A new municipal subway system for New York City began to take shape in 1925 that eventually would become known as the IND (for Independent). Unlike the other two subway divisions in New York, the IND was a basic but very efficiently engineered system with stations built on a larger scale designed with the rider in mind.
To maximize the new system, the IND began ordering their first cars under contract R1. This code is still used today with the current car type being R142 (though there haven't been 140 or so car types). The R1 subway car first appeared in 1927 and measured 60' in length. Though critized as inferior to cars used on the IRT and BMT systems, the initial R series of cars (R1 - R9) continued in use for 45 years.
The R1 returns to life as a 1/4 scale Premier Line 4-car subway set. Featuring detailed car interiors, each set is controlled by a powered car outfitted with the incredible sounds and features of Proto-Sound 3.0. Thanks to the industry-leading Proto-Speed Control system and the market's only Station Stop Proto-Effects™ digital sounds, these cars will operate as well as they look. Designed specifically for our municipal transit cars, the unique Proto-Sound 3.0 transit sounds allow the user to program the train to stop automatically at designated station stops, even in Conventional Mode. When configured to run on automatic, the subway stops itself at locations you define and calls out accurate R1 station names that you select in advance; the subway essentially runs itself. And when you program the set for an out-and-back route, it even reverses itself and heads back downtown when it reaches the end of the line — stopping along the way at each station to broadcast the name of the stop and the hustle and bustle of passengers coming and going.
Did You Know? The IND used color coded tiles to identify passenger stops were first used and the distance between stations was caculated for optimal speed and ridership saturation. As a result, the IND averaged almost a third more riders per hour than did the IRT.
