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An ostensibly win-win program to reincarnate old subway cars as artificial subterranean reefs off the eastern seaboard has proven largely unsuccessful because the damn things are just falling apart. The city has been paying millions to ship the cars to other states, who received them for free, and last April the program was said to be so successful off the coast of Delaware that marine officials were struggling to cope with the influx of fisherman drawn to the suddenly populous underwater metropolis.
In New Jersey, however, a survey of 48 cars at the Atlantic City Reef found only two of them remained upright and intact. According to the Press of Atlantic City, the Garden State has suspended the program and told the MTA not to send any more subway cars. It's not clear why the cars deteriorated so rapidly, and Jersey DEP spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas says that while they still provide "some level of habitat," it's not "the quality of habitat that meets state standards." And apparently other states are finding similar problems.
The good news is that the older subway cars—the Redbirds, which were used in Delaware and some New Jersey reefs since 2003—are still intact, perhaps because they're made of steel, not stainless steel like later models. New Jersey originally expected to use some 600 of the newer subway cars, but only about 100 were deployed before problems arose. Below, a simple yet entertaining video of the subway cars plunking into the sea:
| Creating a reef from subway cars |
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The bodies of the stainless steel cars were being held together with duct tape for years before their retirement, so it's not difficult to imagine the salt water really tearing them up. The exteriors of the Redbirds, on the other hand, were still in pretty good shape.
Actually, it's not duct tape, and it wasn't holding the cars together. It's an aluminum based tape and it was sealing gaps, IINM.
Salt water tears up boats and planes that fly over it even. Why did they think this would work?
A cursory glance should've noted this.
Big deal. These deciders will clock out at 4pm and collect their pensions.
They got the idea from the scores of sunken ships that fish seem to love.
Ships, however, are made of steel, not stainless steel, which is why the Redbird reefs are successful, while the stainless steel reefs are now garbage.
How's that snake oil taste New Jersey?
We didn't even have to pay you to take em off our hands...
Actually, we were in fact paying for it. Check the first paragraph again: "The city has been paying millions to ship the cars to other states."
But why would the city pay if the cars are owned by the MTA/NYCT?
So what are they gonna do with old subway cars now? Can you recycle the stainless steel and use it for other things?
Yep. The redbirds got reefed cuz azbestos removal was too much $$$. Nobody will be breathing azbestos in the sea.
They should disassemble them and sell the parts on eBay. You'd be surprised what kind of parts collectors want. I remember seeing one of those old MTA car medallions (with the black and blue M) going for well over $400. With the MTA in dire financial straits, imagine how much money they could get for entire cars that have been parted out. They're already selling a lot of parts like seats, poles, map holders (with maps) and even doors.
I think these subway cars would make fantastic "railroad" apartments. Just put them up on top of tenement buildings, add power and water, and turn the engineer's booth into the bathroom. Instant chic yet affordable housing.
;)
In typical newspaper fashion, there's no useful detail in that article. What do they mean by "destroyed"? I'm guessing they're saying the stainless body panels are intact but the joints and maybe the frames have failed, so everything just pancakes on the sea floor after a few years, which makes them worthless as reefs. Stainless wouldn't rust, so it's probably either cheap fasteners or the non-stainless underframes not holding up.
If they could find a way to send the old Giants Stadium into the sea, think of the party down there!
That's too bad. I live right along the Harlem River Ship Canal and the barge activity was the only interesting activity along these waters, save for the Circle Line which gets old since it runs so frequently.