Ah, the Holiday Nostalgia Train rides! The only time of year when people are actually excited to board an MTA train. Every Sunday in December the MTA and the New York Transit Museum put their vintage fleet of 1930s trains back in service and allow the public to take a ride down memory lane for just the price of a MetroCard swipe.
Just like a regular ride on the subway, expect your ride on the Nostalgia train to be loud and crowded. But unlike your dismal daily commute, this train ride has some charm in the form of 1930s/50s-era decor (I say we should bring back the wicker woven seats).
If you rode the Nostalgia train and didn’t take pics, then were you even there? Admittedly, the Nostalgia train is a bit of Instagram-bait with all its photo-ops, but there’s more to this experience than (several) cute pictures. Try to find the wackiest era-specific advertisements—trust me, there are quite a few contenders—or marvel at the other riders’ costumes. But whatever you do, don’t ponder too hard about how riding the subway in NYC has hardly changed since the 1950s….
Check out the New York Transit Museum’s website for the Holiday Nostalgia Train’s schedule and stops.
