Celebrate 115 Years of the NYC Subway at the NY Transit Museum’s Party on Wheels

The New York City subway has been chugging along for 115 years, shuttling New Yorkers and visitors throughout the city since 1904. To celebrate this momentous birthday, the New York Transit Museum is throwing a Party on Wheels on May 5th. This family friendly event is an annual benefit that provides guests with a morning full of subway themed fun inside the Museum before it opens to the public. There are rides on vintage subway cars, photo opportunities, crafts for kids, and of course, birthday cake. If you are an Untapped Cities Insider, you can enter our members-only raffle to win a free pair of tickets!

The Party on Wheels is the only time all year that any train in the Museum’s collection leaves the station for shuttle rides. At this year’s 6th annual birthday celebration, guests will get to ride vintage R-1/9 subway cars right from the Museum platform to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Station and back. R-series subway cars were in service on the Eighth Avenue line from 1932 through 1977. These cars set the standard for modern subway cars that would follow, and included amenities like rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and roll signs for passenger information.

Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum,  Photograph by Justin Lui

Party on Wheels is an event for the entire family, with kid friendly activities that include face-painting, arts-and-crafts, and playing with model trains. Kids are encouraged to create their own subway mosaics with glass tiles in a craft activity called “Miles of Tiles,” and work on an enormous subway map art project. There will also be a photo-op inside the conductor’s cab of a stationary vintage train where guests can have their picture taken with fun props by a professional photographer.

Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum,  Photograph by Justin Lui

Tickets for the event are on sale now. You can purchase individual tickets, family packs or VIP packages that include goodie bags. Proceeds the fundraiser benefit the Transit Museum’s education programs, which serve 25,000 New York City kids and teachers every year. Untapped Cities Insiders have the chance to win a free pair of tickets by entering our Insiders-only giveaway here! Two lucky winners will each win a pair of free tickets to the party, a $120 value!

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