It was announced this week that the remaining 222 R-32 subway cars that were originally delivered in 1964-65 will receive one last overhaul and are expected to remain in service on the A and C Lines until the R-179 Cars enter service starting in 2014. I have always liked these cars as I was on the first revenue operation of them in September, 1964 from Sheepshead Bay Road to 57th St. and 7th Ave. When we arrived at the 57th St Station there was a red carpet on the platform, a band playing music and personal were handing out color postcards of this set of cars in the Mott Haven Yard of The New York Central Railroad in Bronx before running under there own power into Grand Central Terminal in August, 1964. In 1965 I got the chance to operate a train of these cars from Brighton Beach Station to the next stop at Sheepshead Bay Road. I believe there are a few sets of R-42 Subway Cars also operating on the A Line. I saw one set recently. The R-32 and R-42 are now the only subway cars that passengers can still look out of the front and rear doors as all of the others cars have full car width cabs with two doors between the passengers and the front and rear of the other cars making viewing difficult.
Ed G. (Along The New Haven Line of Metro-North and Amtrak)
P.S. The delivery of the Metro-North M-8 Cars is coming right along with a set of 4 cars being tested daily. It now seems that about 30 to 40 percent of the mu cars operating on the New Haven Line are M-8s.
