For the festive season, New York is bringing back its historic ‘R1-9’ trains, which were in service between the 1930s and 1970s. With its ceiling fans, light bulb lighting and period advertisements, this vintage train inspires locals to dress up in their finest old costumes.
For a few weeks, the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) is putting its ‘R1-9’ carriages back into service. Thanks to a collaboration between the MTA and the Transit Museum, the cultural entity linked to the city’s transport system, including the metro, everything has been preserved to (re)immerse you in a few decades ago.
A journey back in time
Back to the past. New York is taking locals and tourists on a journey with its ‘R1-9’ trains. These carriages were introduced in the 1930s and withdrawn in 1977 in favour of more modern cars. With a touch of nostalgia, the metal-coloured train now back in service is still in its original state. There are ceiling fans, incandescent lighting and period advertisements, including one from the 1960s paying tribute to ‘the late President’ John F. Kennedy. And as these old trains are not equipped with a public address system, volunteers announce stops when the train is about to arrive.
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Some New Yorkers were so delighted to learn of this periodic reintroduction that they dressed up in period costumes, rubbing shoulders with modern passengers. This was an opportunity for the older passengers to recount their memories and perpetuate this history, which is part of the city’s heritage. The ‘R1-9’ train is set to become a key attraction in the tourist programme for travellers over the festive season. According to the New York Tourist Board, around 7 million visitors are expected to visit the city between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
An underground that bears witness to New York’s history
These trains were ‘the first public transport system that allowed the city to develop’, explains Todd Glickman, a volunteer at the New York Museum of Transportation. ‘In the early 1900s, people had to live very close to where they worked or went to school. With the advent of the underground in 1904, people were able to get around in no time, and that’s what allowed the city to grow’ he continues.
Today, the Big Apple’s metro system is one of the largest in the world, with almost 500 stops, 36 lines and over 1,300 kilometres of track. It links four of the city’s five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, but not Staten Island. Although some stations are not open at night, the unique feature of the New York metro is that it runs 24 hours a day, with less frequent service between midnight and 6.30am. Before the health crisis, more than 5 million people travelled around the city on the metro.
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This underground station has inspired many artists, as evidenced by the legendary song ‘Take the A train’ made famous by jazz pianist and composer Duke Ellington. The video for Michael Jackson’s song Bad, directed by Martin Scorsese, was filmed in the disused Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn.
But its history is not always cause for celebration. In the 70s and 80s, getting into the tube late at night could be dangerous. So in 1979, good Samaritan Curtis Sliwa decided to set up an ultra-secret association of protectors of metropolitan society, known as the Guardian Angels. Identifiable by their red berets, they ensured the safety of passengers and the smooth running of journeys. Several other cities around the world have copied this system. Today, safety conditions are still not optimal. Shootings regularly hit the headlines, as did the attacks in 2022 and more recently in March 2024.
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Featured photo: © Marc A. Hermann / MTA
