The R44 is a New York City Subway car model built by the St. Louis Car Company from 1971 to 1973 for the B Division and the Staten Island Railway (SIR). The cars replaced many R1–9 series cars, and all remaining 1925 Standard Steel built SIRTOA ME-1 trains, providing Staten Island with a new fleet of railcars.

R-44 train led by car 5262 enters Broad Channel on the Rockaways shuttle service. Photo by David Pirmann, June 2004. 4-car sets; even numbers have cabs; odd numbers "blind". Cars are numbered consecutively in set. Lowest number usually divides only by two. Highest number in pair is odd. 5403 part of odd bunch.

Aug 20, 2011 · It was the first subway car to feature the now famous bing bong chime, which all cars made after it use. It was also the first subway car to feature the full-width cab. No longer would a train conductor have to switch between cars on a moving train to open/close car doors.

May 20, 2013 · I hope people can see why the R44 was such a big deal in terms of the interior. Compare the cars before it and the color palette, design, everything was such an upgrade as well as how damned quiet the trains were in 1971 when they were introduced.

Jul 11, 2015 · R44 and R46 are the same length. The extra seat in the R44 comes from the smaller cab. Yes, the mainline R44s had the same cracks. Substantially worse in my recollection. Lighting fixtures: R44s had a metal brace in the middle of the downwards facing surface of each longitudinal fixture. R46s do not, (except for those fixtures taken from R44s.)

May 1, 2001 · The R44s debuted in 1971 and were the first 75' cars ordered for the New York City Subway. They were also the first cars to feature full length cabs for the motorman and conductor, and the first cars to feature 4 car sets without cabs in each car, freeing up additional room for passengers. They were also the first to have front facing seating.

The R44 was the first subway car in which a warning tone sounded immediately before the doors begin to close as the train prepares to leave the station; the tone consists of two notes which are often described as "bim-bam" since they are the same as the first two notes of the Westminster Chimes. This led to becoming the signature sound of the ...

On January 31, 1972, the Transit Authority used a consist of R-44 cars to conduct speed trials on the Long Island Railroad's main line tracks between Woodside and Jamaica.

Jan 24, 2011 · No, the storm doors on the R44 and r46 are the same. It's the cab door on the R44 that is narrow and swings open into the cab. On the R46, it slides open and looks like the storm door on the B end of the car.

Here is the set of R44's at Jamaica Station on the Long Island Rail Road. Subway track was unsuitable for high speed tests so the LIRR's electrified trackage was used. Section A: A New Breed; the R44