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The New York City subway system is one of the most fascinating curiosities in a city full of mysteries. Miles of underground track shrouded in darkness, littered with abandoned stations and secret passageways — it’s a common object of desire for the urban explorers among us.
And, occasionally, New York City acknowledges the delightful mystery surrounding its 24-hour transportation system. The annual “Holiday Nostalgia” train line, seen above, is a perfect example of this.
The train line, consisting of eight vintage New York subway cars from several different eras, runs for a few weekends each year — from the Sunday after Thanksgiving to the end of the year, only on Sundays. It costs the same $2.75 as any subway ride.
So what’d we do? We got on the train and took a ride, of course! This is what it’s like.
I got on at the Second Avenue stop in Manhattan — when I snapped these photos in 2016, the train ran between the Second Avenue stop in Manhattan and the Queens Plaza stop in Queens.
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In 2018, the holiday train is running on the F line starting at the 2nd Av station, and via the A/C/D line from the 125th St station. It makes a handful of stops at major stations along the way — like Columbus Circle and Herald Square — “as an ode to the holiday shopping season,”
As you can see from 2016’s schedule, the train ran throughout the day starting at 10 a.m. and concluding at about 5 p.m. It’s similar in 2018, but there are a few changes.
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The schedule is slightly different for 2018. According to the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the train “will depart from 2nd Avenue on the F line in Lower Manhattan and run along 6th Avenue in Manhattan to 47th-50th/Rockefeller Center before heading up the Central Park West line, where the train will stop at 59th St – Columbus Circle before making its way up to 125th St on the A/C/D lines in Harlem.”
But you’re here for the train, right? So was I! It arrived about 10 minutes ahead of its 1:03 p.m. departure time — plenty of time for photos!
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There’s no running to the train given that no one’s using the vintage subway line like an actual subway line. Subways in New York don’t usually stand in a station for longer than a minute or two, but this one stops to pose for photos for at least a few minutes.
OK, enough is enough: It’s time to get on this train and take a ride through history!
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Some of the ads are for events long passed, like this “I Am An American — Citizenship Day” — an apparently free event in Central Park.
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And yes, Citizenship Day is a real American holiday that you’ve probably never heard of (I certainly hadn’t).
It takes place on September 17 every year and serves to commemorate the signing of the US Constitution (on September 17, 1787). The holiday was originally called “I Am An American Day,” which was celebrated during the 1940s; it became “Citizenship Day” in the early 1950s. Probably not a bad idea considering America’s history as a nation of immigrants.
We arrived at the Queens Plaza stop not long after boarding at Second Avenue in Manhattan. Here’s the Shopper’s Special antique train line as it rides away, with one of the many passengers posing for a final pic:
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The Holiday Nostalgia train line runs every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting on November 25 and ending on December 30.
Rides cost the same $2.75 that all subway rides cost, and you can take the train as many times as you’d like. But hurry up and do it sooner rather than later! It’s only running for a limited time, after all. Check out more info straight from the MTA right here.
And if you miss it, don’t worry too much — the entire subway line is normally on display at the New York Transit Museum.
