Holiday Nostalgia Rides

Operating between 2^nd Avenue – Houston Street on the uptown F line and 96^th Street – 2^nd Avenue on the Q line, the Holiday Nostalgia Train will transport straphangers back in time every Sunday in December. The annual tradition of Holiday Nostalgia Rides continues this year on the New York Transit Museum’s 1930s R1/9 train cars! Consisting of eight cars from the 1930s, the Holiday Nostalgia Train is a charming reminder of New York City’s transit history. These vintage Independent Subway System (IND) cars were once the pride of the first subway company operated by the City of New York. Modern for their time, R1/9s complemented the IND’s Depression-Era Art Deco aesthetic. Featuring rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements, the R1/9s are the cars that inspired Billy Strayhorn’s iconic “Take the A Train.” They entered service on the Eighth Avenue line (today’s A/C/E) in 1932 and ran until 1977. Today, they are preserved as part of the New York Transit Museum’s collection.