BART Legacy Fleet: C1 Cars in Action (Compilation)

The C1 cars (Fleet Nos 301-450) were the first order of C cars for BART, and the first brand new revenue cars after the Rohr cars of the 1970s. This video is just a half-hour long compilation of the various cars of this series in action.

Read more about the C1 car story at: https://bartcars.weebly.com/c1-cars.html

By the mid-late 1970s, it was apparent that BART needed more B cars, and that BART required more time to change train lengths than desireable. The former problem was addressed with the A to B car (800 series) program, while the latter required an entirely new car design, the C car.

The C car design allows for these cars to be used as lead, trailing, or mid cars. This was contrasted to the original Rohr built fleet of A and B cars, of which were only to be used in lead/trailing and midtrain position respectively.

The contract in October 1982 was originally at $180 Million (44 million less than the only US Bidder, Budd). At the time, they were the world's most expensive transit units.

Carbodies were by Asltom in France, but 2/3 of the car was US made, including Westinghouse traction motors and Knorr dynamic brakes.

Before the C2 cars, the C1 cars were originally known as C cars. Later, the Alstom C1 and Morrison Knudsen C2 cars were together as known C cars.

As of December 2021, about 35 of the 150 car C1 fleet has been scrapped. Plans call for their eventual retirement sooner than the Rohr A2 and B2 cars. About 90 are available for revenue service. They can be found on every line, and belong to every shop.

May 2023 Update: After 35 years of service, the final day for C1 cars was May 15, 2023. One will be preserved for the sake of history, at the Western Railway Museum.

The C1s also have the classic door chime - a single note.

All clips taken 2019-2021.

0:00 Exterior Scenes
15:26 Riding Scenes