R26 (New York City Subway car)

The first set of R26s was delivered in July 1959[3] and placed in service on the 6 train on October 12, 1959. By early 1960, all cars have been delivered.[4] Since delivered, the R26s have been assigned exclusively to the 6 until February 16, 1966, when all of the GE cars were moved to the 2, 4, and 5.

The R26s were removed from the 4 in October 1976, and the GE cars were assigned to the 2 and 5. The Westinghouse R26s were assigned exclusively to the 6, except from June 23, 1980, to August 1981, when cars 7844–7845 and 7858 (mated to R28 7861) were assigned to the 7.

In January 1983, the R26s were removed from the 5, and the GE cars were assigned exclusively to the 2. From May to June 1983, Westinghouse R26s 7844–7845 were returned to the 7 to fill in for the R33Ss and "World's Fair" R36s while they were being rebuilt. On September 30, 1983, the Westinghouse cars made a second return to the 7 with cars 7804–7823 being assigned there to fill in for the R33Ss and "World's Fair" R36s while they were being rebuilt. On November 18, 1983, Westinghouse R26s 7814–7823 returned from the 7 to the 6, followed by 7804–7813 in February 1984.[5]

By 1982, all cars in this series had received air conditioning as part of a retrofitting program to replace their original Axiflow ceiling fans.

The R26s were rebuilt by Morrison–Knudsen in Hornell, New York between 1985 and 1987, and were repainted as Redbirds. All Westinghouse cars were refitted with GE equipment.

Before they were rebuilt, the R26 cars were grouped as follows:

• Cars 7750–7803 had General Electric electrical equipment
• Cars 7804–7859 had Westinghouse electrical equipment

Beginning in Summer 1985, the first un-rebuilt General Electric R26s were removed from service for rebuilding. By Summer 1986, the last un-rebuilt GE R26s were removed from the 2 service. The first Westinghouse cars were sent to be rebuilt in March 1986, and by December 1986, the last R26s were removed from service on the 6 to be sent out for rebuilding.[6] The first rebuilt R26s entered service on the 2 on January 13, 1986. By March 19, 1987, all rebuilt cars were in service.[7]

After rebuilding, all R26s were assigned exclusively to the 2 until May 1995, when all cars were moved to the 5 to improve fleet reliability.[8]

The R26s retained their original H2C couplers on both ends until 1991, when the new Scheduled Maintenance System (SMS) program began. During this time, the R26s were mated numerically and the original H2C couplers on the ends with conductor's controls were replaced with link bars. Prior to 1991, the R26s were often not numerically paired and could also be paired to R28s.[9][10]

As time wore on, heavy service took their toll on these cars. In 1996, New York City Transit Authority announced their plans to phase out the Redbirds with the R142 and R142A fleets, replacing the entire R26 fleet.

Starting in May 2001, the R33s were displaced from the 2 to the 5 as the R142s entered service on the 2, gradually replacing the R26s. The last two pairs, 7818–7819 and 7846–7847, along with the last of the R28s and one pair of R29s,[11] made their final trip on the 5 on October 7, 2002.[12] After retirement, all but one pair were stripped to help create the Redbird Reef.

In 2002, cars 7770–7771 became school cars at Canarsie Yard. This pair was moved to East New York Yard in September 2006 and continued as school cars there.[13] Then, the pair was moved to 207th Street Yard during the weekend of March 21–22, 2009, in preparation for reefing.[14] The pair was finally reefed on September 6, 2009.[15]

Today, cars 7774–7775 are currently the only surviving R26s. This pair was previously stored at the Unionport Yard until July 2013, when they were moved to the Concourse Yard, along with R28s 7924–7925 and R29s 8678–8679.