New York Transit Museum

The New York Transit Museum is a special place where people can see old pieces of history from the New York City Subway, bus, and train systems around New York City. It is different from the New York Museum of Transportation near Rochester.

The main museum is inside a very old subway station called Court Street. This station is located in the parts of the city called Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, in the area known as the borough of Brooklyn. There is also a smaller part of the museum called the Museum Annex in Grand Central Terminal, which is in Midtown Manhattan.

The museum is run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and does not charge money to enter. It helps people learn about how people used to travel in New York City many years ago.

Historic use as station

The New York Transit Museum is inside a real old subway station called Court Street. This station opened on April 9, 1936, and was built for local trains on the IND Fulton Street Line. It had one platform with two tracks that ended at special bumper blocks.

The station was mostly used for moving trains around, not for many passengers, so it closed on June 1, 1946. Even after closing, the station was sometimes used for movies and other special events. Today, it serves as a museum where people can see old subway cars and learn about New York City’s transit history. The museum’s entrance is at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn.

Exhibits and programs

The New York Transit Museum began on July 4, 1976, as a special exhibit to celebrate the United States Bicentennial. It was held in an old subway station and charged one subway token to enter. People could see old subway cars, models, and other interesting displays. The exhibit was planned to close after a few months, but it became so popular that it turned into a permanent museum.

Today, the museum shows many pieces of history from New York City’s subways, buses, and trains. Visitors can see old signs, ads, and models of vehicles. The museum also offers lectures, movies, and tours for people of all ages. Sometimes, the museum works with other places to create special shows about New York’s transportation history.

The museum’s upper level has most of its exhibits, restrooms, water fountains, and a gift shop. There is also a small room where visitors can watch videos and posters about being safe and polite while using public transportation.

Railway artifacts

On the lower level, two tracks hold many old subway cars that can still run. These cars come from different times and companies before the New York City Transit Authority. Some special work cars used for fixing the tracks are also on display. There is also a control room that was used to manage subway lines. Visitors can see the old controls through a window.

Other items include a poster for an old movie called Subway Sadie, a bright light from the station’s old days, and a mosaic plaque from a station that opened in 1904.

Bus fleet and artifacts

The museum also has many old buses, though they are stored in different places around the city. They are brought out for special events, like the yearly “Bus Festival.” During the festival, people can ride these old buses for free.

Some of the special buses include:

• #3100 (built 1956) was the first air-conditioned bus in any American city.
• #236 (built 1980) was one of the first buses with a lift for people using wheelchairs.
• #2969 (built 1948) was one of the first buses that was 40 feet long.
• #3865 (built 1993) worked in different parts of the city over the years.
• #100 (built 1959) had a curved windshield and special-shaped windows.

Some bus items, like a money bag used by bus drivers in the 1950s, are shown in the museum’s exhibits.

Current exhibits

The New York Transit Museum shows many interesting exhibits about the city's subway, bus, and rail systems. One exhibit, "Steel, Stone & Backbone: Building New York's Subways," tells the story of how the subways were built between 1900 and 1925. Another exhibit, "Moving the Millions," follows the history of the subway from private companies to today's MTA New York City Transit. Visitors can explore real subway cars on display.

Other exhibits include "Fare Collection," where you can learn about how people paid for subways in the past and try out real turnstiles. "On the Streets" shows the history of street transportation like horse cars, cable cars, streetcars, and buses, and you can even sit in two real buses, including one in the driver's seat. There are also displays about keeping the air clean and learning about subway safety signals.

Track A1 (Front to back)

Name	Image	Manufacturer	Year built	Retired
R110B 3007		Bombardier	1992	1996
R1 100		American Car & Foundry	1931	Late 1960s-Mid 1970s
R7A 1575		American Car & Foundry	1938	1970s
R4 401		American Car & Foundry	1932	Late 1960s-Mid 1970s
BMT D-type Triplex 6095A-B-C		Pressed Steel	1925	1965
BRT AB Standard 2204		American Car & Foundry	1915	1960s
R30 8506		St. Louis	1960	1975
R44 5240		St. Louis	1971	2010

Track A2 (Front to back)

Name	Image	Manufacturer	Year built	Retired
BRT BU Gated El Cars 1273, 1404 & 1407		Jewett, Laconia & Pressed Steel	1904	1969 (Likely)
BMT Q-Type El Car 1612C		Multiple manufacturers	1938	1969
R33S 9306		St. Louis	1963	1976
R33S 9310	N/A	St. Louis	1963	2003
R12 5760		American Car and Foundry	1948	1976
R15 6239		American Car and Foundry	1950	1976
Standard Lo-V 4902		American Car and Foundry or Pressed Steel	1916	1969
IND R3 56	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Long Island Rail Road Caboose C-60		International Railway Car Co.	1961	N/A
SBK Steeplecab 5		ALCO & GE	1910	1976
35-Ton single truck Diesel Locomotive 10		GE	1959	N/A

