One of the most beloved holiday traditions each year is the New York Transit Museum’s Holiday Nostalgia Train. This year, the vintage subway rides will take place Sundays on December 2nd, December 9th, December 16th, December 23rd, and December 30th, and the Transit Museum has provided us with new photographs of this year’s experience. The R1-9 trains used on the Nostalgia Train were in use on the Eight Avenue Line from 1932 to 1977 and feature rattan seats, period advertisements, ceiling fans, roll signage, and incandescent light bulbs. To catch the trains, board at either 2nd Avenue on the F line at 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM, or 4 PM, or 125th Street at 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM or 5 PM (or if you’re lucky to catch the trains as they move along the route, which is a little different from last year.
According to the Transit Museum, the route is an “ode to the holiday shopping season,” running from 2nd Avenue on the F line to 47th-50th/Rockefeller Center before heading up the Central Park West line, where the train will stop at 59th St – Columbus Circle before going up to 125th St on the A/C/D lines in Harlem.
In all, the Nostalgia Train will makes stops at 2nd Avenue, Broadway – Lafayette Street / Bleecker Street, West 4th Street – Washington Square, 34th Street – Herald Square, 42nd Street – Bryant Park, 47th-50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (A/C/D lines), 7th Avenue, 59th Street – Columbus Circle, and 125th Street (A/C/D lines).
To see what the festive experience is like, check out the video above made by Untapped Cities contributor Kevin Phalon, featuring one of the voices of the subway, Bernie Wagenblast. There will also be nostalgia buses running Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM from December 3rd to 21st along with the return of the Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal, also produced the the New York Transit Museum.
Photo by Marc Hermann, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum.
Photo by Marc Hermann, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum.
Photo by Marc Hermann, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum.
Photo by Marc Hermann, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum.
Michelle is the founder of Untapped New York and the author of The Art Spy (HarperOne, forthcoming) Secret Brooklyn, Secret New York Hidden Bars & Restaurants, and Broadway. michelleyoungwriter.com
Photo by Marc Hermann, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum.
