Hop aboard NYC’s Holiday Nostalgia Ride — and travel back in time

Step on board and back in time.
A vintage New York City subway train will begin weaving its way across Manhattan starting Sunday and returning every Sunday through December — transporting straphangers back 120 years.
The annual Holiday Nostalgia Rides program offers “a charming reminder of New York City’s transit history,” officials said.
5 The vintage R-9 subway train will be back on the rails in Manhattan starting Sunday. New York Transit Museum Lonto/Watson Collection
“There’s really no more magical place in the country than New York in December,” New York Transit Museum Director Concetta Bencivenga recently told The Post.
“It’s just magic, and this is just an added element where it’s something that’s a little bit different to do, but we only do it at this time of the year. It’s very fun to do, and it can get you in the holiday spirit.”
This year’s Holiday Nostalgia Train will operate between the 2nd Avenue-Houston Street station on the uptown F line platform and 96th Street-2nd Avenue station on the downtown Q line, ping-ponging between each direction every hour.
Hop on board anytime between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. every Sunday in December: the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.
The vintage eight-car R-1/9 train originally ran along the Eighth Avenue Line — now the A, C and E lines — back in the days of the Independent Subway System.
The trains ruled the rails from their introduction in the 1930s until they were retired four decades later, with the last one being pulled from the tracks in 1977.
During their runs in service, there were more than 1,700 of the trains, which were lovingly dubbed the “Arnines” and “City Cars.”
5 The vintage trains will be riding the old Eighth Avenue line every Sunday this month. MTA New York City Transit
“Featuring rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements, the R1/9s are the cars that inspired Billy Strayhorn’s iconic ‘Take the A Train,’” the museum’s website noted.
The New York Transit Museum has been running the Holiday Nostalgia Rides for 20 years, suspending the program only twice during the pandemic, as part of its longstanding mission to offer straphangers a glimpse into the past and a quick history for just the price of a MetroCard swipe.
The popularity of the tradition seemingly inspired MetroNorth to offer its own first-ever Holiday Lights Train ride this year, though its version is limited to decorating the exterior of its modern cars with lights and playing holiday-themed messages throughout the cabins.
“All the holidays that are at this time of the year — Diwali, Kwanza, Hanukkah, it’s Christmas — all of them are about life and adding a little bit of sparkle. So this is the transit Museum’s little dash of sparkles, too,” said Bencivenga, reiterating the transit museum’s original mission: “You don’t only get to travel through the city, but travel back in time.”
5 The R-9 trains were introduced in the 1930s and retired in 1977. New York Transit Museum Lonto/Watson collection
5 The interior of one of the special trains hitting the rails again has been maintained to appear just as it had back in the 1930s. Patrick Cashin/New York Transit Museum
5 The annual Holiday Nostalgia Rides program promises to offer “a charming reminder of New York City’s transit history.” MTA New York City Transit
The subway stations receiving the special retro train service are:
Uptown F stops
2nd Avenue – Houston Street
Broadway-Lafayette Street — handicapped-accessible station
West 4th Street – Washington Square — accessible station
34th Street – Herald Square — accessible station
42nd Street – Bryant Park
47th-50th Streets – Rockefeller Center — accessible station
57th Street – 6th Avenue
Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street — accessible station
72nd Street – 2nd Avenue — accessible station
86th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q) — accessible station
96th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q) — accessible station
Downtown Q stops: