How to Ride New York’s Nostalgic MTA Subway Trains This Winter

If sunset at 4:30 p.m. wasn’t enough to let you know that the holiday season is finally here, then some pretty impressive vintage holiday trains just might.

In one of our favorite holiday traditions, the New York City Transit Museum is bringing back its holiday nostalgia attractions this December, so you’ll soon be able to step into a subway car that cruised the city’s tracks in the 1930s.

The vintage cars of the R1/9 train were once part of the Eight Avenue Line, which is now the A/C/E Line, and remained in service until 1977, according to 6 sq. feet.

The modes of transport are visually striking, with an industrial-style riveted steel body that transports you to a post-war city with a touch of Christmas cheer in the form of a holiday wreath hanging on the front of the train.

You don’t need any special ticket to ride this time machine; you can simply swipe your MetroCard as if you were boarding a regular subway. The challenge is to make sure you are in the right place at the right time.

Eight vintage subway cars will roll out every Sunday in December from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from the 2nd Avenue/Houston Street Station on Platform F in Uptown and from the Q Line in the 96th Street Center.

Here are the exact times you can board the vintage trains and the stops they make:

Departure from 2nd Avenue on Line F in the center of lower Manhattan at:

Departing from ’96 Street-2nd Avenue on the Q line at:

Stops in the upper part of the city:

2nd Avenue – Houston Street (F)

Broadway – Lafayette Street (D/F, 6)

West 4th Street – Washington Square (A/C/E, D/F)

34th Street – Herald Square (D/F, N/Q/R)

42nd Street – Bryant Park (A/C/E, D/F, N/Q/R, S, 7)

47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (D/F)

57th place Street – 6th Avenue (F)

Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street Street (F, Q)

72nd Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)

86th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)

96th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)

Stops in the city center:

96th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)

86th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)

72nd Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)

Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street Street (F, Q)

57th place Street – 6thAvenue (F)

47th – 50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (D/F)

42nd Street – Bryant Park (A/C/E, D/F, N/Q/R, S, 7)

34th Street – Herald Square (D/F, N/Q/R)

West 4th Street – Washington Square (A/C/E, D/F)

Broadway – Lafayette Street (D/F, 6)

2nd Avenue – Houston Street (F)