ROLLING STOCK--CARS, TRUCKS, ETC.
The determination of the builders of the road to improve upon the best
devices known in electrical railroading and to provide an equipment
unequaled on any interurban line is nowhere better illustrated than in
the careful study given to the types of cars and trucks used on other
lines before a selection was made of those to be employed on the
subway.
All of the existing rapid transit railways in this country, and many
of those abroad, were visited and the different patterns of cars in
use were considered in this investigation, which included a study of
the relative advantages of long and short cars, single and multiple
side entrance cars and end entrance cars, and all of the other
varieties which have been adopted for rapid transit service abroad and
at home.
The service requirement of the New York subway introduces a number of
unprecedented conditions, and required a complete redesign of all the
existing models. The general considerations to be met included the
following:
High schedule speeds with frequent stops.
Maximum carrying capacity for the subway, especially at times of rush
hours, morning and evening.
Maximum strength combined with smallest permissible weight.
Adoption of all precautions calculated to reduce possibility of damage
from either the electric circuit or from collisions.
The clearance and length of the local station platforms limited the
length of trains, and tunnel clearances the length and width and
height of the cars.
The speeds called for by the contract with the city introduced motive
power requirements which were unprecedented in any existing railway
service, either steam or electric, and demanded a minimum weight
consistent with safety. As an example, it may be stated that an
express train of eight cars in the subway to conform to the schedule
speed adopted will require a nominal power of motors on the train of
2,000 horse power, with an average accelerating current at 600 volts
in starting from a station stop of 325 amperes. This rate of energy
absorption which corresponds to 2,500 horse power is not far from
double that taken by the heaviest trains on trunk line railroads when
starting from stations at the maximum rate of acceleration possible
with the most powerful modern steam locomotives.
Such exacting schedule conditions as those mentioned necessitated the
design of cars, trucks, etc., of equivalent strength to that found in
steam railroad car and locomotive construction, so that while it was
essential to keep down the weight of the train and individual cars to
a minimum, owing to the frequent stops, it was equally as essential to
provide the strongest and most substantial type of car construction
throughout.
Owing to these two essentials which were embodied in their
construction it can safely be asserted that the cars used in the
subway represent the acme of car building art as it exists to-day, and
that all available appliances for securing strength and durability in
the cars and immunity from accidents have been introduced.
After having ascertained the general type of cars which would be best
adapted to the subway service, and before placing the order for car
equipments, it was decided to build sample cars embodying the approved
principles of design. From these the management believed that the
details of construction could be more perfectly determined than in any
other way. Consequently, in the early part of 1902, two sample cars
were built and equipped with a variety of appliances and furnishings
so that the final type could be intelligently selected. From the tests
conducted on these cars the adopted type of car which is described in
detail below was evolved.
After the design had been worked out a great deal of difficulty was
encountered in securing satisfactory contracts for proper deliveries,
on account of the congested condition of the car building works in the
country. Contracts were finally closed, however, in December, 1902,
for 500 cars, and orders were distributed between four car-building
firms. Of these cars, some 200, as fast as delivered, were placed in
operation on the Second Avenue line of the Elevated Railway, in order
that they might be thoroughly tested during the winter of 1903-4.
[Illustration: END VIEW OF STEEL PASSENGER CAR]
In view of the peculiar traffic conditions existing in New York City
and the restricted siding and yard room available in the subway, it
was decided that one standard type of car for all classes of service
would introduce the most flexible operating conditions, and for this
reason would best suit the public demands at different seasons of the
year and hours of the day. In order further to provide cars, each of
which would be as safe as the others, it was essential that there
should be no difference in constructional strength between the motor
cars and the trail cars. All cars were therefore made of one type and
can be used interchangeably for either motor or trail-car service.
The motor cars carry both motors on the same truck; that is, they have
a motor truck at one end carrying two motors, one geared to each
axle; the truck at the other end of the car is a "trailer" and carries
no motive power.
[Illustration: SIDE VIEW OF STEEL PASSENGER CAR]
Some leading distinctive features of the cars may be enumerated as
follows:
(1.) The length is 51 feet and provides seating capacity for
52 passengers. This length is about 4 feet more than those of
the existing Manhattan Elevated Railroad cars.
