This summer the New York Transit Museum is rolling vintage train cars out onto the tracks to bring New Yorkers beach bound on cars dating back to the 1930s! Two different Summer Nostalgia Rides will be available, which include their ever-popular trips to Coney Island and the Rockaways.
The first route will take straphangers aboard 1930s R1-9 vintage train cars on a two-hour journey to Coney Island on Saturday, July 19th. Upon arriving, riders can take advantage of all Coney Island has to offer, whether that be braving the rides at Luna Park, frolicking up and down the boardwalk, or, of course, biting into a Nathan’s hot dog.
Whether you want to extend your stay at the beach or hop on the vintage train’s return trip back to 96th Street-Second Avenue is entirely up to you!
The second beach bound journey will take riders to the Rockaways on Sunday, August 10th, beginning at the 96th Street-Second Avenue station to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street. Splash around in the ocean, lounge in the sand working on your tan, or enjoy all the boardwalk has to offer, and then decide if you’d like to extend your festivities into the night or hop on the return train back to Manhattan.
The vintage R1 vintage trains first rolled onto tracks when the Independent Subway System (IND) opened its Eighth Avenue line in 1932. These trains combined the IRT cars’ speed with the BMT cars’ large passenger capacity, with its notable innovation being the four sets of double doors on each side to allow for faster loading and unloading of passengers. Each 60-foot-long car contains 60 seats, with both cross and lengthwise seating, and could carry a total of 280 passengers.
The train’s riveted shell and utilitarian green paint epitomized the somber, industrial look of the Depression years, though it also inspired composer Billy Strayhorn’s classic swing number “Take the A Train.”
Tickets are now on sale for both trips, priced at $60 for adults and $40 for children. Member ticket prices are $50 for adults and $30 for children. And with all that being said, a word of advice: you may want to bring a portable fan with you (the train cars don’t have ac).
Oh, and don’t forget you can also get to Rockaway Beach this summer via the Rockaway Rocket and Rockaway Reserve!
🚂 Coney Island Summer Nostalgia Ride | Saturday, July 19th | 10am
🚂 The Rockaways Summer Nostalgia Ride | Sunday, August 10th | 10am