Farewell R30 Fantrip 1993 run by NYD-ERA

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2017 Railfans! The full fantrip video is now public after 6 months and 317 views as unlisted. The channel tenth anniversary party continues with the long awaited upload of the full and unedited 34 minute Video 8 tape. This was preserved on VHS, so the quality is slightly degraded. This was nearly the last of many dozens of subway fantrips operated by ERA.ORG since at least the early 1950s. The organization officially started in the 1930s.

The R-27/30 was introduced in 1961 to begin retirement of the BMT standards (AB class), introduced around World War 1 for the 4th Avenue and Broadway subway openings, as well as upgraded lines of the southern division of the BRT. These were the last 10 foot wide cars ordered by NYCTA before the stainless steel body R-32 and successor classes were ordered. The original paint scheme was olive drab, though many (not all) cars were later painted red until 1970 when silver and blue became the standard and all were silver and blue after about 1975. The redbird red was not the hue that was seen on any NYCTA cars in the 1960s, which were brighter shades minus the black and silver trim. These cars were never air-conditioned and their retirement around 1993 heralded a B Division fleet with 100 percent air conditioned cars. They were held in service for about 31 years, long enough to permit the rebuilding of all stainless steel B division stock through R-46. Although they ended up with assignments to most lines (excluding notably the Queens and Bronx express lines), the bulk of their lives were spent on former BMT lines). The Transit Authority, due to severe budget constraints, ordered deliberately utilitarian cars that required as little maintenance as possible. This was evident starting with the R-16 and R-17 cars. The R-27/30s were more operational compatible with the R-16s of 1955, but were more advanced in the sense that they were the first B division cars to be semi-permanently coupled as married pairs with each car having only one driving cab and either an air compressor or a motor-alternator and cam control group. They were also the first B division cars to be delivered with fiberglass seats (pink ones for added contemporary pizzazz to distract from the loss of padded seat comfort) and the first to be delivered from the factory with air piston door actuators replaced in favor of electric motors (R-16s converted to electric doors in the mid-1970s). The fan trip cars and all surviving R-27/30s were never fully rebuilt the way all the stainless steel SMEEs and 44/46s were. In the 1970s there was some mixing with R-16s on train consists and some rare instances of mixing with R-32/40/42) but mostly they kept to themselves in solid trains of 4,6,8 or 10 cars.

1993 was the 40th Anniversary and last year of the public use of the title NYCTA. The public name was shortened to NYCT in 1994.