Chopper Car Finds New Home: C1 car 329 at WRM

Today, October 4, 2024, C1 car 329 arrived at its final home of the Western Railway Museum. It is the last C car to leave BART property and the only C car to be preserved in complete condition.

The car was selected by BART, among the final C1 cars left in service in May 2023. The 329 was considered the car in the best condition for preservation. The 329 must have known that too, since it was always auxed on during WRM inspections and even moved to the shop under its own power and even had a little bit of battery power upon arrival at WRM.

Only a few things were removed for transportation to the Museum, the largest being an air tank mounted below the cab, and the pilots mounted on the truck. They have all since been reinstalled, and it is a complete car. I did get a fair bit of dirt helping to reinstall that air tank under the car.

It’s been some time since I’ve been around a C car. Since its arrival, it has been a great opportunity to remember all the differences as compared to the Rohr A/B cars, including the carbody welds. It is a sort of work of art. On the other hand, those flipper doors will probably be a forever issue, even at WRM.

WRM is working with BART and even PBM members to facilitate car lighting and other functions. The cars will be a pride of the WRM fleet, if they aren’t already. Please be patient, the fellows working on this at WRM are all volunteers. I can only be at one place at one time, but rest assured the cars will soon be the best ever static display of the BART system.

Regardless, the best C car has been preserved. The Westinghouse chopper control system, the Westinghouse 1463 BA traction motors, and even an authentic Alstom BART car, have all been preserved through the 329. All of this is due to a great cooperation between BART and the Western Railway Museum, of which includes many dedicated BART retirees.