AB Standard (New York City Subway car)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "AB Standard" New York City Subway car – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

AB Standard
AB Standard #2392 at the Brighton Beach station on June 27, 2015.
Interior view of AB Standard car #2204
In service	1915–1969
Manufacturer	American Car and Foundry Company Pressed Steel Car Company
Constructed	1914–1922, 1924
Entered service	June 22, 1915
Refurbished	1958–1960
Scrapped	1960–1969
Number built	950 (2 additional cars delivered with the 1919 group to replace cars damaged the previous year)
Number preserved	5
Number scrapped	945
Successor	R27 R30 R32 R40 R42
Formation	See letter designations below
Fleet numbers	2000–2599 (ACF motors) 2600–2899 (Pressed Steel motors) 4000–4049 (Pressed Steel trailers)
Capacity	260: 78 (seated) 182 (standing)
Operators	Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation NYC Board of Transportation New York City Transit Authority
Specifications
Car body construction	Riveted Steel
Car length	67 ft 6 in (20.57 m)
Width	10 ft 0 in (3,048 mm)
Height	12 ft 1+1⁄8 in (3,686 mm)
Floor height	3 ft 1+1⁄8 in (0.94 m)
Doors	6
Maximum speed	45 mi (72 km) per hour
Weight	Motor car: 96,320 lb (43,690 kg) Trailer car: 80,162 lb (36,361 kg)
Traction system	Motor car: Westinghouse ABF 214 or 480, with Westinghouse 27B master controller, using GE 248A motors (140 hp each). 2 motors per car (1 per truck). Trailer car: None
Power output	140 hp (104 kW) per traction motor
Auxiliaries	Edison B4H (32 Volt) battery with 24 cells. Battery charged primarily by air compressor and trickle charged by car's main lights.
Electric system(s)	600 V DC Third rail
Current collector(s)	Top running Contact shoe
AAR wheel arrangement	Motor car: 1A-A1 Trailer car: 2-2
Bogies	A-55 Maximum Traction Truck
Braking system(s)	WABCO Schedule AMUE with UE-5 universal valve, ME-23 brake stand, and simplex clasp brake rigging. Air provided by WABCO D-3-F Compressor.
Coupling system	WABCO H2C
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The AB Standard was a New York City Subway car class built by the American Car and Foundry Company and Pressed Steel Car Company between 1914 and 1924. It ran under the operation of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) and its successors, which included the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the New York City Board of Transportation, and the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA). The cars were designed following the signing of the Dual Contracts, which called for a major expansion of the BRT. A total of 950 cars were built.

In their earliest days of service, operating crews frequently called them Steels to distinguish them from the wooden BU elevated cars. However, these cars were most commonly referred to as BRT Standards, BMT Standards, or simply Standards. For their time, the cars introduced a significant number of improvements to urban rapid transit. The AB Standards were slowly retired in the 1960s, last running in 1969. Several AB Standards have been preserved.