Transit Museum: Dig Those Wooden Subway Cars

We took one of the little Brownstoners to the Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn last weekend for a birthday party. Our favorite part? This hundred-year-old wood subway car with woven seats. It was for above-ground use only but certainly was a lot nicer to look at than what we've got today.
Transit Museum [MTA]

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It was fun riding the old cars last year when the MTA put them on some of the lines..very cool..blast from the past. Do the Brownstoners use the subway?

Posted by: Anonymous at January 17, 2006 10:51 AM

This museum is wonderful! For those of you who have never been there, I'd recommend that you visit.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 17, 2006 10:52 AM

My family moved to New York from California in 1967, and at that time some of these trains -- with the woven seats -- were still in use. Some of them had been "updated" with padded leather seats. I remember that many of the woven seats were in bad shape, with pieces sticking out that would scratch your legs or rip your stockings. They didn't last much longer, but I'm not sure exactly what year they were all finally taken out of service. Compare this to the high-tech trains running on the 4-5-6 lines now -- how things have changed!

Posted by: Park Sloper at January 17, 2006 1:22 PM

Park Sloper, I think you are mistaking those for the R-6's which were still in use until the 60's. I remember these riding the E train as a kid. They had an old look, what with the ceiling fans and plastic rattan seats. They were all steel bodies though. I doubt you were riding turn-of-the-century wooden subway cars, but the confusion is understandable.

http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2022

Posted by: Hal at January 17, 2006 3:26 PM

Here's another shot looking very much the way I remember the 'E' trains in the 60's.

http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2025

Posted by: Hal at January 17, 2006 3:30 PM

I always go to the Transit Museum with kids which is really frustrating since they never let you read the displays at the beginning which are fascinating. One of these days, I plan to go solo.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 18, 2006 11:21 AM

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January 17, 2006

Transit Museum: Dig Those Wooden Subway Cars

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