Brooklyn Rapid Transit 1404

www.nycsubway.org

Built in:1907 by Jewett Car Company
Out-of-service/Retired:1969
Type of car:rapid transit car (open platform car)
Current Owner:New York Transit Museum(New York, New York)

Car History by Jeff Hakner & Frank Hicks


Brooklyn Rapid Transit 1404
One of the well-known trio of wooden cars that has travelled the New York subway system periodically for the past 25 years, 1404 has led a strange and eventful life. For the first three decades of its life it operated in essentially the configuration it is currently in - an open-plaform wood car. But in the late 1930's, to modernize the fleet serving the Corona/Flushing line for the 1939 World's Fair, BMT decided to rebuild 90 of its old elevated cars into 30 semi-permanently mated three-car sets known as "Q" (for "Queens") cars. This involved enclosing the cars' platforms, installing quarter-point side doors, and reworking the control systems so that each set functioned in a motor/trailer/motor fashion. Car 1404 was rebuilt thusly and became the "C" car of set 1603. In 1950, the "Q" fleet was transferred to the Third Avenue Elevated and lighter-weight trucks from IRT composite cars were fitted to 1603C and the other end (motor) cars. The final change to the appearance of the "Q" fleet came in 1957, when they were transferred to the Myrtle Avenue Line and their railroad roofs were lowered in height so that they could make it through the subway to the Coney Island shop complex. Retired in the late 1960's along with the other "Q" types, set 1603 was chosen for preservation and operated on fantrips during the 1970's. In 1979 it was decided that the three cars in set 1603 would be rebuilt to original as-built condition. This was done, but incompletely; the cars retained their 1957 lowered roofs and 1950 lightweight trucks. Since 1979 car 1404, plus the other two cars from "Q" set 1603, has been on display at NYTM and has occasionally run in fantrip service.

Ownership History:Brooklyn Rapid Transit #1404 1907-1923 / Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit #1404 1923-1939 / Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit #1603C 1939-1940 / New York City Board of Transportation #1603C 1940-1953 / New York City Transit Authority #1603C 1953-1957 / 1st preserved by New York City Transit Authority 1969-1979 / New York Transit Museum(New York, New York) 1979-present



Facts and Figures


Status:operated occasionallyGauge:4'8.5"
Construction:woodRoof type:RREnded:DE
Length:48'11"WidthWeight:69000#
#Seats:54#Wheels/Conf.:8 (B-2)Total HP:240
Trucks:McGuire Hedley SpecialBrakes:AMLCompressor
Motors:GE 259 (2)Voltage (if not 600DC)


Notes

Later New York City Transit Authority #1622C (1957-1969); originally had Alco Z380/Peckham 40 trucks and 2 WH 300 motors
PHOTO PHOTO