Credit: NY Transit Museum
The New York Transit Museum’s beloved Parade of Trains returns this weekend, giving New Yorkers a rare chance to ride the rails in vintage style. Rolling out on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8, the event features three iconic trains from the museum’s collection, offering a glimpse into what it was like to ride the New York City subway more than a century ago. The vintage trains will run from Brighton Beach’s B and Q platforms and the Manhattan-bound B and Q platform at Kings Highway, operating from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Admission is free with subway fare.
This year’s Parade of Trains features some of the museum’s most iconic cars, including the 1904 BU Gate Cars, which are the oldest in the fleet and operated from 1903 to 1969. Also on display are the BMT Standards, in service from 1914 to 1969 and the first subway cars to serve Brooklyn, and the R1/9s, which ran from 1930 to 1977 and now serve as the centerpiece of the museum’s Holiday Nostalgia Train.
Known informally as “gate cars,” the BRT Brooklyn Union Elevated Cars were ordered in 1903 and 1907. They feature lightweight wooden bodies mounted on steel underframes, with passengers boarding and exiting through open-air vestibules at the front and back of each car. A conductor manually opens and closes the metal gates and rings a ceiling-mounted bell to signal the motorman once all passengers are safely aboard.
The BRT/BMT Standards were the first subway cars to feature destination roll signs, larger windows, and brighter lighting. Inspired by suburban railroad cars, their design followed a “maximum seating philosophy” and included drop-down seats for off-peak hours.
Identified by their contract numbers, the R1 through R9 cars feature rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and roll signs for passenger information—design elements that are characteristic of pre-World War II subway cars. The R1/9s set the standard for years to come by offering more, wider, and faster-opening doors, along with reduced seating capacity to better accommodate rush hour commuters.
Parade of Trains will operate continuously between Brighton Beach and Kings Highway starting at 11 a.m., with the last train boarding at 3:50 p.m. Each ride lasts about 10 minutes, and riders should anticipate some wait time between trains.
Passengers can board and exit only at Brighton Beach and Kings Highway. At Brighton Beach, all boarding and exiting will take place on the two inner platforms. At Kings Highway, trains will board and unload on the Manhattan-bound platform.
The Parade of Trains is part of the Nostalgia Train rides, a program the Transit Museum has been running since 1976.
Advanced registration is encouraged, but not required. Those who register will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a family membership to the museum.
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