NEW YORK — The New York Transit Museum has set its annual Holiday Nostalgia Train operation with vintage subway equipment for every Saturday in December.
Trains will operate Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and are available for the cost of a regular subway fare. They will operate between 2nd Avenue on the uptown F line platform and 145th street on the downtown D line platform. (On Dec. 2 only, the train will use the uptown D platform at 145th Street.
Trains depart 2nd Avenue at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., and 145th Street at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. A full list of intermediate stops, including those that are accessible stations, is available at the Transit Museum website.
The train will use an eight-car set of R1/9 equipment from the 1930s, featuring rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, roll signs, and period advertising. The cars entered service in 1932 on the IND Eighth Avenue line (today’s A/C/E) and operated until 1977.
One of my favorite spots was riding in the first car at the front window and “playing motorman” as if I was running the train and of course that was one of my dreams I had growing up to either be a railroad engineer or subway motorman but it never materialized bcause by the time I was old enough to apply for such a job, the railroads were in a downward spiral and not really hiring anybody and the subway system also had a freeze on hiring. Now today with the new subway cars, that enjoyable pastime of playing motorman has been largely taken away. Windows are now covered over and with the new full car cabs for the subway operator there is no more place to stand and look out the front window. Technology has taken away a lot of the fun things and enjoyment that the old subway cars had. It wasn’t too many years ago that the MTA tried to adopt a no photography rule that banned taking photos of trains and stations due to security concerns and the ever constant threat of a terroist attack in the subways especially after 9/11. This ban even applied if you were doing things properly and legally and not tresspaasing or doing anything that would arouse suspicion. Happily that ban and rule was never really enforced and today you can take all the photos you want of trains and stations as long as you do things properly and follow the rules and conduct of safety and that goes also for the big time railroads.
Joseph C. Markfelder
The only experiences I ever had in my younger days on the NYC subway system was with my dad on business trips on mostly the 8th Ave A Train from Washington Heights, (where the AA locals ended), to 32nd St, where, IIRC, there was an underground strip mall, and dad would stop there at a barber’s school for our cheap haircuts, as well as conducting his business. Oh, and I also recall seeing the underground disp/operator facility at 59th St., Columbus Circle.
Then in the mid 60s, I would commute daily to my electronics school, also on the 8th Ave Express A-train, down to 14t St. Once when I had some time to kill, I rode the A-Train out of curiosity to Far Rockaway where it operated as a local. And likewise out of curiosity, I rode the A-Train north to the end where, IIRC, it surfaced elevated at around 200+ St.
The only other subway I rode a time or two was the IRT Broadway local, where the train briefly surfaced around 125 St. and I also rode it to South Manhatten at the Battery where the train screeched on the rails of a tight radius balloon track to turn around to head back north.
I always enjoyed looking out the front windows seeing ahead in the tunnels with all those block signals and 4 track 8th Ave cross-overs switches
Mr Sell- Yes I remeber getting a ride in on the old Q cars on the Myrtle Avenue line from Jay Street out to Metropolitian Avenue in Queens. It was on a snowy Lincoln’s Birthday before they ever had the President’s Day holiday This was in the days when both Washington’s Birthday and Lincoln’s Birthday were celebrated on their natural dates and each had their own holiday. I kept bugging my parents that I wanted to ride on the old wooden trains before they passed into eternity. I used to drive my parents crazy with my love and passion of trains They supported my hobby and interest and my father loved trains and we both built model train layouts together but while he loved trains was not as passionate about trains as I was and of course today, still my number 1 hobby and pastime both model trains and the real thing and that includes transit and traction and railroading worldwide. To get back to the story of my ride on the Myrtle Avenue line and the Q cars, the ride was an adventure and seemed to go very slowly The old el had stations built about every 3 to 4 blocks or so and the trains could never get up enough speed before they were in the next station and besides it was a snowy evening as the middle of February in NYC usually is. The fun part was when we got off at Wykoff Avenue to transfer downstairs to the L train , getting off was really exciting. There was a large gap from the car to the platform due to the size of these cars being orginally IRT cars that ran on the Third Avenue El in Manhattan and then modified for service in Brooklyn. My father and I were able to literally jump over the gap onto the platform but my mother was terrified and froze until my father had to take her arm and pull off the train onto the pltform. Still for me it was a fun ride although I can’t say that my parents were excited or enthused about it. Still they took the ride with me to make me happy. Im glad I got to take that ride because in that same year 1969, The old Myrtle Avenue El was closed from Jay Street to Bway Myrtle and then a few months later was demolished and the Q cars were scrapped although one set was saved and restored to their orginal design with the open gates and platform. For a short time this set of 3 cars was run in fan trips but only on open air routes no subway lines because of a city law banning operation of wooden equipment in subways and tunnels. This was the same law that eventually doomed the IRT Composite cars which were made of wood and some steel None of those cars were ever preserved for display. Joseph C. Markfelder
Mr Markfelter,
Were you old enough to ride the Q cars on Myrtle before abandonment to Jay Street or what was left of the 3rd ave. el in the Bronx? I moved to the NY area when I was 14 and remember the Low V’s running on the Lex/Woodlawn line in rush hours.
