R142A (New York City Subway car)

R142A (New York City Subway car)
An R142A train on the approaches Parkchester.
Interior of an R142A car on the .
In service	2000–present
Manufacturer	Kawasaki Rail Car Company
Built at	Yonkers, New York, United States Lincoln, Nebraska, United States Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
Family name	NTT (new technology train)
Replaced	R26, R28, R29, R33, R33 WF, R36, R36 WF
Constructed	1999–2004
Refurbishment	R188s: 2014–16 (cars 7211–7590 only)
Number built	600
Number in service	220 (200 in revenue service during rush hours)
Formation	5-car sets (2 A cars and 3 B cars)
Fleet numbers	7211–7810 (as built) 7591–7810 (currently)
Capacity	176 (A car) 188 (B car)
Operator(s)	New York City Subway
Depot(s)	Jerome Yard, Pelham Yard[1]
Service(s) assigned	– 130 cars  – 130 cars
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel with fiberglass end bonnets
Train length	513.3 feet (156.5 m)
Car length	51.33 feet (15.65 m)
Width	8.60 feet (2,621 mm)
Height	11.89 feet (3,624 mm)
Platform height	3.6458 ft (1.11 m)
Doors	6 per car
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h) Service 70 mph (110 km/h) Design
Weight	73,300 lb (33,200 kg) (A car) 67,800 lb (30,800 kg) (B car)
Traction system	Bombardier MITRAC propulsion system, 3-Phase AC Traction Motors Model 1508C
Power output	150 hp (111.855 kW) per motor axle; 2,100 hp (1,565.970 kW) per 5-car set
Acceleration	2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h·s))
Deceleration	2.5 mph/s (4.0 km/(h·s)) (full service), 3.2 mph/s or 5.1 km/(h·s) (emergency)
Auxiliaries	SAFT 195 AH battery (B car)
Power supply	Third rail
Electric system(s)	625 V DC
Current collection method	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	Dynamic braking propulsion system; WABCO RT-96 tread brake system
Safety system(s)	dead man's switch, tripcock, emergency brakes
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The R142A, along with the R142, are the first and second part of the fourth generation of somewhat similar new technology cars (NTTs) for the A Division of the New York City Subway.^[2]

Background

The R142A cars were built by Kawasaki at Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan with final assembly performed at Kawasaki Railcar Corp.'s American Facilities located at Lincoln, NE, USA & Yonkers, NY, USA from 1999 through 2004, and have many of the same features as the R142, built by Bombardier. The 400 R142A cars of the main order are numbered 7211–7610; the 120 option cars are numbered 7611–7730. Eighty cars, built under a supplemental contract as the R142S, were built by Kawasaki in 2003-04 to supplement the R142As. They are numbered as 7731–7810. They are mechanically and physically identical to all other R142As, and are considered part of the R142A fleet.

The first ten R142A cars numbered 7211–7220 were delivered on December 10, 1999. Regular service began on the 6 on July 10, 2000 after several months of testing and the ironing out of all bugs. The cars maintained at the Jerome Yard run on the 4 while the cars maintained at the Westchester Yard run on the 6.

Cars 7211–7590 have been or are being overhauled with CBTC for Flushing Line CBTC service, and are now R188s. ^[3][4][5][6] Cars 7591-7810 will remain unconverted for the time being.

Differences

Between the R142s and R142As

The R142s and R142As look similar to each other, but there are numerous differences between the two car types.

