Meet the Lo-Vs

Lo-V cars were manufactured from 1916 to 1925 and served mostly on the IRT Lexington Avenue Express (today’s 4 and 5 trains) and the IRT 7^th Avenue – Bronx Park Express (today’s 2 and 3 trains). The last Lo-V cars served the Third Avenue Elevated in The Bronx and were retired in 1969.

Where have I seen a Lo-V before?

Why are they called Lo-Vs?

The first all-steel subway cars used by Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) were called “Gibbs” cars, named for the IRT’s chief engineer, George Gibbs. These – along with several other early car types were eventually termed “Hi-V” cars, after the 600 volts needed to power and control the propulsion system. All subway cars have wheels with motors in them, called “trucks” which have contact shoes that touch the third rail and deliver power to the “group box”. The group box controls acceleration in the trucks’ motors according to the signals it receives from the master controller. A master controller is an electromechanical device, located at the front of a train, that a train operator uses to regulate direction and speed.

In a Hi-V car, this voltage was passed from the third rail contact shoes directly through a train’s master controller to each individual car’s propulsion control system. It was also based between each car – called “trainlining”. This meant that if one of the contact shoes in a Hi-V car was not touching the third rail, there was still 600 volts of current being delivered to it from the other cars it was coupled to. This was achieved by connecting each rail car via a jumper cable. This also meant that high voltages were being passed directly through the master controller in the train operator’s cab.

How many kinds of Lo-V cars are there?

There were four kinds of Lo-V cars: the Standard Lo-V, the Flivver Lo-V, the Steinway Lo-V, and the World’s Fair Lo-V. There were 1,386 Lo-V cars in total:

• Standard Lo-V cars were built by three companies: Pressed Steel Car Company, American Car and Foundry, and the Pullman Company from 1916 to 1925. There were 725 motor cars and 295 trailer cars.
• Flivver Lo-Vs were built by the Pullman Company in 1915, and the name “Flivver” comes from a slang term of the time that was used to describe a small car that gave a bumpy ride . There were 178 Flivvers.
• Steinway Lo-V cars were built by three companies: Pressed Steel Car Company, American Car and Foundry, and the Pullman Company from 1915 to 1925. There were 138 Steinways built, all motor cars.
• There were only 50 World’s Fair Lo-V cars. These were built by the St. Louis Car company for service during the 1939 World’s Fair on the IRT Flushing Line.

Why were there different kinds of Lo-Vs?

As the needs of the subway system changed, elements of the subway cars that ran in it changed as well. Multiple batches of Lo-Vs were ordered from 1916 to 1938. Some of the changes to the Lo-V cars were cosmetic, and some were crucial mechanical changes to ensure smooth operation.

The Steinway and World’s Fair Lo-V cars are an example of mechanical changes made to ensure smooth operation.

The Steinway Tunnels were originally intended to have trolley service run through them. They were built by the New York and Long Island Rail Road Company between Lexington Avenue and 42^nd Street in Manhattan and Van Alst Avenue (now known as 21^st Street) in Long Island City.

In April of 1913, New York City became the owner of the Steinway Tunnels, and the IRT was chosen to operate the subway line that would serve it – the IRT Corona Line (later Flushing Line). In order to get the tunnels in service quickly, they were reconfigured for rapid transit by removing the catenary wire and trolley wayside equipment.

One thing that could not be changed quickly or inexpensively is the grade of the tunnel. Grade is the angle at which a tunnel differs from a flat horizontal surface. The bigger the number, the higher the grade. Higher grades are more difficult for subway cars to move over. The Steinway Tunnels, because they were not built for rail cars, have a steeper grade than those tunnels specifically constructed for subway service.

The Steinway Lo-V cars had a lower weight (about 74,000 pounds) and a higher gear ratio to move through the grade more efficiently. A higher gear ratio provides more acceleration to “cruise” a vehicle, whereas a lower gear ratio provides more torque to get a vehicle moving from a resting position. They were also the first cars to have the low-voltage motor control. World’s Fair Lo-Vs were built specifically to increase capacity for the 1939 World’s Fair.

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What happened to the Lo-Vs?

As the 1960s approached, New York’s subway fleet was showing its age. Plans were put in place to replace the oldest cars with newer ones. In 1958, the IRT ordered 210 cars that were intended to replace the Hi-V and Lo-V cars – some of which had been rolling for 54 years. These new cars entered service in 1959, kicking off the biggest fleet replacement ever done by the NYCTA. In 1961, another 1200 cars were ordered, and when they filtered into service in 1962, the Lo-Vs began to disappear. The Flivvers were the first to leave, and in 1964 most of the remaining Lo-Vs were retired. In 1969, the very last Lo-Vs left the system.

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How many Lo-Vs are left?

After the Lo-V cars were retired, many went into work service. The remainder were scrapped. Once it was decided to replace the Lo-Vs in work service with newer cars, many of those were scrapped as well. Today, less than 10 Lo-V cars remain – and 6 of them are part of the NYTM fleet!

How does the NYTM preserve these trains?

Like people, each train car is different, even if they are the same car type. A team of NYTM volunteers works closely with Car Equipment and other NYCTA departments to prepare our fleet for Nostalgia Rides and other events.

Each car that is in service at one of these events has undergone the same safety testing as any other subway car in revenue service.

The Museum and the restoration team discuss what cars will be restored to which era — some are restored to a specific year, and others to a specific decade.

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