(2.) The enclosed vestibule platforms with sliding doors
instead of the usual gates. The enclosed platforms will
contribute greatly to the comfort and safety of passengers
under subway conditions.
(3.) The anti-telescoping car bulkheads and platform posts.
This construction is similar to that in use on Pullman cars,
and has been demonstrated in steam railroad service to be an
important safety appliance.
(4.) The steel underframing of the car, which provides a
rigid and durable bed structure for transmitting the heavy
motive power stresses.
(5.) The numerous protective devices against defects in the
electrical apparatus.
(6.) Window arrangement, permitting circulation without
draughts.
(7.) Emergency brake valve on truck operated by track trip.
(8.) Emergency brake valve in connection with
master-controller.
The table on page 133 shows the main dimensions of the car, and
also the corresponding dimensions of the standard car in use on the
Manhattan Elevated Railway.
The general arrangement of the floor framing is well shown in the
photograph on page 132. The side sills are of 6-inch channels,
which are reinforced inside and out by white oak timbers. The center
sills are 5-inch I-beams, faced on both sides with Southern pine. The
end sills are also of steel shapes, securely attached to the side
sills by steel castings and forgings. The car body end-sill channel is
faced with a white-oak filler, mortised to receive the car body
end-posts and braced at each end by gusset plates. The body bolster is
made up of two rolled steel plates bolted together at their ends and
supported by a steel draw casting, the ends of which form a support
for the center sills. The cross-bridging and needle-beams of 5-inch
I-beams are unusually substantial. The flooring inside the car is
double and of maple, with asbestos fire-felt between the layers, and
is protected below by steel plates and "transite" (asbestos board).
The side framing of the car is of white ash, doubly braced and heavily
trussed. There are seven composite wrought-iron carlines forged in
shape for the roof, each sandwiched between two white ash carlines,
and with white ash intermediate carlines. The platform posts are of
compound construction with anti-telescoping posts of steel bar
sandwiched between white ash posts at corners and centers of
vestibuled platforms. These posts are securely bolted to the steel
longitudinal sills, the steel anti-telescoping plate below the floor,
and to the hood of the bow which serves to reinforce it. This bow is a
heavy steel angle in one piece, reaching from plate to plate and
extending back into the car 6 feet on each side. By this construction
it is believed that the car framing is practically indestructible. In
case of accident, if one platform should ride over another, eight
square inches of metal would have to be sheared off the posts before
the main body of the car would be reached, which would afford an
effective means of protection.
[Illustration: EXTERIOR VIEW--STEEL CAR FRAMING]
The floor is completely covered on the underside with 1/4-inch
asbestos transite board, while all parts of the car framing, flooring,
and sheathing are covered with fire-proofing compound. In addition,
all spaces above the motor truck in the floor framing, between sills
and bridging, are protected by plates of No. 8 steel and 1/4-inch roll
fire-felt extending from the platform end sill to the bolster.
[Sidenote: _Car Wiring_]
The precautions to secure safety from fire consists generally in the
perfected arrangement and installation of the electrical apparatus and
the wiring. For the lighting circuits a flexible steel conduit is
used, and a special junction box. On the side and upper roofs, over
these conduits for the lighting circuits, a strip of sheet iron is
securely nailed to the roof boards before the canvas is applied. The
wires under the floor are carried in ducts moulded into suitable forms
of asbestos compound. Special precautions have been taken with the
insulation of the wires, the specifications calling for, first, a
layer of paper, next, a layer of rubber, and then a layer of cotton
saturated with a weather-proof compound, and outside of this a layer
of asbestos. The hangers supporting the rheostats under the car body
are insulated with wooden blocks, treated by a special process, being
dried out in an oven and then soaked in an insulating compound, and
covered with 1/4-inch "transite" board. The rheostat boxes themselves
are also insulated from the angle iron supporting them. Where the
wires pass through the flooring they are hermetically sealed to
prevent the admission of dust and dirt.