• Kawasaki built the R142As, while Bombardier built the R142s.
• The R142A's external speakers have a narrower rim around the edges than those on the R142.
• The interior speakers on the R142A are recessed into the curved portion of the ceiling while the R142 speakers are located in the middle of the ceiling.
• The R142As have different AC traction motors than the R142s. The R142s use Alstom AC traction motors, which are very similar to the ones used on the R160A cars and many R160B cars, while the R142A's use Bombardier (formerly Adtranz) AC traction motors which are identical to the ones used on the R143 cars.^[7][8][9]
• The R142A's B cars have traction motors at the number one end.^[10][11]
• The R142A car ends consist of a single fiberglass piece, while the front consists of two separate portions on the R142, one fiberglass and one stainless.
• The LCD destination signs and LED interior passenger information signs on the R142 "turn-off" when changing, while the ones on the R142A switch without turning off.
• R142 cars have a dot-matrix LCD route number display and mosaic LCD destination on the side destination signs, while R142A cars have a mosaic LCD for both the route and destination on the side destination signs.
• The interior LED displays on R142s have a white border and are closer to the ceiling than the R142A's light grey-bordered displays.
• The interior red door indicator lights on R142s are directly above the doors near its corners and point downwards towards the floor while the R142A's interior red door indicator lights are located just to the left and right of the doors and point towards the opposite wall.
• The flashing orange closing door lights are slightly larger on the R142As than on the R142s.
• The car end lexan glass windows open through a few tiny screws on R142s compared to the keyhole on the R142As.
• The R142 and R142A utilize different truck designs. The R142 utilizes Bombardier trucks while the R142A utilizes Kawasaki trucks.^[12][13][14]
• The two cars have different HVAC systems. The R142's HVAC is noticeably louder than the R142A.
• R142A cars contain two more advertising panels than R142 cars.
• The front windows on the R142s are less abruptly curved than the R142As.
• The windows on the front doors of the R142As are smaller than those on the front doors of the R142s.
• The door handles on the car end doors leading from one car to another are different on the R142s and R142As.
• The numbers on the R142A cars are in Akzidenz-Grotesk font while those on the R142 cars are in New York City's traditional Helvetica lettering.
• The propulsion sound of the R142A can be described as a rolling sound, while the R142 cars have a stepped propulsion sound.

Between the R142As and R188s

There are a few differences between the R142As and R188s, even though they look and sound the same.

• The R188s have Communications-based train control equipment package cabinet installed right behind on the right side of the bulkheads on the motorman's cabs, and is very visible from within the passengers compartment areas, while the remaining R142As do not have this equipment or feature. Also, the existing flip-up handicapped seats behind the motorman's full-width cabs have been removed to facilitate the installation of same.
• The R188s have sets consisting of 6 cars and 5 cars, while the R142As have sets of 5 cars sets only.
• The numbers on the newer R188s are a bolder version of Helvetica lettering; a similar font is used on the R160s.
• The R188s use the distorted version of the R142 and R142A cars' two-note warning chime, as heard on the B Division's NTT cars.

See also

• R142 (New York City Subway car) - a similar car built by Bombardier in Plattsburgh, New York and Barre, Vermont
• R188 (New York City Subway car) - a similar car equipped with CBTC built by Kawasaki Railcar Corp., most of which are to be rebuilt from R142As.

References

1. New York Subway Barn Assignments. December 2014
2. "Some New Subway Cars Put Into Service Monday" NY1–10 July 2000. Retrieved on 2008-04-24
3. "NYCT Cars - Current Car Fleet". thejoekorner.com.
4. "Image: dsc05585j.jpg, (3456 × 2592 px)". img821.imageshack.us. 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
5. "Image: dsc05671vd.jpg, (3456 × 2592 px)". img109.imageshack.us. 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUENJiceIMQ Car 7220 is visible at 3:20 in the video clearly and is also shown in the rest of the video
7. IRT 5 Train to Manhattan, at 238th Street. YouTube. 2 November 2008.
8. YouTube. youtube.com.
9. YouTube. youtube.com.
10. "Showing Image 74505". nycsubway.org.
11. YouTube. youtube.com.
12. "Showing Image 47237". nycsubway.org.
13. "Showing Image 47211". nycsubway.org.
14. "Showing Image 130320". nycsubway.org.

External links

• nycsubway.org - NYC Subway Cars: R142
• IRT Car Assignments - December 6, 2015
• New York City Subway Car Fleet June 2010 through December 2015
• Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc.: R142A
• Educated » Blog Archive » Subway Sounds: R-142A
• Car Status/Assignment