The R33 was a New York City Subway car model that was built by St. Louis Car Company in 1962 and 1963. The cars are a "follow-up" or supplemental stock for the A Division's R29s and closely resemble them. The cars were also referred to as R33MLs (R33 Main Line) to distinguish them from the R33S's. A total of 500 cars were built, numbered 8806–9305, and arranged in pairs. The R33s entered service on November 15, 1962, and were the first A Division fleet to be retrofitted with air conditioning, being retrofitted between 1972 and 1982. The R33 fleet was overhauled between 1987 and 1991. The R33s were replaced in the early 2000s with the delivery of the R142 and R142A cars, with the last train running on April 20, 2003. After being retired, most R33s were sunk into the ocean as artificial reefs, but several cars have survived. Description The R33s were numbered 8806–9305. The cars were referred to as R33MLs (R33 Main Line) to distinguish them from the R33S's. The R33s are very similar to appearance to the previous R26s, R28s, and R29s, but like the R29s and unlike the R26s, R28s, the R33s were built by the St. Louis Car Company instead of American Car and Foundry and permanently paired with link bars (instead of couplers). The R33s wore several paint schemes during their service lives. They were the second subway cars to feature a bright red paint scheme after the R29s. In 1971–1973, the R33s were repainted into the MTA corporate silver and blue scheme. In 1982–1983, they were repainted full white (roof, bonnets, sides were all painted white) in attempt to combat graffiti. In 1985, GE cars 8842–8843, 8846–8847, 8848–8849, 8856–8857, 8860–8861 and 8862–8863 were repainted dark green with black front bonnets and anti-climbers, and a silver roof. Finally, between 1986 to 1988, the R33s were repainted into the Redbird paint scheme, with a deep maroon red body, black front bonnets and anti-climbers, and a silver roof. History The first set of R33 cars was placed in service on the train on November 15, 1962. Five hundred cars were built and served on all IRT subway lines. In 1972, they became the first A Division cars to be retrofitted with air conditioning when cars 9086/7, 9118/9, 9162/3, 9226/7, 9282/3, & 9294/5 were retrofitted at the 239th Street Yard with a modified version of the Stone