At the forward end of what is known as the No. 1 end of the car all
the wires are carried to a slate switchboard in the motorman's cab.
This board is 44 x 27 inches, and is mounted directly back of the
motorman. The window space occupied by this board is ceiled up and the
space back of the panels is boxed in and provided with a door of steel
plate, forming a box, the cover, top, bottom, and sides of which are
lined with electrobestos 1/2-inch thick. All of the switches and
fuses, except the main trolley fuse and bus-line fuse, which are
encased and placed under the car, are carried on this switchboard.
Where the wires are carried through the floor or any partition, a
steel chute, lined with electrobestos, is used to protect the wires
against mechanical injury. It will be noted from the above that no
power wiring, switches, or fuses are placed in the car itself, all
such devices being outside in a special steel insulated compartment.
A novel feature in the construction of these cars is the motorman's
compartment and vestibule, which differs essentially from that used
heretofore, and the patents are owned by the Interborough Company. The
cab is located on the platform, so that no space within the car is
required; at the same time the entire platform space is available for
ingress and egress except that on the front platform of the first car,
on which the passengers would not be allowed in any case. The side of
the cab is formed by a door which can be placed in three positions.
When in its mid-position it encloses a part of the platform, so as to
furnish a cab for the motorman, but when swung parallel to the end
sills it encloses the end of the platform, and this would be its
position on the rear platform of the rear car. The third position is
when it is swung around to an arc of 180 degrees, when it can be
locked in position against the corner vestibule post enclosing the
master controller. This would be its position on all platforms except
on the front of the front car or the rear of the rear car of the
train.
The platforms themselves are not equipped with side gates, but with
doors arranged to slide into pockets in the side framing, thereby
giving up the entire platform to the passengers. These doors are
closed by an overhead lever system. The sliding door on the front
platform of the first car may be partly opened and secured in this
position by a bar, and thus serve as an arm-rest for the motorman. The
doors close against an air-cushion stop, making it impossible to
clutch the clothing or limbs of passengers in closing.
[Illustration: INTERIOR VIEW--SKELETON FRAMING OF STEEL CAR]
Pantagraph safety gates for coupling between cars are provided. They
are constructed so as to adjust themselves to suit the various
positions of adjoining cars while passing in, around, and out of
curves of 90 feet radius.
On the door leading from the vestibule to the body of the car is a
curtain that can be automatically raised and lowered as the door is
opened or closed to shut the light away from the motorman. Another
attachment is the peculiar handle on the sliding door. This door is
made to latch so that it cannot slide open with the swaying of the
car, but the handle is so constructed that when pressure is applied
upon it to open the door, the same movement will unlatch it.
Entering the car, the observer is at once impressed by the amount of
room available for passengers. The seating arrangements are similar to
the elevated cars, but the subway coaches are longer and wider than
the Manhattan, and there are two additional seats on each end. The
seats are all finished in rattan. Stationary crosswise seats are
provided after the Manhattan pattern, at the center of the car. The
longitudinal seats are 17-3/4 inches deep. The space between the
longitudinal seats is 4 feet 5 inches.
The windows have two sashes, the lower one being stationary, while the
upper one is a drop sash. This arrangement reverses the ordinary
practice, and is desirable in subway operation and to insure safety
and comfort to the passengers. The side windows in the body of the
car, also the end windows and end doors, are provided with roll shades
with pinch-handle fixtures.
[Illustration: INTERIOR VIEW OF PROTECTED WOODEN CAR]
The floors are covered with hard maple strips, securely fastened to
the floor with ovalhead brass screws, thus providing a clean, dry
floor for all conditions of weather.
Six single incandescent lamps are placed on the upper deck ceiling,
and a row of ten on each side deck ceiling is provided. There are two
lamps placed in a white porcelain dome over each platform, and the
pressure gauge is also provided with a miniature lamp.
[Illustration: EXTERIOR VIEW--PROTECTED WOODEN CAR, SHOWING COPPER
SIDES]
The head linings are of composite board. The interior finish is of
mahogany of light color. A mahogany handrail extends the full length
of the clerestory on each side of the car, supported in brass sockets
at the ends and by heavy brass brackets on each side. The handrail on
each side of the car carries thirty-eight leather straps.
