Following a two-year hiatus, the New York Transit Museum is bringing back its beloved Nostalgia Rides this summer. That means some of our vintage cars will be back on the tracks for special, ticketed journeys—a tradition since the museum opened in 1976.
This year the museum will be rolling out 1930s R1-9 vintage train cars, as well as the Standard Lo-V car, one of the first “low voltage” cars for the IRT dating back to 1916. (Bring a hand fan, as air conditioning wasn't piloted in subway cars until the 1950s.)
One Nostalgia Ride will run each month throughout the summer—one in June, July, and August (details below)—with one non-stop train ride, and two trips headed to the beach. Plan to make a day of it, and start contemplating some of-the-era summerwear to match the historic cars, which will be filled with vintage subway ads and old fixtures.
"Harkening back to the days of early subway travel, these vintage train cars feature rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and roll signs for passenger information," according to the Museum's publicist Chelsea Newburg, who noted these are all pre-WWII subway car design staples.
Ride details from the Transit Museum:
CATCH THE IRT FROM OLD SOUTH FERRY LOOP
Saturday, June 4th, 2022 9:30am and 2pm
$60 / $40 – Adult / Child
$40 / $30 – Museum Members Adult / Child
Join us for a Nostalgia Ride on one of our favorite vintage trains, the IRT Lo-V! Built between 1916 and 1925. This non-stop roundtrip ride will run approximately one hour and forty-five minutes, departing from South Ferry Station in Lower Manhattan at 10 am and returning at approximately 11:45 am. Before the ride, take photos of the train on the platform and check out details like original mosaics and terracotta artwork in this 1905 station, closed to the public since 2017. Once on board, travel up the 2 line through Manhattan to The Bronx and emerge above ground on elevated tracks before turning around and heading back for one last look at South Ferry Station.
Please Note: There won’t be an opportunity to disembark in The Bronx; this will be a roundtrip ride.
Subway
Sunday, July 10th, 2022 10am
$60 / $40 – Adult / Child
$40 / $30 – Museum Members Adult / Child
Join us on our ever-popular, boardwalk-bound Coney Island Nostalgia Ride! Leave from 96th Street-Second Avenue Station in Manhattan, on our 1930s R1-9 vintage train cars for a two-hour jaunt to Coney Island. Once we arrive at our seaside destination, you can brave the rides at Luna Park, check out the action on the legendary boardwalk, or nosh on one of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs. You can also visit the Transit Museum’s special exhibit Five Cents to Dreamland: A Trip to Coney Island on display at the Coney Island Museum. Stay at the beach and make your own way home or join the Transit Museum for a return trip leaving Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue at 4 pm and travel to 175th Street in Manhattan via the Q, D, and A lines where the trip will end.
Saturday, August 13th, 2022 10am
$60 / $40 – Adult / Child
$40 / $30 – Museum Members Adult / Child
Grab a seat on a beach-bound Nostalgia Ride heading to the Rockaways! Celebrate summer by taking our 1930s R 1-9 vintage train cars on a trip from 96th Street-Second Avenue Station in Manhattan to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street in Queens. Bring a picnic and take a dip in the ocean or enjoy additional rides before heading out to explore the boardwalk. Ride our vintage trains back to the city at the end of the afternoon. We depart Rockaway Park at 4 pm and travel via the A line to 175th Street in Manhattan where the trip will end. Or, stay for a longer day at the beach before making your own way home.
Impress your fellow passengers with these fun facts about the old vintage cars:
About the IRT Standard "Lo-V": Built between 1916 and 1925 by the Pullman Car Company and American Car and Foundry, the Standard Lo-V subway car was the third “Low Voltage” car-type ordered for the IRT. Over 1,000 cars were built and arranged in mixed consists of trailer and motor cars. The operator’s master controller used 32-volt batteries to control the train’s propulsion, (instead of the 600 volts used in early IRT equipment) making them safer than previous fleets. Amongst the last cars owned by the IRT before the city took control of the system in 1940, Lo-V cars were phased out in the 1960s, but you may recognize the fleet from the Transit Museum's popular vintage train rides to Yankee Stadium for MLB Home Opener and Playoff games!
About the R1/9s: Inspiring Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A Train,” over one thousand nearly identical subway cars were delivered between 1930 and 1940 under the designations R1, R4, R6, R7 and R9. Known collectively as the R1/9s, these cars were modern for their time, fitting in very well with the IND’s Depression-era Art Deco aesthetic. R1/9 cars were retired from service in 1977, but they set the standard for more, wider and faster opening doors and a reduction in seating capacity to better accommodate rush hour crowds. After nearly 50 years on the rails, the R1/9s were replaced by the stainless steel, climate-controlled cars that MTA commuters enjoy today. Now the R1/9s are a treasured part of the Museum's vintage fleet, and you may recognize them from the Transit Museum's beloved Holiday Nostalgia Rides.
