| One of the odder cars the NYCTA had was a set of ten R 11s. These were of aluminum construction, built in 1948 to test how the aluminum bodies and parts would hold up. They didnt do as well as the Transit Authority hoped, and they became orphans. By the time I was riding the trains regularly in the mid 1970s, there were four of them left, running on the Franklin Av Shuttle, from Prospect Park on the Brighton Line, to Fulton St, where it connected to the IND A train on the Fulton St subway. Transfer was by taking a paper ticket from a dispenser, then going to the other line, where you dropped the ticket in a fare box. This lasted til the Franklin Av train was replaced by buses, I think in the late 70s. This car is seen at the Transit Museum in the old IND Court St station in Brooklyn. |