#OnThisDay in 1963, a very special set of train cars entered service with the debut of the first set of R33 World’s Fair cars on the #7Line. Built by the St. Louis Car Company in anticipation of the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the R33-WFs were very similar to the previous R33s, except that they featured three-piece curved windows, instead of three-piece rectangular windows.
Although the R33 World’s Fair cars are often referred to as “Redbirds,” they have lived a thousand liv...es - originally painted light turquoise and white upon delivery, silver/blue in the mid-1970s, full white in the early 1980s, and then finally deep maroon red with black front bonnets and anti-climbers with silver roofs in the late 1980s.
The #NYTransitMuseum has three R33 World’s Fair cars which are operational and often run together as part of our #TrainofManyColors on #NostalgiaRides. The cars 9306 and 9307 have the blue and white paint scheme, while the 9310 is painted in the Redbird paint scheme. Check out our fleet of vintage trains at the New York Transit Museum online at www.nytransitmuseum.org/vintagefleet, or visit them in person at the Museum in Downtown Brooklyn!
