The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) is a museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The main museum is located in the decommissioned Court Street subway station in Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. There is a smaller satellite Museum Annex in Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. The museum is a self-supporting division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
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<span class="anchor" id="Station"></span> Historic use as station
The museum is located in an actual subway station, which was originally called Court Street. along with a long section of the Fulton Street Line and the Rutgers Street Tunnel. The station has one center island platform with two tracks. The tracks end at bumper blocks just beyond the west end of the platform. The station walls feature a tile band set in a course two tiles high (as is the case with most IND local stations), colored aquamarine with a cerulean blue border. It is still a functioning subway station; trains are moved into and out of the exhibits using the tunnel between the station platforms and the outer tracks at Hoyt–Schermerhorn Street station (see below). Court Street was to be the northern terminal of the HH Fulton Street Local, which would run south (geographically east) to Euclid Avenue. Additionally, one of the alternative plans for the Second Avenue Subway would have included a southern extension to Brooklyn, tying into the stub at Court Street to accommodate through service to and from Manhattan.
The HH through service was never inaugurated; the only trains to serve the station were part of the Court Street Shuttle, taking passengers from Court Street to the transfer station at Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets. and was abandoned on June 1, 1946. This saved about $19,903 a year; at the time of its closure, the shuttle earned $6,700 a year. On March 15, 1960, the New York City Transit Authority tested a new cleaning process on the walls of the Court Street station, which had been stained after years without use. There were also plans to convert the abandoned station into a bowling alley in 1961, but these were not carried out. Meanwhile, the sealed but still-present station entrances became dumping grounds for garbage.
The station was also used as a set for movies. Three years after its closing in 1949, the station was used for the filming of the film Guilty Bystander. On November 26, 1956, the station was used to film a scene of The FBI Story, posing as the Bowling Green station. By the 1960s, the station was being used for numerous films every year; for instance, the station was a filming location for nine films in 1964, thirteen in 1965, and twenty-two in 1966. After the museum opened, the station continued to be used as a set for movies. as well as to host private events during hours the facility is not normally open.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:New York City Transit Museum (17891085509).jpg|Looking down the platform
File:Court Street End of the Line on the Fulton Street line mfs.jpg|Bumper block at end of Track A2
File:'Train of Many Colors' Prep (14336172282).jpg|View down Track A2, on a rare occasion when displayed railcars are being rearranged
</gallery>
Station layout
The station was a two-track, one-island platformed station while in service. The Transit Museum's main entrance is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn. An ADA-accessible chair lift and elevator were added after the station was converted into a museum. The wheelchair lift is located at Court and Schermerhorn Streets, but unlike the elevators in operational New York City Subway stations, must be accessed by requesting it in advance or using a call button.
Exhibits and programs
On July 4, 1976, the New York City Transit Exhibit was opened in the decommissioned underground station as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration, charging a fee of one subway token for admittance. Old subway cars which had been preserved, as well as models and other exhibits were displayed. Plans were to keep the museum open until September 7 of that year,
In the mid-1990s the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) assumed control of the Transit Museum from the New York City Transit Authority. At that time, the scope of the museum was expanded to include other aspects of transportation services within the MTA region, including commuter rail (Metro-North, Staten Island Railway, Long Island Rail Road) and roads, tunnels, and bridges (MTA Bridges and Tunnels). Since then, rotating exhibits on the mezzanine level frequently highlight commuter railroad and bridge/tunnel operations, as well as their history.
The museum includes subway, bus, railway, bridge, and tunnel memorabilia; and other exhibits including vintage signage and in-vehicle advertisements; and models and dioramas of subway, bus, and other equipment. A program of lectures, seminars, films, and tours for all ages is offered at the museum. In addition, offsite programs consist of guided tours of MTA facilities, subway stations, artwork and architecture, and New York neighborhoods, as well as opportunities to ride vintage railway and bus equipment.
The museum's mezzanine (upper) level contains the majority of the exhibits, restrooms, water fountains, and a gift shop. Artifacts from historic subway and bus operations, as well as NYC transportation infrastructure, are on display. The exhibits on the upper level are changed from time to time. In addition, there is a small presentation screening room which usually displays posters and videos for public education about courtesy and safety, including examples from other transit systems around the world.
In addition to its own exhibit spaces, the museum occasionally collaborates with other local organizations, such as the Coney Island Museum, to jointly present historical or contemporary shows, such as Five Cents To Dreamland: A Trip to Coney Island.
Railway artifacts
thumb|right|Special "[[Train of Many Colors" excursions are organized by the New York Transit Museum]]
On the platform lower level, two fully powered and operational subway tracks contain many historic examples of New York City subway and elevated railway equipment on permanent display. Preserved railcars, most of which can still be operated, date as far back as the predecessor companies that came before the New York City Transit Authority, such as the BMT and IRT private companies, and the city owned and operated IND. The platform bordering one of the two tracks is equipped with hinged bright yellow gap filler boards, to allow the narrower IRT railcars to be safely boarded from a platform which was built for the wider cars running on newer lines.
