“Ghost Stations” on Itinerary As Nostalgia Train Hauls Subway Passengers Back in Time
The NYC Transit system which turns 120 years old this year, celebrated with a four-car vintage nostalgia train that hauled passnenger though long-closed early subway stations in a two-hour journey from the original City Hall station to the Bronx and back
| 28 Oct 2024 | 12:46
The Nostalgia Train looped around the Old City Hall Station, much as the inaugural subway did in its first run on October 27 1904. The station is no longer used by regular passenger-carrying subway trains, one of many “ghost stations” that the four-train nostaglia train visited last weekend. (
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As the 120th Anniversary Train speeds along, three younger transit enthusiasts look out from the rear end of the train. (
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The look from the outside of a 1917 era subway car that hauled 500 passengers on a special subway ride from the old City Hall station to the Bronx and back, tracing the route of the very first subway ride 120 years ago. (
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Young Marshall Kaplan (center, blue cap), bookended by his parents, told them how badly he wanted to ride this Anniversary Train on October 27. (
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The four-car 1917-built train awaits its nostalgia passengers at the old South Ferry Station, last used in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. On October 27, 500 passengers on two trips used the famous curved platform once again. (
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On this subway train, the operator’s cab with mechanical controls was constructed to be as simple as possible for the conductor to operate, much unlike NYC Transit’s newest hi tech equipment. (
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Newly appointed NYC Transit President Demetrius Chrichlow (center) takes a selfie with a transit enthusiast before the departure of the Nostalgia Train. Chrichlow rode the train up and back to the Bronx. (
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As the Nostalgia Train went from Manhattan to the Bronx and back, cadres of photographers snapped the WW1 era train at many stations. To those in the Bronx, it was indeed a picture perfect day. (
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Five hundred lucky New Yorkers took a trip back in time last weekend on a special four-train nostalgia ride that included stops at long closed ghost stations as part of the 120th anniversary celebration of the New York City subway system.
The dream of an underground train network actually started in 1894 with the enactment of the Rapid Transit Act.
Ten years later, on October 27, 1904, the first subway train completed its maiden trip operated by the newly formed Interborough Rapid Transit Company. The IRT then expanded to the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens and was eventually joined by two competing companies, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) and the city-owned Independent Subway (IND). In 1940, these companies were unified under NY City ownership; the state-run MTA operates the current New York City subway system, made up of 25 routes, 472 stations, 800 track miles and a fleet of over 6,000 passenger cars. In its 120-year history, our subway has had an undeniable impact on the city’s social and economic trajectory over the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries.
One hundred and twenty years later, to the day, October 27, 2024, The MTA together with the New York Transit Museum, celebrated this anniversary, hosting two vintage round trip train rides along portions of the city’s first-ever subway route, carrying a total of 500 enchanted riders on both sold-out trips.
Noted newly appointed New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, who rode the entire trip. “Twelve decades on, we continue the work to improve safety and service throughout the transit system, ensuring that the subway can deliver for the next 120 years and beyond.”
The unique equipment used for the trips? Four of the seven remaining Standard Lo-V cars, constructed from 1916 to 1925 for the IRT. A total of 1,020 cars were built, 725 powered cars and 295 unpowered cars; all the cars were retired 55 years ago.
The four car train, each one dating from 1917, left from the old South Ferry Station and rocketed north along the #2 Seventh Avenue line to just past the 180th Street Station in The Bronx. Reversing there, it sped down the #5 Lexington Avenue line, giving participants a unique chance to pass through the famous Old City Hall Station and concluded the journey at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Station. With open end doors, fans whirring, motors underneath humming along and advertisements appropriate to the cars early use, participants experienced what a subway ride was like during the first twenty years of the NYC Subway.
Unlike our usual subway rides, once riders got on at South Ferry, there was no getting off until the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Station. No one seemed to care. Families, individual riders, groups, all had smiles on their faces on this unique opportunity. Plenty of young riders aboard had little experience on a subway train like this. It had open end doors, fans whirring, motors underneath humming along and advertisements appropriate to the cars early use,
The Transit Museum provided a few volunteers to enable younger children to be able to look out the front window as the train sped along, something impossible to witness on current subway trains.
New York Transit Museum Director Concetta Bencivenga further added. “Nostalgia rides provide a unique opportunity to be transported to an earlier version of the subway and experience the system as those first riders would have in 1904.”
The New York Transit Museum is celebrating this milestone with a new exhibit titled, “The Subway Is...” It takes a look at how the system shaped the city’s culture, economy and identity. Featuring artifacts, photographs, and multimedia installations, the exhibit explores the evolution of the subway system, from pipe dream to powerhouse. Additionally, it also activated a city-wide “The Subway Is...” social media campaign this month,
For further information on upcoming New York Transit Museum activities, please consult https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/