R16 (New York City Subway car)

The R16s were numbered 6300–6499. When delivered, the R16s quickly became the new standard in car design for the New York City Transit Authority. Structurally and mechanically, they were the larger versions of the R15s and the R17s, and basically an improved version of the R10s, sharing the same exact dimensions. The only exception was that the R16s had electrically operated door motors while the R10s had air-powered door motors. When they were new, the R16s could give the R10 some competition when it came to speed – both cars were mechanically similar with four 100 horsepower (75 kW) motors and a balancing speed of 55 mph (89 km/h).

The R16s, like the older Arnines, R10s, and R11s, featured three sets of mid-car body passenger windows on each side. One set contained an illuminated rollsign box in lieu of a second window. This sign box had three readings arranged vertically – the top two being the train's terminals, and the bottom being the route. This window and signbox pattern became standard for later cars until the R40s in 1967. The R16 would also be the last car class delivered with crosswise seating until the R44 order in 1971.

There were two versions of the R16: Westinghouse (WH)-powered cars (6300–6399) and General Electric (GE)-powered cars (6400–6499), the latter of which were delivered earlier. The GE-powered cars used forced air to cool the rheostatic resistors used for acceleration and dynamic braking. However, the low voltage rotary converter (motor-generator) used to provide the air proved to be problematic as the enclosure tended to trap dirt and rainwater within. In addition, the master controllers also had a tendency to short out more frequently relative to other classes, leading to high failure rates. Meanwhile, the Westinghouse-powered cars had resistors mounted in the open for slipstream cooling as had been the traditional means; this setup was found to be more reliable and was reused in newer cars up to the R22 order. In theory, both types of R16s could be run together, but in practice, this was found to be less than desirable, so cars would be segregated by electrical running gear to provide better fleet reliability. The R16s were also the heaviest 60-foot (18.29 m) subway car built at the time, weighing in at some 85,000 pounds (39,000 kg) per car, until the 75-foot (22.86 m) cars, which weighed around 89,000 pounds (40,000 kg) per car, eclipsed them.

The R16s were delivered between 1954 and 1955 in a kale green paint scheme and first placed into passenger service on January 10, 1955, on the BMT #15, (now J). Two cars #s 6318, and 6463 were painted gold for the golden jubilee celebration in 1955.

R16s 6300–6349 were transferred to the A in preparation for the opening of the former Long Island Rail Road's IND Rockaway Line on June 28, 1956, as the Transit Authority wished to use its newest equipment available for the line's inaugural.[1] After the late 1950s, the cars were returned to the BMT Eastern Division and would remain there until the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when they were transferred to various lines throughout the system. During the 1970s, R16s could be found intermixed with other cars and in far away places from their previous running grounds. Photos of R16s in the Bronx or Queens show them both in complete consists as well as with other fleets.

In 1968, many cars were repainted into a bright red scheme. The whole R16 fleet was given the new MTA corporate silver and blue scheme in 1970, and the cars kept that scheme until retirement.

During the early 1970s, the R16s had their door motors replaced with door motors similar to those used by the R44s. As the replacement door motors were mounted in the walls rather than under the seats,[2] distinctive sloping wall panels (unique to the R16s) appeared.[3]

In 1979, car 6429 was rebuilt with a new front end, large picture windows, and new doors; it was a prototype car for a complete rebuilding of the fleet, which would add modern interiors and air-conditioning. Part of the rebuild also included the conversion of the cars to four-car sets. The car was eventually scrapped, and the rebuilding never took place with other cars.[4]

Retirement

R16 car 6398 at the Trolley Museum of New York in 2013

Because of persistent electrical issues with the GE-powered R16s, the Transit Authority planned to retire them early in 1977 with R46s. However, problems with R46 cars due to cracks found in those cars' trucks (as well as a host of other defects) kept the GE-powered R16s in service until 1983. The more reliable WH-powered R16 cars remained in service on the BMT Eastern Division until the spring of 1987, when they were ultimately replaced with the R68s.

After retirement, four cars were saved for various purposes. The full list includes:

• 6305 and 6339 – currently stored at the MTA NYC Transit's Coney Island Complex in Brooklyn.
• 6387 – preserved by the New York Transit Museum. The car was restored to operating status in 2013–2014 and has been operating on New York City Transit Museum-sponsored excursions since August 2014, specifically on the Train of Many Metals (TOMM).
• 6398 – preserved at the Trolley Museum of New York, Kingston, NY,[5][6] restoration in progress. It is occasionally used during special events pulled by other cars or locomotive.

6452 was located at PS 248 (an NYCT training facility) in Brooklyn until July 2004, as a training car. It was painted in the "Redbird" scheme and was not operational. In July 2004, the car was moved to Linden Yard in Brooklyn and was replaced by R110B 3005, which was moved to the facility. 6452 was moved again to the Coney Island Yard in 2005. Finally, in July 2007, the car was moved to the SBK yard for asbestos abatement and sent to the 207th Street Yard for reefing in early 2008.

Various R16s were featured in the 1981 made-for-TV film We're Fighting Back,[7] including the interior of some R16s. Several of them included 6301, 6302, 6321, 6333, 6355, 6394, 6398, and 6399, signed up as an L train. Various stations were renamed in the film, but there are various hints, including the fact it was a solid 8-car set of R16s rather than a 10-car set that it was filmed on the BMT Canarsie Line.

A wooden mockup of an R16 was featured in the 1976 remake of King Kong.

In the 1959 film Imitation of Life, several trains consisting of R16s can be seen passing outside the studio window in the flea powder ad scene.

• Sansone, Gene. Evolution of New York City subways: An illustrated history of New York City's transit cars, 1867–1997. New York Transit Museum Press, New York, 1997 ISBN 978-0-9637492-8-4

Wikimedia Commons has media related to R16 (New York City Subway car).

• R16 cars – NYCSubway.org
• They Moved the Millions