Infobox

Name	Image	Manufacturer	Year built	Retired
AB Standard 2390-2392		American Car and Foundry or Pressed Steel	1915	1969
Standard Lo-V 5290, 5292, 5443 & 5483		American Car and Foundry or Pressed Steel	1916	1969
SBK Steeplecab 5	N/A	GE	1921	N/A
BMT D-Type Triplex 6019A-B-C	N/A	Pressed Steel	1925	1965
BMT D-Type Triplex 6112A-B-C		Pressed Steel	1925	1965
R1 103	N/A	American Car and Foundry	1931	Late 1960s-Mid 1970s
R1 381	N/A	American Car and Foundry	1931	Late 1960s-Mid 1970s
R4 484		American Car and Foundry	1932	1970s
R6-3 923 & 925	N/A	American Car and Foundry	1935	1970s
R6-3 1000		American Car and Foundry	1935	1970s
R6-1 1300	N/A	Pressed Steel	1936	1970s
IRT WF Lo-V 5655		St. Louis	1938	1969
R9 1802		Pressed Steel	1940	1970s
R10 3184		American Car and Foundry	1948	1989
R10 3189		American Car and Foundry	1948	1984
R12 5782		American Car and Foundry	1948	Late 1970s-Early 1980s
R11/R34 8013		Budd Company	1949	1977
R14 5871		American Car and Foundry	1948	Late 1970s-Early 1980s
R16 6305 & 6339	N/A	American Car and Foundry	1955	Late 1970s-Late 1980s
R16 6387		American Car and Foundry	1955	Late 1970s-Late 1980s
R17 6609		St. Louis	1955	1976
R21 7194		St. Louis	1956	2006
R21 7203		St. Louis	1956	1980s
R22 7422		St. Louis	1957	2006
R26 7774-7775		American Car and Foundry	1959	2002
R28 7924-7925		American Car and Foundry	1960	2002
R29/R99 8678-8679	N/A	St. Louis	1960	2002
R30 8481 & 8422	N/A	St. Louis	1960	1993
R33 9010-9011		St. Louis	1962	2003
R33 9016-9017	N/A	St. Louis	1962	2003
R33 9068-9069 & 9206-9207		St. Louis	1962	2003
R33S 9307 & 9308	N/A	St. Louis	1963	2003
R33S 9343	N/A	St. Louis	1963	2003
R36ML 9542-9543	N/A	St. Louis	1963	2003
R36WF 9582-9585	N/A	St. Louis	1963	2003
R36WF 9586-9587		St. Louis	1963	2003
R32 Phase II 3350-3351	N/A	Budd Company	1964	2008
R32 Phase II 3352-3353	N/A	Budd Company	1964	2008
R32 Phase I 3354-3355	N/A	Budd Company	1964	2020
R32 Phase I 3360-3361		Budd Company	1964	2022
R32 Phase I 3646–3647, 3888–3889, 3894–3895 & 3938–3939		Budd Company	1964	2020 (3938-39), 2022 (The rest)
R38 4028-4029		St. Louis	1966	2009
R40 Slant 4280-4281		St. Louis	1968	2009
R40A Modified 4480-4481	N/A	St. Louis	1969	2009
R40A Modified 4460 & R42 4665	N/A	St. Louis	1969	2009
R44 5286-5289	N/A	St. Louis	1971	2010

Past exhibits

The New York Transit Museum has had many interesting exhibits that are no longer on display. One was called "ElectriCity: Powering New York's Rails," which showed how electricity powers the subway trains. Another exhibit, "Show Me the Money: From the Turnstile to the Bank," explained how money was collected for subway rides before 2006 using special money trains, cloth bags, and even a sewing machine.

Other past exhibits featured historic subway maps, artwork, and signs. Large pieces such as a refrigerator-sized circuit breaker and a classic electric motor controller were also on display, helping visitors learn about how subways are powered and controlled.

Grand Central Gallery Annex and Store

The New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store opened on September 14, 1993, at Grand Central Terminal. It has a gift shop and space for temporary exhibits about trains and buses. Every year, it hosts a Holiday Train Show with a working model train layout for everyone to see. Unlike the main museum in Brooklyn, the Annex is free to enter. The main museum also has its own gift shop, and there is another shop at the MTA headquarters on 2 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.

Archives

The New York Transit Museum has a special place called the Archives where important documents, photographs, and items from the past are kept. These help preserve the history of transportation in New York. People who want to learn more can visit the Archives through the museum. Some of these items can also be seen online on the New York Transit Museum’s Online Collections platform, and some images are available on Historypin.