A few specialized railwork vehicles formerly used for maintenance are also usually on view. In addition to the operational rolling stock, there is a large wheel truck and motor (bogie) on display on the platform itself, along with a series of informational panels showing the development of New York City's rail transit systems.
In addition, a fully functional underground "signal tower" control room is on view, a facility that was used to monitor the IND Fulton Street Line and IND Crosstown Line when the subway station was in active revenue service. It also features an original mosaic plaque from the 137th Street station, dating back to the subway's 1904 opening.
- "Steel, Stone & Backbone: Building New York's Subways" highlights the challenges and labor involved in subway construction during the period 1900–1925.
- "Moving the Millions" chronicles the history of the subway system from the private operators to the MTA New York City Transit of today. Located on the platform level, it is designed to supplement a visitor's experience exploring the various subway cars on display in the museum.
!Name
!Image
!Manufacturer
!Year built
!Retired
!Notes
|-
|R110B 3007
|190px
|Bombardier
|1992
|1996
|Only of its class in a museum
|-
|R1 100
|190px
|American Car & Foundry
|1931
|Late 1960s-Mid 1970s
|First R1-9 car produced
|-
|R7A 1575
|190px
|American Car & Foundry
|1938
|1970s
|Prototype car for the R10 fleet
|-
|R4 401
|190px
|American Car & Foundry
|1932
|Late 1960s-Mid 1970s
|Contains 2 side doors from R1 175
|-
|BMT D-type Triplex 6095A-B-C
|190px
|Pressed Steel
|1925
|1965
|Operational since 2015
|-
|BRT AB Standard 2204
|190px
|American Car & Foundry
|1915
|1960s
|None
|-
|R30 8506
|190px
|St. Louis
|1960
|1975
|Sent for preservation after its mate suffered an accident, leading it to be never refurbished
|-
|R44 5240
|190px
|St. Louis
|1971
|2010
|Only of its class in a museum
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Track A2 (Front to back)
!Name
!Image
!Manufacturer
!Year built
!Retired
!Notes
|-
|BRT BU Gated El Cars 1273, 1404 & 1407
|190px
|Multiple manufacturers
|1938
|1969
|Converted from the BU Gate Cars
|-
|R33S 9306
|190px
|St. Louis
|1963
|1976
|Held for preservation by the NYTM, hence the reason it was never refurbished
|-
|R33S 9310
|N/A
|St. Louis
|1963
|2003
|Currently in a Redbird livery
|-
|R12 5760
|190px
|ALCO & GE
|1910
|1976
|Oldest locomotive in the museum fleet
|-
|35-Ton single truck Diesel Locomotive 10
|190px
|GE
|1959
|N/A
|Operational
|}
There are many cars not on display, but rather, are used on special fan excursions and other events. Most are based at 207 Street or Coney Island Yard. The rolling stock not on display include:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Infobox
!Name
!Image
!Manufacturer
!Year built
!Retired
!Notes
|-
|AB Standard 2390-2392
|190px
|American Car and Foundry or Pressed Steel
|1915
|1969
|All operational
|-
|Standard Lo-V 5290, 5292, 5443 & 5483
|190px
|American Car and Foundry or Pressed Steel
|1916
|1969
|All operational
|-
|SBK Steeplecab 5
- "Show Me the Money: From the Turnstile to the Bank", which explained the old (pre-2006) process of revenue collection in the New York City Subway via money trains, cloth "money bags", and a sewing machine used to create them. The Annex is the site of the Transit Museum's annual Holiday Train Show, where an operating model train layout is displayed for the public. While there is an admission fee at the Transit Museum's main Brooklyn Heights location, entrance to the Annex is free. The main Brooklyn Heights location also has its own gift shop, which is accessible outside of the museum's paid area. An additional gift store is available within the headquarters of the MTA, at 2 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.
Archives
Documents, photographs, and artifacts are stored both in the Transit Museum and in the nearby Archives, adding to the goal of preserving the legacy of transportation in New York. Historians and researchers who wish to visit the Archives are able to do so through the museum. Some objects from the museum's archive can be viewed on the New York Transit Museum's Online Collections platform. Some images from their collection can also be seen on Historypin.
See also
- List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
References
External links
Official websites
- NY Transit Museum
- New York Transit Museum Online Collections
- Transit Museum's Online Store
Unofficial sites with official content
- MTA's New York Transit Museum Facebook Web Page
- Images from the MTA's New York Transit Museum Archive on Historypin
Unofficial sites
- nycsubway.org
- IND Fulton: Court Street (Future Transit Museum)
- New York Transit Museum
- Subway.com.ru
- Op-Rail
Google Maps Street View tours
- Google Virtual Tour of the NYC Transit Museum
- Main entrance from Google Maps Street View
- ADA-accessible entrance from Google Maps Street View