Nostalgia Train
When I told a coworker I was taking the Nostalgia train, he said, "I love reading old yearbooks!"
No. Not that one.
Twice this month I took the MTA's Nostalgia train, a subway train with cars from the 30s, 40s and 50s, running along the M line to Queens. I know it sounds a little weird to say I rode a subway train for fun, but it really was amazing. The cars had period advertisements, and as I stepped from car to car it was like moving further back in time. There were fans set into the ceiling, and light bulbs (designed to screw in backwards to deter theft) The cars had no doors at either end. As my friend Rick Bowes pointed out, this was back when public health and safety weren't very high on the city's list of priorities. Of course, he had to say that at a point when the train had stopped, since I couldn't can't hear a word he said over the roar of the train rattling along the track. At each station, the train driver had to step out onto the track and shout "Stand clear of the closing doors." It sounded to me like they were enjoying themselves, especially when we'd pull in and people would stand on the track gaping at the train.
People were really into it, and the second weekend, we ran into a group in some widely varying period costumes (ranging from Victorian Steampunk to late 40s swing kids).
No. Not that one.
Twice this month I took the MTA's Nostalgia train, a subway train with cars from the 30s, 40s and 50s, running along the M line to Queens. I know it sounds a little weird to say I rode a subway train for fun, but it really was amazing. The cars had period advertisements, and as I stepped from car to car it was like moving further back in time. There were fans set into the ceiling, and light bulbs (designed to screw in backwards to deter theft) The cars had no doors at either end. As my friend Rick Bowes pointed out, this was back when public health and safety weren't very high on the city's list of priorities. Of course, he had to say that at a point when the train had stopped, since I couldn't can't hear a word he said over the roar of the train rattling along the track. At each station, the train driver had to step out onto the track and shout "Stand clear of the closing doors." It sounded to me like they were enjoying themselves, especially when we'd pull in and people would stand on the track gaping at the train.
People were really into it, and the second weekend, we ran into a group in some widely varying period costumes (ranging from Victorian Steampunk to late 40s swing kids).