All aboard! New York commuters will be transported back to the 1930's this holiday season with ...

• For four Sundays in December, Subway customers can catch the a train consisting of eight cars from the 1930s that ran until the late 1970’s


• The cars known as ‘City Cars’ had more standing capacity, wicker seats, ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs


• There will also be vintage buses making a route on the M42 line   

By

Alexandra Klausner For Dailymail.com

Published:

21:57 GMT, 27 November 2015


|
Updated:

22:22 GMT, 27 November 2015

In the 1930’s it cost just a nickel to ride the New York City Subway and Coney Island had a glittering fireworks display once a week.

This holiday season, commuters will still pay nearly three dollars for a ride but a lucky few will be transported back in time as part of MTA’s annual tradition of reintroducing vintage subway cars and buses.

Customers can imagine themselves in a plaid tailored suit with a matching hat or a long glamorous dress with their hair on waves as they hop on a Subway car from the 1930s for a nostalgic ride around The Big Apple.

It once cost a nickel!: This holiday season, commuters will still pay nearly three dollars for a ride on the train but a lucky few will be transported back in time as part of MTA’s annual tradition of reintroducing vintage subway cars and buses

Influence: ‘For all intents and purposes, this was the first modern subway car and today’s subway fleets owe a lot to the design,’ said Joe Leader, Senior Vice President of Subways. Pictured here is a modern train 

Part of the fleet: Subway Car No. 484 was part of a 500-car order of R4 cars manufactured by American Car & Foundry. In 1946, this car received a retrofit of bulls-eye lighting and a public address system

The MTA reports that for four consecutive Sundays in December, Subway customers can catch the ‘Shopper’s Special,’ a train consisting of eight cars from the 1930s that ran until the late 1970’s.

The cars known as ‘City Cars’ had more standing capacity, wicker seats, ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and who can forget the Miss Subway posters from the 1940s to 170s that featured a beautiful New Yorker every two months.

‘For all intents and purposes, this was the first modern subway car and today’s subway fleets owe a lot to the design,’ said Joe Leader, Senior Vice President of Subways.

‘They were basic, durable and offered the expected levels of customer comfort for decades after they were introduced into service. We continue to build upon this strong foundation with each new car design.’

Subway rider Elenor Comstock reads a bit of doggerel on a public service announcement poster written by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia as a contribution to the police department’s campaign to reduce accidents, New York, August 9, 1935. Subways in the 1930s had announcements as well as the famous Miss Subway posters

Subway Car No. 1575: Originally manufactured as an R7, this car was sent to the American Car & Foundry factory and rebuilt as prototype of the next generation R10 subway car. The subway cars once were built with 

Subway Car No. 100: Manufactured by American Car & Foundry, this R1-type car was the first car in the initial order of 300 placed in service for the opening of the IND subway.   Once again this holiday season, the MTA will offer nostalgia lovers the opportunity to the ride back into the past

Bus No. 6259: Manufactured by Mack Truck and Bus Company, model C49DT arrived to the fleet in 1956 and was in operation until 1969 in Staten Island and Brooklyn routes. This year’s holiday buses were manufactured by General Motors, Mack and Flexible, All three of the huge companies no longer make buses

The  Shopper’s Special runs on Dec 6, 13, 20, and 27 and makes local stops on the 6 avenue line from Queens Plaza to 2 Ave.

The New York Transit Museum, which usually displays these cars throughout the city during special events, will have a pop-up shop open every Sunday during the nostalgia rides should someone wish to have a memory of the day to take with them.

The nostalgia rides are not limited to traveling underground. Starting on November 30 and ending on December 18, vintage buses will ride along the  M42 route for weekday daytime service between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m if the weather is not snowy or icy.

This year’s holiday buses were manufactured by General Motors, Mack and Flexible, All three of the huge companies no longer make buses.

‘Seeing these vintage buses in service again is always a nostalgic event for many New Yorkers. My father and I drove some of these buses, which makes this an especially personal event for me,’ said Darryl Irick, President of MTA Bus Company and Senior Vice President New York City Transit Department of Buses. 

‘Each holiday season we offer a look back into the past with a holiday ride across 42nd Street.’ 

Subway Car No. 484: Part of a 500-car order of R4 cars manufactured by American Car & Foundry. In 1946, this car received a retrofit of bulls-eye lighting and a public address system

Subway Car No. 100: Manufactured by American Car & Foundry, this R1-type car was the first car in the initial order of 300 placed in service for the opening of the IND subway

SOME OF THE VINTAGE SUBWAY CARS AND BUSES ON DISPLAY  

Subway Car No. 100: Manufactured by American Car & Foundry, this R1-type car was the first car in the initial order of 300 placed in service for the opening of the IND subway.

Subway Car No. 484: Part of a 500-car order of R4 cars manufactured by American Car & Foundry. In 1946, this car received a retrofit of bulls-eye lighting and a public address system.

Subway Car No. 1575: Originally manufactured as an R7, this car was sent to the American Car & Foundry factory and rebuilt as prototype of the next generation R10 subway car.

Subway Car No. 6095: In 1925, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) introduced a three-car articulated unit called the D-Type Triplex. The design meant passengers could walk from one car to another in the unit through an enclosed passageway. They carried more passengers and had fewer moving parts, making them efficient and easier to maintain.

Bus No. 2969: Manufactured by General Motors, this model TDH 5101 was specifically designed in 1949 for New York City. It features a double-width front door to expedite the loading and unloading of customers. This bus is known as the Jackie Gleason bus, as it is similar in style to the bus operated by Gleason’s character, Ralph Kramden, on the television show “The Honeymooners.”

Bus No. 3100: Manufactured by General Motors in 1956, this model TDH 5106 was the first air-conditioned transit bus to operate in New York City. It had push-type rear exit doors, wrap-around rear soft seating, fluorescent lighting, and the air-ride suspension that is the standard on modern transit buses.

Bus No. 6259: Manufactured by Mack Truck and Bus Company, model C49DT arrived to the fleet in 1956 and was in operation until 1969 in Staten Island and Brooklyn routes. The ‘DT’ in the model number stands for ‘Diesel Transit.’ This model was delivered with cushioned seating but converted to hard plastic in the 1960s because of vandalism.

Bus No. 9098: Manufactured by General Motors, this model TDH 5106 introduced the two-tone green color scheme of this era’s standard and was the first New York City bus equipped with sliding windows. These buses were the last order of “Old Look” style buses from GM for New York City Transit.

SOURCE: MTA  

 

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All aboard! New York commuters will be transported back to the 1930"s this holiday season with ...