Showtime! — Celebrate the Subway Centennial on Vintage Rail Cars

Every year between Thanksgiving and New Year, tens of thousands of tourists flock to New York to sample the city’s holiday offerings. Broadway's many theaters, the tree at Rockefeller Center, and the fantastic selection of shops and department stores are all top destinations and major attractions.

MTA New York City Transit has come up with its own special attraction in the form of the Centennial Holiday Shopper’s Special, a 1930s-era subway train, decorated for the holidays, running between 57th Street and Whitehall Street on the N/R lines. The Shopper’s Special will run Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., through December 19. Part of the Subway Centennial Program, the vintage R1/R9 cars have proven to be a tremendous hit with our regular riders and a special treat for visitors.

The Thanksgiving weekend marked the start of the special runs and in short order the train was filled with surprised riders, awed by the rattan seats and period ads. The vintage train managed to spark smiles and conversations between complete strangers, who enjoyed the experience and the sport of watching faces on the platform as the train roared into each station.

To quote one women onboard, "This is so festive, it is almost like being at a mobile party!" Compliments by the score were given to the train crew, who also fielded loads of questions. Many people stated they intended to return with family and friends to ride the train again and more than one visitor commented that it was one of the highlights of their New York visit. One West Coast native said that this had to be our version of the famed San Francisco cable cars and trolleys and were just as enjoyable.

In the theater world, a successful run on Broadway usually means a road trip, and for New York City Transit that means operating yet another museum train, this one the “Train of Many Colors,” with cars ranging in age from the late 1940s through 1963, in a variety of paint schemes used through the years. It ran recently on the Flushing line, giving Queens residents a chance to sample history during the holiday season. Some lucky riders even told crew members that they had just gotten off the Broadway Centennial Special and now here was yet another surprise on their way home on the Flushing Line.

The “Train of Many Colors” will be visiting Brooklyn next, operating on the 4 Line between Grand Central and Utica Avenue on December 4 and 5, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. It will also operate in the Bronx on the 2 line on December 11 and 12, between E. 180th Street and Times Square, also between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The final performance will be on the 42nd Street Shuttle, between Grand Central and Times Square, on December 18 and 19, once again between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If you also like your trains on a smaller scale, you will want to visit the Holiday Train Show at the New York Transit Museum Store and Annex at Grand Central Terminal, where you can see a large working model train layout featuring New York area subway and commuter trains. Also on view are impressive scale models of New York City subway equipment, including builder’s models.

The show will be on view through January 17. The Museum Store is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday; closed on major holidays. Admission is free.