Each ventilator sash is secured on the inside to a brass operating
arm, manipulated by means of rods running along each side of the
clerestory, and each rod is operated by means of a brass lever, having
a fulcrum secured to the inside of the clerestory.
All hardware is of bronze, of best quality and heavy pattern,
including locks, pulls, handles, sash fittings, window guards, railing
brackets and sockets, bell cord thimbles, chafing strips, hinges, and
all other trimmings. The upright panels between the windows and the
corner of the car are of plain mahogany, as are also the single post
pilasters, all of which are decorated with marquetry inlaid. The end
finish is of mahogany, forming a casing for the end door.
[Illustration: FRAMING OF PROTECTED WOODEN CAR]
[Sidenote: _Steel Cars_]
At the time of placing the first contract for the rolling stock of the
subway, the question of using an all-steel car was carefully
considered by the management. Such a type of car, in many respects,
presented desirable features for subway work as representing the
ultimate of absolute incombustibility. Certain practical reasons,
however, prevented the adoption of an all-steel car in the spring of
1902 when it became necessary to place the orders mentioned above for
the first 500 cars. Principal among these reasons was the fact that no
cars of this kind had ever been constructed, and as the car building
works of the country were in a very congested condition all of the
larger companies declined to consider any standard specifications even
for a short-time delivery, while for cars involving the extensive use
of metal the question was impossible of immediate solution. Again,
there were a number of very serious mechanical difficulties to be
studied and overcome in the construction of such a car, such as
avoidance of excessive weight, a serious element in a rapid transit
service, insulation from the extremes of heat and cold, and the
prevention of undue noise in operation. It was decided, therefore, to
bend all energies to the production of a wooden car with sufficient
metal for strength and protection from accident, i. e., a stronger,
safer, and better constructed car than had heretofore been put in use
on any electric railway in the world. These properties it is believed
are embodied in the car which has just been described.
[Illustration: METAL UNDERFRAME OF PROTECTED WOODEN CAR]
The plan of an all-metal car, however, was not abandoned, and
although none was in use in passenger service anywhere, steps were
immediately taken to design a car of this type and conduct the
necessary tests to determine whether it would be suitable for railway
service. None of the car-building companies was willing to undertake
the work, but the courteous coöperation of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company was secured in placing its manufacturing facilities at Altoona
at the disposal of the Interborough Rapid Transit Railway Company.
Plans were prepared for an all-metal car, and after about fourteen
months of work a sample type was completed in December, 1903, which
was in every way creditable as a first attempt.
The sample car naturally embodied some faults which only experience
could correct, the principal one being that the car was not only too
heavy for use on the elevated lines of the company, but attained an
undesirable weight for subway operation. From this original design,
however, a second design involving very original features has been
worked out, and a contract has been given by the Interborough Company
for 200 all-steel cars, which are now being constructed. While the
expense of producing this new type of car has obviously been great,
this consideration has not influenced the management of the company in
developing an equipment which promised the maximum of operating
safety.
[Illustration: END VIEW OF MOTOR TRUCK]
[Sidenote: _The General
Arrangements_]
The general dimensions of the all-steel car differ only slightly from
those of the wooden car. The following table gives the dimensions of
the two cars, and also that of the Manhattan Railway cars:
Wooden All-Steel Manhattan
Cars. Cars. Cars.
