State-of-the-Art Car
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2010) |
| State of the Art Car | |
|---|---|
 The State of the Art Car on display. | |
| Manufacturer | St. Louis Car Company |
| Constructed | 1973/74 |
| Number built | 2 – married pair |
| Capacity | 62-72 |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 75 ft (22,860 mm) |
| Width | 9 ft 7.25 in (2,927 mm) |
| Height | 11 ft 8.5 in (3,569 mm) to 12 ft 1.5 in (3,696 mm) |
| Maximum speed | 80 mph (130 km/h) |
| Weight | 90,000 lb (40,820 kg) |
| Current collector(s) | Third rail |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
State of the Art Car (SOAC) is a heavy rail mass transit demonstrator vehicle that was promoted by the United States Department of Transportation's Urban Mass Transportation Administration's (UMTA) Division in the mid 1970s.
Development and testing
A two car demonstrator was built by St. Louis Car Company (after winning bid over Budd Company, Pullman-Standard, Rohr Industries, and Vought Aeronautics) based on the R44 subway car for New York City and toured five American cities with subway systems: These were the very last railcars produced the venerable St. Louis Car Company, using the two remaining R44 subway car shells produced before the company ceased operations in early 1974.
The five American cities toured were as follows;
- Boston – August 1974 (MBTA South Shore Red Line and Cambridge-Dorchester Line)
- Chicago – January 1975 (Skokie Swift line)
- Cleveland – (CTS Airport line)
- New York – April 1974 (NYCTA Eighth Avenue–Fulton Street A, Concourse–Sixth Avenue–Brighton D, Queens Boulevard–Eighth Avenue E and Queens Boulevard–Broadway–Sea Beach N services)[1]
- Philadelphia – late 1974 (SEPTA Broad St. Subway),[2] August 1976 (PATCO Speedline to Lindenwold, New Jersey)[3]
While the cars were well received, the concept did not catch on and was retired. Since this experiment, all future rapid transit cars were designed by manufacturers with input with clients and the USDOT stopped R&D work on public transit concepts. This was also the UMTA's one size fits all approach to rapid transit car design that did not fare well with many transit operators, since many systems could not accommodate 75' foot or 10'-6" wide subway equipment due to clearance issues.
The two car demonstrator is now owned by the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, and is currently a static display.
Gallery
-
A 1970s postcard of the SOAC published by Boeing Vertol, which managed to project but did not produce the cars -
Showing the unique cab of the SOAC car. -
One of the interiors of the SOAC cars. -
Another interior of the SOAC cars.
See also
- US Standard Light Rail Vehicle
- Bay Area Rapid Transit A and B rolling stock share similarities with SOAC
- Intermediate Capacity Transit System - a smaller system developed by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation in the mid 1970s in Canada
- LRC - heavy rail car design by Bombardier Transportation in the 1970s and used by Via Rail in Canada from the 1980s and 1990s.
References
- ^ nycsubway.org—Major Line Closures
- ^ "SOAC At Pattison Station". Retrieved 23 November 2011.
- ^ "Chicago L.org: Car Roster - State-of-the-Art Cars". Retrieved 19 November 2011.
External links
