Vintage Subway!

When does the MTA ever make a person's day? Well, it made mine when I accidentally happened upon the holiday vintage special. Off to run errands on the Lower East Side, I was unusually lazy this morning and took the train to First Avenue. When I alighted, I spied the vintage train on the uptown platform and went over to take a look. Told it would be back for another trip in an hour-and-a-half, I ran my errands and returned in time to make the journey up Sixth to Queens Plaza and back.

According to one of the MTA guys with whom I chatted, the cars on the train were built between 1931 and 1947. Some were kind of plain, a few were exquisite, and others unexpected, but all of them were truly amazing. 

Apparently, it's tough-going to get the powers that be to run this special December train. I hope the MTA is smart enough to continue to do this, though, because in this era of continuous fare hikes and service reductions, I've never seen happier customers. Everyone was smiling, chatting, exploring, and having a good time experiencing a bit of our wonderful city's history.

Bring back the green! Chrome is fab, but I kind of dig this color.

In the 1931 car.

The conductor yells his "Stand clear of the closing doors" from between cars.

Why aren't our subway cars this artfully beautiful today?

In the age before air-conditioning, the doors between cars were left open.

Surprisingly, I was told this super-modern car was from the 1930s!

The ceiling vents in the 1931 car.

The old ads were a great touch, too.

"So little more time" ??

I think the MTA should revive this classic ad...

This year, the vintage trains will run Sundays until December 26, from 10am to 4pm. The timetable is on the MTA's website.