R26 (New York City Subway car)
The R26 was a New York City Subway car model built by American Car and Foundry from 1959 to 1960 for the IRT A Division. A total of 110 cars were built, arranged in married pairs.
The R26s entered service on October 12, 1959, and received air conditioning by 1982. The fleet was rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen between 1985 and 1987. The R26s were replaced in the early 2000s with the delivery of the R142 and R142A cars, with the last train running in October 2002. After being retired, most R26s were sunk into the ocean as artificial reefs, but two cars have survived.
Description
The R26s were numbered 7750-7859. They were the first cars to not be built with operating cabs at both ends.The even-numbered car carried the motor generator and battery set for electrical equipment while the odd numbered car held air compressor for the brakes. A special version of the H2C coupler was used to link the cars so they could easily be split if needed and thus, they were called "semi-permanent pairs." Only the No.1 end had the operator controls. The No.2 end had conductor's controls only. Although referred as the "blind end," these ends did have windows for the conductor.
The R26s were the first cars to use single, sealed storm windows since the R14s, and pink colored-molded hard fiberglass seats. The hard fiberglass seats would become standard seating from this order onward for all new cars purchased to cut down on vandalism, and reduce maintenance costs, etc.
The first set of R26/R28s was placed in service on the train on October 12, 1959. By 1982, all cars in this series had received air conditioning as part of a retrofitting program. Rebuilt by Morrison Knudsen in Hornell, New York between 1985 and 1987, the R26s were repainted as Redbirds and were the first cars to be repainted in the scheme. They re-entered service particularly on the and trains.
Retirement
As time wore on, heavy service took their toll on these cars. The R142 and R142A car orders replaced the entire R26 fleet. They were gradually phased out from May 2001, until the last two pairs 7818-7819, and 7846-7847, along with the last of the R28s made their final trip on the 5 on October 7, 2002.After retirement, many cars were stripped to help create the Redbird Reef. In 2002, cars 7770-7771 became school cars at Canarsie Yard. This pair was later sent to the Concourse Yard and later to the 207th Street Yard. The pair was finally reefed in September 2009.
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.
Route assignment history
Note: All cars became General Electric cars and became permanently paired with link bars after rebuilding.| Service | Years In Service | Cars | |
| 1959–1966 | All cars | ||
| ,, | 1966–1976 | General Electric cars | |
| / | 1976–1985 | General Electric | Westinghouse cars |
| 1978–1985 | some General Electric and Westinghouse cars as a temporary replacement for cars being sent out for air conditioning, overhaul and rebuilding | ||
| / | All cars after overhaul and rebuilding |