Great meemories. I hated the R16″s the most. My fav, R22’s.
I remember when the TA got the idea that washing the cars would be a good idea. Who knew what was under the grime. The 1/9″ were washed and what appreared on the side, ‘City of New York”.
Every few years or so, they change the routing of this train. One year they ran it from the 2nd Avenue stop along 6th Avenue out to Queens Plaza and back. In 2017 , they ran the train from the 2nd Avenue stop up Sixth Avenue and then through 63rd Street and then along the 2nd Avenue Subway to 96th Street. The fun part of this Nostalgia Special is that you can ride it back and forth several times from end to end and take plenty of photos and videos and also get to meet some interesting folks including railfans and transit buffs. The few times that I rode on this train, I did ride it back and forth for a few trips. In thr consist of this train , if they still use it is the unique R7A car which was the test bed model used for the R10 subway cars which made their apperance in 1951 on the A train and also was tested on the BMT #15 route which today is the J line that runs from Broad Street in downtown Manhattan to Jamaica Center in Queens. It is nice to see that some holiday traditions are still with us. Trains both prototype and toy and model trains and Christmas go hand in hand just like Christmas lights, decorations, candy canes, etc. May the Nostalgia Special keep running for many years to come and for future generations to enjoy and a train always brings out the wonderment and little kid in all of us and makes us young in spirit
Joseph C. Markfelder
I agree with Mr. Markfelder. When a kid, i hated the 1-9’s. Slow.
Mostly only rode the A with the tanks, R-10’s. Loved the new stuff. Best ever the R33/36’s. Beautiful. The believe the Brightliners, R-32’s were bought for the BMT only. Then came Christie Street connection and of course started serving Div. 2 (former IND) lines. I first rode the 32’s express on Brighton. Loved them. I’m old now but got to NYC several times to ride 32’s on J and A. I miss them. Now it sems all the new equipment looks the same, no personality and no railfan window.
When I was young, I used to actually detest these old subway cars and couldn’t wait for our line by my house in Queens which was the A train which ran the R10 cars with the R1-9 cars staning in to start receiving the shiny new R32 and then later the R 40s and R 42s which always were put into service on the Queens Blvd line The E and F always got the latest subway cars while the older cars like the R1-9 eventually wound up on other lines before they were retired for good The last line to run the R1-9 cars was the J line in March of 1977 and later that year the outer portion of the Jamaica Ave El was closed and torn down. Now it is many years later I’m older and retired and living in Florida and I can now appreciate those golden old days of those sturdy reliable subway cars like the R1-9 cars that maybe weren’t fancy or had all the hi tech gizmos and gadgets that the today’s subway cars have but these old warriors were rugged and got you through all types of weather and storms As a side note when the Rockaway divison opened it was the R1-9 subway cars that held down the runs because of their durability and ruggedness and resistance to the harsh climate of the Rockaways and the salt air that the newer subway cars could not handle. Later in their careers some of the R1-9 cars received the silver and blue paint scheme of the MTA thus giving them a new look and lease on life before their eventual retirement. Like the BMT standards, BMT Triplex and even the IRT Lo Voltage cars, the R1-9 cars had a charm and class all of their own and were the cars that opened the IND divison of the NYC subway system andheld down and ran the Queens Blvd Subway until their replacements arrived starting in the 1960s. While the newere subway cars of today might be modern, shiny and full of all the hi tech equipment that this genertion has come to expect, these new cars will never have the longevity or the strength or durability that these old warriors of the subway system had.
Joseph C. Markfelder
When my parents brought me to New York City in the late 1950s at the age of 6, I remember the distinct sound of the R-1/9 cars. They had the hum of opposing electrical poles rising and descending during acceleration and deceleration, and a steady hum during cruising.
“They had the hum of opposing electrical poles rising and descending during acceleration and deceleration, and a steady hum during cruising.” That’s funny, as when I watch some of the old original Star Trek rerun episodes, they had created a background noise hum for the Enterprise that always reminds me of various NYC subway motor hums. 🙂
Kindly suggested correction: Of course you meant “Nostalgia” in the title rather than “Nostaglia”.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün