Last Of Redbirds Bound For Sea

It was the end of the line for New York Citys Redbirds on Monday, when the legendary cars made their farewell journey. The last 11-car distinctively-colored Tuscan-red train made its way on the No. 7 line from Times Square to Willets Point before being ushered off into permanent retirement.
"They left the yard this morning and went to Times Square with no customers," said Joe Ragusa, MTA maintenance shop superintendent. "Then customers boarded and the train made all local stops. This morning, all the mechanics whod been taking care of the cars all these years were sad. This is the last one."
The train that made the final run was bound for 207th Street in Manhattan, where some of the cars would be prepared for a watery grave. They joined four of their brethren waiting in the yard to be stripped of all rubber, glass, floatable and scrappable parts. Their eventual destination will be the Atlantic Ocean, in which the cars will be reefed and become home to hundreds of different species of fish and invertebrates.
Six of the cars from the final-run train will be cleaned and stored at 207th Street for use in films. About 100 of the original Redbirds will stay in service as work equipment while some will become exhibits in the Transit Museum. Most of the cars, however, have already found their way to the coasts off Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and South Carolina in a program that began in 1991 and promises to attract fish and mollusks, and thus fishermen and the economy benefit.
The 51-foot, 75,600-pound cars, built between 1959 and 1964 by the St. Louis Car Company, are formally known as R33 and R36 cars and were assigned to the No. 7 line just in time for the 1964 Worlds Fair at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. They werent always red. During their lengthy careers, the trains have sported various paint jobs, including the cream and blue designed for the Worlds Fair, silver and blue in the 1970s and all-white in the 80s. They received their eventual red color and were dubbed "Redbirds" when the fleet was overhauled and made graffiti-free between 1984 and 1989.
Daniel Wrynn, an MTA conductor for 17 years, was selected for the last run. He grew up riding the Redbirds and was proud to act as conductor on the trains final journey.
"Theyre very well built," he said. "They have a lot of character and flavor to them. I love that style, that old-fashioned look. Its not that I dont like the new trainstheyre just not as interesting. If it was up to me, Id want the Redbirds to run forever."
Commuters may miss the metal hand straps that graced the Redbirds, but the replacements, stainless steel R62A class cars manufactured in 1985 by Bombadier, should make for a more pleasant ride. The newer trains are able to locate and isolate problems much more clearly, even in the case of something as seemingly benign as a door malfunction. Even so, collectors have rushed to buy sign boxes, horns and those metal hand straps.
Despite the patina of time, the Redbirds reliably transported commuters between Queens and Manhattan day in and day out.
"The Redbird fleet has performed beyond our wildest expectations," said New York City Transit President Lawrence Reuter. "But the fact of the matter is that they are obsolete equipment and have outlived their usefulness."
Transit executives, television and print journalists, subway employees and train enthusiasts (as well as some startled commuters) turned out in droves for the final farewell to a piece of transit history. Wayne Friedman, a train operator, was among those who came to say goodbye at Willets Point.
"When you rode one of these, you always felt the legend behind it, from the Worlds Fair up until the 2000 World Series and today," he said. "Remember John Rocker making fun of our 7 trains? Were still reminding baseball fans across the country that the 7 line will never die. The Redbirds are taking a rest but the 7 line will never die."