Every Sunday between now and New Year's, you'll have the opportunity to step back in time to the yesteryear of commuting.
The MTA is bringing back Holiday Nostalgia Rides on vintage train cars, with the 1930s R1/9 train cars, which will depart from Second Avenue F train station. Here's what the New York Transit Museum says:
The Holiday Nostalgia Train consists of eight cars from the 1930s that ran along lettered lines through the late-1970s. The vintage Independent Subway System (IND) cars were used by the first subway company operated by the City of New York. Modern for their time, the R1/9s complimented the IND’s Depression-Era Art Deco aesthetic. Featuring rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements, these are the cars that inspired Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A Train.” Today, they are preserved as part of the New York Transit Museum’s collection.
NYC Transit president Andy Byford said, "Our annual vintage train rides are a wonderful way to experience the history of the subway firsthand. The R1/9 cars served New Yorkers for five decades and they continue to be a reminder of New York City Transit’s rich heritage."
More details about the Nostalgia Train rides here. And you can join Gothamist and WNYC's We the Commuters team to look back at the year in transit at our event on Monday, December 2, at The Greene Space. Our guests include City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Decolonize This Place—more information here and tickets here!
