New York City Board of Transportation 1612C

Facts and Figures

Current Number	1612C
Railway Represented	New York City Board of Transportation
Builder	Jewett Car Company
Built In	1907
Builder's order id
Currently in (State)	New York
--(Locality)	New York
Totally out of svc date	1978
(Initial retirement date)	1978
Car Type	rapid transit car
-subtype	BMT "Q" car
-designation	Type Q
Status	displayed inoperable
More info
Gauge	4'8.5"
Construction	steel/wood
Roof type	RR
Ended	DE
Length	48'11"
Width	8'8"
Height	12'0"
Weight	70600
#Seats	50
#Wheels/Conf.	8
Total HP	240
Trucks	McGuire Hedley Special
Brakes	AML (M19A)
Compressor	WABCO D2F
Control	WH AB (8)
Motors	GE 259 (2)
Voltage (if not 600DC)
Notes	Rebuilt to work car (alcohol sprayer) in 1969

Car 1613C on display at NYTM in 2011
Railroad Picture Archives
photo: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2649213

Car 1613C on display at NYTM in 2017
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/31068017@N07/32412055584/

Car History by Jeff Hakner & Frank Hicks

New York City Board of Transportation 1612C The best-preserved example of a BMT "Q" type rapid transit car is 1612C, preserved in the only rail museum in the country actually situated in a disused subway station, NYTM. This car was built as a single-unit, open-platform wooden elevated car for service on the BRT, and for the first three decades of its life it operated as such. 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. In 1950, the "Q" fleet was transferred to the Third Avenue Elevated and lighter-weight trucks from IRT composite cars were fitted to 1612C and the other end (motor) cars. The final change to the appearance of these cars came in 1957, when they were transferred to the Myrtle Avenue Elevated and their railroad roofs were lowered in height so that they could make it through the subway to the Coney Island shop complex. Retired from passenger service in the late 1960's along with the other "Q" types, 1612C was first designated for work service as alcohol sprayer 30504. Then in the late 1970's, when preserved "Q" set 1622ABC was rebuilt to open platform configuration, 1612C/30504 (sans the other two cars in its set) was repainted to its c1940 livery (though still retaining its c1950 trucks and c1957 roof profile) and placed in the NYTM where it has remained on display for over a quarter century.

Ownership History

Owner	Car Num	From	To	Preservation?	Loan?
Brooklyn Rapid Transit (New York, Brooklyn)	1417	1907	1923	NO	NO
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (New York, Brooklyn)	1417	1923	1939	NO	NO
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (New York, Brooklyn)	1612C	1939	1940	NO	NO
New York City Board of Transportation (New York, New York)	1612C	1940	1953	NO	NO
New York City Transit Authority (New York, New York)	1612C	1953	1969	NO	NO
New York City Transit Authority (New York, New York)	20504	1969	1975?	NO	NO
New York City Transit Authority (New York, New York)	30504	1975?	1978	NO	NO
New York Transit Museum (New York, New York)	1612C	1978	present	YES	NO