A “parade” of vintage New York City subway trains is returning next month, giving New Yorkers a chance to ride some of the transit system’s oldest subway cars.
The MTA and New York Transit Museum will bring decades-old trains back into limited service in south Brooklyn on June 7 and 8. The 10-minute trips will only require a normal subway fare, and the trains will run between the Brighton Beach and Kings Highway stations on the B and Q lines from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Passengers will be able to board and exit the trains on both platforms at the Brighton Beach stop and on the Manhattan-bound platform at the Kings Highway stop.
According to Transit Museum Marketing Manager Chelsea Newburg, the trains look just like they did when they were in full service last century — all the way down to the ads inside them.
“ It really feels like stepping into a moving museum or time capsule,” Newburg said. “You can hop on cars that date all the way back to 1904, sit on the rattan seats and even see vintage ads in the cars from the period the train cars were in service. Each car has its own story and personality, and together they show just how much the city and its transit system has changed over the years.”
Vintage ads inside an old subway train car.
This year’s event will feature Brooklyn Union “gate cars” that ran from 1903 to 1969 and are the oldest cars in the museum’s collection, BMT Standards that ran from 1914 to 1969, and R1/9s that ran from 1930 to 1977. The gate cars have wooden bodies and allow passengers to get on and off via gates at the front and back of each car that are manually operated by the conductor.
The interior of a Brooklyn Union gate car.
Riders can go for one ride and then transfer across the platform for another ride back, Newburg said.
“ The subway isn't just how we get around in the city, it's a huge part of the city's identity,” she noted. “So preserving the history, it means not only honoring the trains, but honoring the people and the ideas and the innovations that all built New York.”
An R1/9 subway car with a Coney Island destination sign.
The museum says the rides will happen rain or shine, and advises people to expect some lines throughout the day.
