MTA Holiday Nostalgia Train 2018

Get aboard for a trip back in time, on a vintage NYC subway train.

The annual and popular MTA Holiday Nostalgia Train rides again for 2018, with vintage R 1/9 cars that were in service 1932 to 1977.

You might remember light bulbs, woven wicker seats, ceiling fans and windows you could open before air conditioning. 

And the straps to hang on to, which are the reason NYC subway riders are called “straphangers”.

Ride the vintage trains for the cost of a MetroCard swipe, $2.75 a full price or less if you have a discount pass.

Catch the 2018 Holiday Nostalgia Train on six consecutive Sundays, starting this weekend.

The 2018 dates are November 25, December 2, December 9, December 16, December 23, and December 30

Holiday Nostalgia Train Schedule

There’s a new route this year.

The vintage trains will depart from Second Avenue on the F line and run along Sixth Avenue to 47-50th Street/Rockefeller Center, then switch tracks, heading uptown on the A/C/D line from  59th Street-Columbus Circle to 125th Street in Harlem.

MTA Holiday Nostalgia Trains will depart from Second Avenue on the F line at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.

Vintage trains will depart from 125th Street on the A/C/D lines at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m.

Station Stops

The Nostalgia Train will be making express stops at:

• 2nd Avenue (F line) 
• Broadway – Lafayette Street / Bleecker Street
• West 4th Street – Washington Square
• 34th Street – Herald Square
• 42nd Street – Bryant Park
• 47th-50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (A/C/D lines)
• 7th Avenue
• 59th Street – Columbus Circle
• 125th Street (A/C/D lines) 

Last year, In celebration of the one year anniversary of the Second Avenue Subway, they ran along the F line, between 2nd Avenue and Lexington Avenue / 63rd Street, and via the Q line between Lexington Avenue / 63rd Street and 96th Street on the Upper East Side. making all regular stops.

The MTA briefly renamed the Holiday Nostalgia Train as the “Shopper’s Special”,  in the hopes passengers would ride it to shop and eat, along the route, especially at locally-owned stores and restaurants. 

But it turned out that people really just want to ride it, end to end, and go shopping via “regular” and modern subways other times.

Some riders dress in vintage clothing, and there even have been Big Band dance parties at some stations.

There also will be vintage buses in Midtown in December.

Vintage Bus Routes:

Vintage buses will be in service on the M42 bus route, traveling both East Bound and West Bound along 42nd Street in Manhattan.

Additional vintage buses will be available to board and explore at Union Square and Herald Square.

Vintage Bus Schedule

Monday – Friday, 9AM to 5PM, December 3rd – December 21st

Vintage Bus Info

Four buses from the New York Transit Museum’s vintage fleet will be in rotation during the Holiday Nostalgia Rides:

• Bus #3100 (1956)
• Bus #100 (1959)
• Bus #1059 (1961)
• Bus #8466 (1966, rebuilt 1984)

SEE ALSO

FREE MTA Holiday Model Train Show at Grand Central Terminal

MTA Holiday Nostalgia Train and Bus website.

Take the kids to ride the MTA Nostalgia Train or a vintage bus. They’ll think it’s fun.

Take grammie and pops. They’ll love the memories.

Happy holiday riding from NYC on the Cheap.

Photos courtesy NYC Transit Museum

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