Length over body corner posts, 42' 7" 41' 1/2" 39' 10"
Length over buffers, 51' 2" 51' 2" 47' 1"
Length over draw-bars, 51' 5" 51' 5" 47' 4"
Width over side sills, 8' 8-3/8" 8' 6-3/4" 8' 6"
Width over sheathing, 8' 10" 8' 7" 8' 7"
Width over window sills, 8' 11-7/8" 9' 1/2" 8' 9"
Width over battens, 8' 10-3/4" 8' 7-1/4" 8' 7-7/8"
Width over eaves, 8' 8" 8' 8" 8' 9-1/2"
Height from under side of sill
to top of plate, 7' 3-1/8" 7' 1" 7' 3"
Height of body from under side
of center sill to top of roof, 8' 9-7/8" 8' 9-7/8" 9' 5-7/8"
Height of truck from rail to
top of truck center plate
(car light), 2' 8" 2' 8" 2' 5-3/4"
Height from top of rail to
underside of side sill at
truck center (car light), 3' 1-1/8" 3' 2-1/8" 3' 3-1/4"
Height from top of rail to
top of roof not to exceed
(car light), 12' 3/4" 12' 0" 12' 10-1/2"
The general frame plan of the all-steel car is clearly shown by the
photograph on page 128. As will be seen, the floor framing is made
up of two center longitudinal 6-inch I-beams and two longitudinal 5 x
3-inch steel side angles, extending in one piece from platform-end
sill to platform-end sill. The end sills are angles and are secured to
the side and center sills by cast-steel brackets, and in addition by
steel anti-telescoping plates, which are placed on the under side of
the sills and riveted thereto. The flooring is of galvanized,
corrugated sheet iron, laid across the longitudinal sills and secured
to longitudinal angles by rivets. This corrugated sheet holds the
fireproof cement flooring called "monolith." On top of this latter are
attached longitudinal floor strips for a wearing surface. The platform
flooring is of steel plate covered with rubber matting cemented to the
same. The side and end frame is composed of single and compound posts
made of steel angles or T's and the roof framing of wrought-iron
carlines and purlines. The sides of the cars are double and composed
of steel plates on the outside, riveted to the side posts and belt
rails, and lined with electrobestos. The outside roof is of fireproof
composite board, covered with canvas. The headlinings are of fireproof
composite, faced with aluminum sheets. The mouldings throughout are of
aluminum. The wainscoting is of "transite" board and aluminum, and the
end finish and window panels are of aluminum, lined with asbestos
felt. The seat frames are of steel throughout, as are also the cushion
frames. The sash is double, the lower part being stationary and the
upper part movable. The doors are of mahogany, and are of the sliding
type and are operated by the door operating device already described.
[Illustration: SIDE VIEW OF MOTOR TRUCK]
[Sidenote: _Trucks_]
Two types of trucks are being built, one for the motor end, the other
for the trailer end of the car. The following are the principal
dimensions of the trucks:
Motor Truck. Trailer Truck.
Gauge of track,............................. 4' 8-1/2" 4' 8-1/2"
Distance between backs of wheel flanges,.... 4' 5-3/8" 4' 5-3/8"
Height of truck center plate above rail,
car body loaded with 15,000 pounds,....... 30" 30"
Height of truck side bearings above rail,
car body loaded,.......................... 34" 34"
Wheel base of truck,........................ 6' 8" 5' 6"
Weight on center plate with car body
loaded, about............................. 27,000 lbs.
Side frames, wrought-iron forged,........... 2-1/2" x 4" 1-1/2" x 3"
Pedestals, wrought-iron forged,.........................
Center transom, steel channel,..........................
Truck bolster,.............................. cast steel. wood and iron.
Equalizing bars, wrought iron,..........................
Center plate, cast steel,...............................
Spring plank, wrought iron,................. 1" x 3" white oak.
Bolster springs, elliptic, length, ......... 30" 32"
Equalizing springs, double coil,
outside dimensions,................... 4-7/8" x 7-1/2" 3-5/8" x 6"
Wheels, cast steel spoke center,
steel tired, diameter,.................... 33-3/4" 30"
Tires, tread M. C. B. Standard,......... 2-5/8" x 5-1/4" 2-5/8" x 5-1/4"
Axles, diameter at center,.................. 6-1/2" 4-3/4"
Axles, diameter at gear seat,............... 7-13/16"
Axles, diameter at wheel seat,.............. 7-3/4" 5-3/4"
Journals,................................... 5" x 9" 4-1/4" x 8"
Journal boxes, malleable iron,
M. C. B. Standard,....................................
Both the motor and the trailer trucks have been designed with the
greatest care for severe service, and their details are the outcome of
years of practical experience.