R4 (New York City Subway car)

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R4
An R4 subway car on display at the Seashore Trolley Museum
Interior of R4 car 484
Manufacturer	American Car and Foundry
Family name	R1–9s
Constructed	1932–1933
Scrapped	1968–1977
Number built	500
Number preserved	4
Number scrapped	496
Successor	R44 and R46
Formation	motorized single units (Half-width operator's cab at each end; conductor controls on exterior)
Fleet numbers	400–899
Capacity	56
Operators	Independent Subway System NYC Board of Transportation New York City Transit Authority
Specifications
Car body construction	Riveted Steel
Car length	60 feet 2+1⁄2 inches (18.35 m)
Width	10 feet (3.05 m)
Height	12 feet 1+5⁄8 inches (3.70 m)
Doors	8 sets of 45 inch wide side doors per car
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Weight	84,503 lb (38,330 kg)
Traction system	General Electric (GE) 714 A-1, A-2 DC Motors (2 per motor truck)
Power output	190 hp (142 kW) per traction motor
Acceleration	1.75 mph/s (2.82 km/(h⋅s))
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Third rail
Current collector(s)	Contact shoe (Top running)
Braking system(s)	WABCO Schedule AMUE with UE-5 universal valve, ME-23 brake stand, and simplex clasp brake rigging
Coupling system	WABCO H2A
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The R4 was a New York City Subway car model built from 1932 to 1933 by the American Car and Foundry Company in Berwick, Pennsylvania. These subway cars were purchased for the IND Division. A total of 500 R4s were built, numbered 400–899, and arranged as single units. They were practically identical to the R1s, which preceded them, except that the R4s had a slightly different side door panel than the R1, adding small handle notches below the door window.

The R4s were used primarily for increased service in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. They served exclusively on all IND lines for most of their service lives, but were also used on the BMT Division during their final years. The R44s and R46s replaced the R4 cars, and they made their final runs in 1977. Four cars were preserved, and the rest were scrapped.