ME-1 (New York City Subway car)

ME-1
SIRT ME-1 Car 388 on display at the Shore Line Trolley Museum in 2010.
In service	1925–1973
Manufacturer	Standard Steel Car Company
Constructed	1925–1926
Number built	100 (90 Motors, 10 Trailers)
Number preserved	2
Number scrapped	98
Successor	R44
Formation	Single units
Fleet numbers	300–389 (motors) 500–509 (trailers) Note: Trailers 502, 505–507, and 509 converted to motor cars 390–394 in 1928
Capacity	240: 71 (seated) 169 (standing)
Operators	Staten Island Railway New York City Transit Authority
Specifications
Car body construction	Steel
Car length	67 ft 3 in (20.50 m)
Width	10 ft 0 in (3,048 mm)
Height	12 ft 1.125 in (3,686 mm)
Floor height	3 ft 9.125 in (1.15 m)
Doors	6
Maximum speed	60 mph (97 km/h)
Weight	Motor car: 95,750 lb (43,430 kg) Trailer car: N/A
Traction system	Motor car: GE PC 10L using GE 282A motors (200 hp each). 2 motors per car (1 per truck). Trailer car: None
Power output	200 hp (149 kW) per traction motor
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Third rail
Current collector(s)	Top running Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	WABCO Schedule AMUE with UE-5 universal valve, ME-30 brake stand, and simplex clasp brake rigging
Coupling system	WABCO H2A
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The ME-1 (also known as MU-1 or MUE-1) was an electric multiple unit subway car built from 1925 to 1926 by the Standard Steel Car Company for the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company and later also used in the New York City Subway. 100 cars were built, numbered 300–389 (motors), and 500–509 (trailers). They were the first electric cars to run in revenue service on the SIRT.^[1]

The ME-1s entered service in 1925 and ran continuously on all three SIRT lines. Sometime between 1953 and 1954, 25 cars were purchased by the New York City Transit Authority to run on the subway. Numbered 2900–2924, these cars were nicknamed B-29s, a reference to a large aircraft of the same name, due to their large size (67 feet or 20.42 meters) and the fact that they had been renumbered for subway service into the 2900s. The NYCT cars continued to run until 1961, when they were replaced by the R27s and R30s. The SIRT cars lasted until 1973, when they were replaced by the R44s. Two cars were preserved, while the rest were scrapped.