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HO R-17 Subway Sets

Check Out It Out In Action In All-New Video

On June 1, 1940, the City of New York acquired the two subway systems it didn’t already own — the IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit Co.) and the BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corp.) — and consolidated them with the city-owned IND (Independent Subway System). It was readily apparent that the city’s fleet of aging subway cars was desperately in need of replacement, and immediately after World War II, management began to develop a new car that would be standard throughout the system and incorporate the latest advances in subway design. This effort was complicated by the fact that portions of the IRT had tighter clearances than the IND and BMT, so all future designs would incorporate a shorter, narrower IRT version.

The 400 cars built under contract R-17 were part of the 1950s expansion of the SMEE fleet, which also included the similar-looking R-15, R-21 and R-22 cars. As was normal practice at the time, the 400 R-17 cars delivered by St. Louis Car Co. in 1955-1956 were evenly split between General Electric and Westinghouse electrical gear, with each company equipping half the cars. The R-17s could be operated independently or with any other SMEE cars, and various SMEE types were often intermixed in trains. Ten of the R-17s were delivered with factory-installed air conditioning. The experiment proved unsuccessful, however, and the AC was later removed. Also removed were the comfortable velon seats, which proved an easy mark for vandals and were replaced by hard fiberglass benches.

Delivered in a maroon paint scheme, the R-17s were repainted in the MTA’s new blue and silver colors in the 1970s. A less-than-successful white scheme, intended to discourage taggers, followed in the 1980s. And just a few years before their retirement in 1988, 16 cars were painted in the "fox red" used on the Redbird cars, although the R-17s were never officially part of the Redbird fleet.

These locomotives are still available from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer. They can also be ordered from the M.T.H. online store by clicking on the item number when you go HERE.





Hurry Before They're Gone, Just Five Or Fewer Of These HO Scale Items Remain In Stock

December 20, 2017 - Each week, M.T.H. releases product lists spotlighting quantities of Five Or Fewer HO Scale items that are remaining in our onhand inventory. In many cases, these items will NOT be re-run in the future and these lists could be your last chance for ordering them before they're GONE FOR GOOD. Don't miss out on these items! Click on the product line link below and then any item number in the corresponding list to purchase that item from the M.T.H. Online Store or order directly from your local M.T.H. Authorized Retailer.

M.T.H. HO Scale


Check Out The MTH Smart Phone App

M.T.H. Electric Trains has published its smartphone and tablet Premium App for controlling a DCS layout wirelessly to the Apple App Store and Google Play stores.

The App provides access to the M.T.H. website allowing visitors to quickly find the latest news, search for products, watch product videos and much, much more.

The app can also control a DCS layout from any smartphone or tablet when paired with a DCS Wi-Fi Interface Unit and DCS Track Interface Unit. Both iOS and Android versions are FREE with an option for in-app purchase upgrades.

Learn more about the app by clicking HERE.

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