Ever since stumbling upon a pair of New York Metropolitan Transit Authority R-32 subway cars in Santa Fe's Redondo Junction engine and passenger car facility in Los Angeles back in February 1974, I'd wondered why they were so far west. I had always assumed that they had been purchased by a movie studio, but thanks to the Internet, I believe I now know the story. It turns out that MTA cars 3700 and 3701 had flywheels installed in them by the Garrett Corporation in Torrance, California - not far from this spot near downtown L.A. These flywheels were an energy-saving experiment. During dynamic braking, the energy generated is dissipated as heat through the same grid resistors used in acceleration. In theory, the power generated by the dynamic braking would be used to spin the flywheel. That energy, in turn, would be used the next time the train accelerates. How'd it work out? Apparently not as well as hoped, as these were the only two cars so equipped. Note the two Penn Central G-22 gondolas on either end of these cars, each equipped with a transit coupler on one end. Click HERE to read about this technology.
