If you missed hopping aboard a vintage Lo-V subway train back in December to celebrate 120 years of the NYC subway, you’ll soon have another chance to step aboard and travel like New Yorkers did over a century ago as NYC’s Parade of Trains returns to the Brighton Line!
The New York Transit Museum is bringing back Parade of Trains this June, rolling out vintage subway cars into Brighton Beach and Kings Highway stations. Passengers will have the chance to step into the past and ride in style on a one-of-a-kind trip down memory lane.
Straphangers can hop on the vintage trains between the B/Q platforms at Brighton Beach and the Manhattan-bound B/Q platform at Kings Highway. Admission to the trains is granted via your standard subway fare–be it a regular MetroCard swipe or OMNY tap–and no special tickets are needed.
While we’re on that topic, here’s how to get an OMNY card before the MetroCard disappears.
This year’s Parade of Trains will feature some of the most iconic cars in the Museum’s collection:
- 1904 BU Gate Cars – the oldest in the fleet
- BMT Standards – the first subway cars to serve Brooklyn
- R1/9s – best known today for starring as the beloved Holiday Nostalgia Train
Regardless of which train you hop aboard, each car will offer riders the chance to experience NYC’s transit evolution firsthand, while looking back on a time where subway cars had no AC, automated voice announcements, or fluorescent lighting.
Each train will be equipped with old-school features, from rattan seats and ads throughout the years to hand-operated doors and leather straps.
Trips will run continuously from Brighton Beach to Kings Highway with each trip lasting approximately 10 minutes. Riders can only get on the vintage trains at the Brighton Beach or Kings Highway station. Transit Museum Marketing Manager Chelsea Newburg stated:
It really feels like stepping into a moving museum or time capsule. You can hop on cars that date all the way back to 1904, sit on the rattan seats and even see vintage ads in the cars from the period the train cars were in service. Each car has its own story and personality, and together they show just how much the city and its transit system has changed over the years.
📍 Brighton Beach B/Q platforms & Kings Highway Manhattan-bound B/Q platform
🗓 Saturday, June 7th & Sunday, June 8th
⏰ 11am to 4pm