Missouri. The R40 cars were unique for their 10-degree slanted end, designed by the firm Raymond Loewy and Associates.

Description[]

The R40 fleet was numbered 4150–4549. These cars were unique for their 10° slanted end, designed by the firm of Raymond Loewy and Associates. On March 23, 1968, the R40 fleet entered service. The New York City Transit Authority found great dangers along with other hazards with the slanted end design posed with the lack of handholds for riders walking between cars, thus the danger of the passenger falling onto the tracks, and other design flaws. Within months, the cars were retrofitted with large grab rails with pantograph gates mounted, which effectively destroyed Loewy's design, but allowed passengers to travel safely between cars.

Retirement, scrapping, preservation and usage[]

The R160 order has replaced all of the R40 fleet. The last train, cars 4540–4549, made its final trip on the A in June 26, 2009. After retirement, many cars were stripped and sunk as artificial reefs. However, some R40 cars were saved for various purposes throughout the New York City Subway system, including:

  • 4150-4151 preserved, repainted, and set aside for the New York Transit Museum in Downtown Brooklyn.
  • 4152-4153 donated to East New York's Transit Technology High School on April 14, 2009.
  • 4154-4155 set aside for preservation by the Railway Preservation Corp.
  • 4156-4157 is being used as NYPD training cars at Floyd Bennett Field.
  • 4158-4159 are currently being used as training cars at the Coney Island Yard in Brooklyn.
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