The R15 was a New York City Subway

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

 car built in 1950. Built by American Car and Foundry Company, these cars were somewhat similar to the R12/14 cars. These cars were the first to feature round (turtle-back) roofs, porthole door windows, and conductors door operating apparatus controls located inside the motorman's cabs, instead of on the outsides as on the R12/14's. They began service on the 7

7 (New York City Subway service)

The 7 Flushing Local and 7 Flushing Express are rapid transit services of the New York City Subway, providing local and express services along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line...

 (IRT Flushing Line

IRT Flushing Line

The Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the IRT Division and designated the 7 route...

) route in Queens and Manhattan, running there until 1964 with the delivery of R33/36WF cars. While they ran in solid consists on the Flushing line, the R15s were always intermixed with later cars once they were transferred to the mainlines.

Eventually, the R15 cars were transferred to operate on other IRT division routes originating in Manhattan, the Bronx and/or Brooklyn throughout their service lives, starting in 1964, and ran there until their retirement on December 10, 1984 when the R15s were replaced by the R62/R62A fleet. Car 6239 had been previously and fully restored in 1976 and survives today as part of the displayed collection at the New York Transit Museum

New York Transit Museum

The New York Transit Museum is a museum which displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, commuter rail, and bridge and tunnel systems; it is located in a decommissioned Court Street subway station in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City...

 in Brooklyn. It has operated on fantrips since 2004, and is the sole surviving R15 unit in existence.

R-15 Specifications

• Car Builder: American Car and Foundry
  American Car and Foundry Company
  American Car and Foundry is a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches under the brand names of ACF and ACF-Brill. Today ACF is known as ACF Industries LLC and is based in St. Charles, Missouri...
  
  
• Car Body: LAHT Carbon Steel
• Unit Numbers: 5953-5999, 6200-6252
• Fleet: 100 cars
• Car Length: 51 feet, 1/2 inches
• Car Width: 8 feet, 9 inches
• Car Height: 11 feet, 10 inches
• Track Gauge: 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches (1.435 m)
• Propulsion System: Westinghouse XM-179 or General Electric 17KC76A1
• Motors: Westinghouse 1447C or General Electric 1240A3
• Power: 100 hp (4 per car)
• Total Seating: 44 seats
• Total Weight: 74,778 lb