Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC subway riders can take century-old trains in Brooklyn next month
By
Samir Ferdowsi
Published May 28, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
New York Transit Museum
By
Samir Ferdowsi
Published May 28, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A “parade” of vintage New York City subway trains is returning next month, giving New Yorkers a chance to ride some of the transit system’s oldest subway cars.
The MTA and New York Transit Museum will bring decades-old trains back into limited service in south Brooklyn on June 7 and 8. The 10-minute trips will only require a normal subway fare, and the trains will run between the Brighton Beach and Kings Highway stations on the B and Q lines from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Passengers will be able to board and exit the trains on both platforms at the Brighton Beach stop and on the Manhattan-bound platform at the Kings Highway stop.
According to Transit Museum Marketing Manager Chelsea Newburg, the trains look just like they did when they were in full service last century — all the way down to the ads inside them.
“ It really feels like stepping into a moving museum or time capsule,” Newburg said. “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.”
Vintage ads inside an old subway train car.
New York Transit Museum
This year’s event will feature Brooklyn Union “gate cars” that ran from 1903 to 1969 and are the oldest cars in the museum’s collection, BMT Standards that ran from 1914 to 1969, and R1/9s that ran from 1930 to 1977. The gate cars have wooden bodies and allow passengers to get on and off via gates at the front and back of each car that are manually operated by the conductor.
The interior of a Brooklyn Union gate car.
New York Transit Museum
Riders can go for one ride and then transfer across the platform for another ride back, Newburg said.
“ The subway isn't just how we get around in the city, it's a huge part of the city's identity,” she noted. “So preserving the history, it means not only honoring the trains, but honoring the people and the ideas and the innovations that all built New York.”
An R1/9 subway car with a Coney Island destination sign.
New York Transit Museum
The museum says the rides will happen rain or shine, and advises people to expect some lines throughout the day.
Tagged
midwood
new york city
brooklyn
brighton beach
transportation
Samir Ferdowsi
Samir is a day-of reporter on the general assignment and breaking news desk. Previously Samir was a reporter, host and producer at VICE News.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .