R36 (New York City Subway car)

R36 (New York City Subway car)
A R36 ML covered in graffiti, leading a train in September 1973
Manufacturer	St. Louis Car Company
Built at	St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Constructed	1964
Entered service	1964
Refurbishment	1985
Scrapped	2001-03
Number built	34
Number in service	0
Number preserved	2
Number scrapped	32
Formation	Married Pairs
Fleet numbers	9524-9557
Capacity	44 (seated)
Operator	New York City Subway
Specifications
Car body construction	LAHT (Low Alloy High Tensile) steel
Car length	51.04 feet (15.56 m)
Width	8.75 feet (2.67 m)
Height	11.86 feet (3.61 m)
Doors	6
Weight	69,400 pounds (31,500 kg) (pre-rebuild)
Traction system	Westinghouse XCA248 with Westinghouse 1447C motors (4/car, 100 HP)
Auxiliaries	Converter
Electric system(s)	600 volt DC
Current collection method	Third rail
Braking system(s)	WABCO, "SMEE" (electrodynamic)
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The R36 (or R36 ML) was a class of New York City Subway cars built in 1964 by the St. Louis Car Company, St. Louis, Missouri for the IRT division (also known as the A Division). These cars are referred as R36 ML (or Main Line) to distinguish them from the R36 World's Fair cars which were built for service on the IRT Flushing Line (7 <7> trains).

The R36 ML was a 34-car follow-up order to the 500-car R33 model. Both R33 ML and R36 ML were similar with drop-sash side windows differentiating them from the large picture windows of the World's Fair cars. These cars ran for many years on the IRT main lines (Broadway – Seventh Avenue and Lexington Avenue). Prior to overhaul in 1985, they mainly ran on the 1 and 3 trains. Upon returning from overhaul the R36s ran on the 6 from 1986 to 2001, when they began to be replaced by the R142A cars. Some also provided occasional service on the 4 and 7 trains.

In 1998, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced that it would begin phasing out the Redbird cars — R26 / 28 / 29 / 33 / 36 with the R142 and R142A cars. From 2001 to 2003, Redbird cars were scrapped, sold, put into work service, or stored out service.

All but one pair of R36 MLs were scrapped. With the arrival of the R142As on the 6 train, the R36 MLs were transferred over to the 7 train. The last pair, numbers 9542-9543, ran on the 7 until May 2003. They went to the New York Transit Museum in 2004.