New York Transit Museum
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New York Transit Museum
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New York Transit Museum
The New York Transit Museum is a museum which displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway and bus systems; it is located in the unused Court Street subway station in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City. (On the web: http://mta.info/mta/museum/index.html)
There is a smaller Annex in Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan.
On July 4, 1976, the New York City Transit Exhibit opened in the old station as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration, with one subway token for admittance. Old cars which had been preserved, as well as models and other exhibits were displayed. Plans were to close it after the celebration, but it proved to be so popular that it remained open and eventually became a permanent museum.
The Transit Museum entrance is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. The Museum includes subway memorabilia and other exhibits including heritage signage, models and dioramas of subway, bus and other equipment, and lectures and seminars.
At the subway station level, two tracks contain many examples of New York City Subway equipment. the south track is used to display IND and BMT equipment and the north track is for IRT subway cars and BMT El cars (which are roughly the same size). To elimate the gap between the IRT/El cars, wooden platform extenders have been installed. Some of the museum fleet is operable, and is used in subway excursions run by the Museum and other parties (notably by NYCT Division C as a fundraiser benefiting The March of Dimes) on various parts of the system. Tickets for the Museum excursions (called “Nostalgia Trains”) are sold in advance while tickets for the March of Dimes excursions are sold on the day of the excursion. In mid-2005 the March of Dimes excursions were suspended although no official reason has been given.
There are examples of most of the kinds of subway equipment ever used on the New York City Subway, including the predecessor BMT and IRT private companies. Notably absent are the three BMT experimental trains, which were scrapped before the Transit Authority began saving historic equipment. There are also several examples of elevated cars, including the BU cars, elevated gate cars that can be ridden on prearranged excursions.
There are also some Museum cars that are kept in the Coney Island Complex that are either awaiting refurbishment, undergoing refurbishment or just not currently being displayed. These cars can be viewed from passing F trains on the IND Culver Line between Avenue X and Neptune Avenue, and from N trains on the BMT Sea Beach Line between Stillwell Avenue and 86th Street.
The Museum also has a sizable retired bus fleet. However, there is no area set aside for their permanent exhibition. They are stored in Bus depots around the city and brought out for special events, such as the Museums’ annual “Bus Festival.”
Address
The New York Transit Museum
130 Livingston Street,
10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Special Events
Architects of the NYC Subway, Heins & LaFarge: The Tradition of Great Public Works, Part I
19 March 2007 – 08 July 2007
The exhibition located in the NY Transit Museum in the Shuttle Passage features over sixty historic artifacts, architectural drawings, and vintage and contemporary photographs from the collections of the New York Transit Museum, The New-York Historical Society, the Episcopal Diocese of New York, the Bronx Zoo / Wildlife Conservation Center, and private collections
Architects of the New York City Subway Part II : Squire Vickers and the Subway’s Modern Age
30 July 2007 – 28 October 2007
New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store at Grand Central Terminal
Between 1906 and 1940, Squire J. Vickers and his team of architects designed more than 300 subway stations for the Dual Contracts and the IND. An accomplished painter, Vickers’ subway work reflects his changing aesthetic, moving seamlessly from Arts and Craft to the Machine Age style. Continuing the series from Part I, the exhibit contains additional drawings, paintings, objects, and archival photos from the Museum’s and other collections to show how Squire Vickers integrated a more contemporary style into subway stations and structures.
Guest Cars
July 2007 – December 2007
New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn Heights
Each season, the Transit Museum displays a “guest” car, highlighting vintage and current vehicles that aren’t normally included in our permanent exhibit. This summer a pair of cars from one of the last Money Trains will be on display in the Transit Museum. These cars ran throughout the system at night collecting revenue from stations and delivering it to the “Money Room” formerly at Jay Street in Brooklyn. As a preview for “Show Me the Money,” a new exhibit opening this fall about NYC Transit’s legendary Money Room and Money Train operations (which ended in January 2006), Revenue Cars 0R 714 and IR 714 will be on view. These two workhorses were originally R-22 passenger cars 7194 and 7422, built in 1957-58. They were converted in 1988-as a collection car and a crew car-repainted in typical work train “safety” yellow and black, and operated in revenue-collection service through their final trips.
Hours
Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday Noon to 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and major holidays
Admission
Adults $5
Children 3 – 17 years of age $3
Senior Citizens (62+) $3
Seniors Free Wednesdays
Museum members: Free
Directions
By Subway:
2 3 4 5 to Borough Hall.
M R to Court Street
A C G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street
A C F to Jay Street/Borough Hall.
By Bus
B25, B26, B37, B38, B41, B45, B52, B57, B61, B65, B67, B75 all stop within 1 to 2 blocks of the museum.
By Car
From Manhattan: take the Brooklyn Bridge, proceed straight on to Adams Street. Adams will become Boerum Place. Go two blocks to Schermerhorn Street.