R44 (New York City Subway car)
The R44 is a New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) car model built from 1971 to 1973 by the St. Louis Car Company in St. Louis, Missouri, USA and currently operates only on the Staten Island Railway. Many of these cars used to operate on the B Division of the New York City Subway. The R44 was the first 75-foot (22.86 m) car for the New York City Subway and are sometimes nicknamed "the hippos" due to their 75-foot length along with the R46, R68 and R68A. A total of 352 R44 cars were ordered: 300 cars for the New York City Subway (100–399) and 52 cars for the Staten Island Railway (400–435 and even-numbered 436–466). Cars 388–399 were originally subway cars, but were sent to the Staten Island Railway.
After many months of exhaustive testing on the A, D, E, and F (one week on each service commencing December 16, 1971), as well as on the LIRR's trackage since this was a new breed of transit cars electrically and mechanically, the first R44s saw passenger service on April 19, 1972. The Staten Island R44s were delivered between January and April 1973. With the completion of the R44 order, the St. Louis Car Company (established 1887), shut down operations.
