New York Transit Museum

New York Transit Museum

Side view of the street entrance on the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street

More information Established July 4, 1976; 47 years ago (July 4, 1976) Location Former Court Street station, 99 Schermerhorn St, Jay Street–MetroTech ​​​ Website www.nytransitmuseum.org

The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) is a

.

Historic use as station

New York City Subway station in Brooklyn, New York

Court Street
Former New York City Subway station
Station platform with museum exhibits
Station statistics
Address	Schermerhorn Street & Boerum Place Brooklyn, NY 11201
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Downtown Brooklyn
Coordinates	40°41′25″N 73°59′24″W / 40.6904°N 73.99°W / 40.6904; -73.99
Division	[1]
Line	IND Fulton Street Line
Services	None (currently occupied by museum)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	April 9, 1936; 88 years ago (April 9, 1936)
Closed	June 1, 1946; 77 years ago (June 1, 1946) (as a subway station)
Accessible	ADA-accessible (station was not wheelchair accessible when it was in service)
Traffic
2023	[2]
Rank	out of 423[2]
Station succession
Next north	(Terminal)
Next south	Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Hoyt–Schermerhorn
Street map

The museum is located in an actual subway station, which was originally called Court Street.

While the station was closed to the public, non-revenue trains would occasionally run to and from the station, with the purpose of "keeping the rails polished".[16] 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.^[17] There were also plans to convert the abandoned station into a bowling alley in 1961, but these were not carried out.^[18] Meanwhile, the sealed but still-present station entrances became dumping grounds for garbage.^[19]

The station was also used as a set for movies.

• 
  Looking down the platform
• 
  Bumper block at end of Track A2
• 
  View down Track A2, on a rare occasion when displayed railcars are being rearranged

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,^[26] but unlike the elevators in operational New York City Subway stations, must be accessed by requesting it in advance or using a call button.^[27]

Exhibits and programs

On July 4, 1976, the New York City Transit Exhibit was opened in the decommissioned underground station as part of the

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

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

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 "

Besides subway cars, the museum has a sizable vintage bus fleet of retired buses. Because there is no area available for their permanent exhibition in the underground museum, they are stored in various

• #3100 (built 1956) was the first
  air-conditioned bus in use in any American transportation system. An experimental bus of the Fifth Avenue Coach Company, it had rear exit doors that passengers pushed to open; seats wrapping around the back of the bus; soft seats; and fluorescent lights. It last saw passenger service in the mid-1970s, having been used later for the New York City Transit Police.^[31]
• #236 (built 1980) was the first of the advanced design - high-tech bus for its age, having wheelchair-accessible
  marquees. The fleet had many mechanical/structural problems and was pulled from service after four years.^[31]
• #2969 (originally #4789; built 1948) was custom-made for the city's transit system and was one of the first 40-foot (12 m) buses. Its front door was twice as wide as other buses' front doors at the time. It was renumbered after the bus that Jackie Gleason's character in The Honeymooners, Ralph Kramden, was pictured in.^[31]
• #3865 (built 1993) was operated by Queens Surface Corporation during its first years of service, but in May 2000, the bus became under the operation of Jamaica Buses. Twelve of the former Queens Surface buses (including #3865) replaced some 1980s-era buses that Jamaica Buses operated.^[31]
• #100 (built 1959) was a "New Look" bus built by GMC. In total, 190 "New Look" buses operated in New York City. Each had a curved windshield with a one-piece overhead route sign and windows shaped like parallelograms.^[31]
• #621 (built 1979) was a "Fishbowl" bus built by
  General Motors of Canada and one of ten such buses used in New York City until the 1990s.^[31]
• #3006 (built 1988) was a "Classic" bus operated by Liberty Lines Transit and used from 1982 to 2006.
• #1502 (built 1982) was a "New Look" bus. The 25 buses were operated by New York Bus Service. These buses had seats that faced forward; overhead racks and lights; and one door at the front.^[31]
• #5227 (built 1971 and rebuilt 1985) was one of 350 "New Look" buses that were rebuilt in Chicago. The buses, which had hard, blue lengthwise seating, were the last NYCT buses without a wheelchair lift.^[31]
• #1201 (built 1981) was one of ultimately 4,877 Rapid Transit Series buses used by the MTA Regional Bus Operations companies from 1981 to 1999. These buses all had wheelchair lifts, making MTA the first agency in the United States to have a fully accessible bus fleet.^[31]
• #8928 (built 1969) was one of 133 buses that replaced an earlier, 1956 fleet. Thirteen buses were operated on Staten Island express buses and were later used as buses between
  Howard Beach–JFK Airport.^[31]

Some bus artifacts are present in the station. A revenue bag, one of many provided for use for bus drivers with the Third Avenue Transit Corporation, was used during the 1950s to transport money out of the buses. It is part of the interactive "Show Me the Money: From the Turnstile to the Bank" exhibit, where visitors could "see an image of the vacuum that attaches to the fare box and sucks the coins out."^[3]: 2

Current exhibits

As of 2017^[update], the museum features a number of exhibits:^[32]

• "Steel, Stone & Backbone: Building New York's Subways" highlights the challenges and labor involved in subway construction during the period 1900–1925.^[33]
• "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.^[33]
• "Fare Collection" explains different methods New Yorkers have used to pay subway fare over the years, and displays authentic subway turnstiles which visitors can traverse.^{[3]: 1 [33]} In addition, there is a small display of the various token designs that were used in the past before they were completely discontinued.
• "On the Streets" exhibits a comprehensive history of New York City's street transportation (
  streetcars, buses, etc.), as well as two bus installations visitors can sit in, including the driver's seat.^[33]
• "Clearing the Air" discusses modern street transportation and its impact on the environment, and highlights steps that the MTA is taking to reduce its carbon footprint.[33]
• "Stop Look and Listen" allows visitors to enter a working subway signal tower dating from 1936, to see how trains are kept a safe distance apart and supervised.
• "Bringing Back The City: Mass Transit Responds To Crisis" explains planning and emergency services, and their role in preventing or recovering from service disruptions.
• "No Spitting on the Platform" displays historic way-finding and etiquette signage.
• "Dr. George T.F. Rahilly Trolley and Bus Study Center" displays over 50 scale models of streetcars and work cars, with a focus on Brooklyn.

Turnstiles and fare collection

Various

Most of the subway cars in the Transit Museum's fleet are operable, and they are frequently used for subway excursions run by the museum and New York City Transit on various parts of the system. The subway cars are fully furnished with vintage advertising placards and route maps, completing the period atmosphere inside the vehicles. Tickets for Transit Museum excursions (called "Nostalgia Trains") are sold in advance. Some New York City Transit special trains (such as Holiday specials at the end of most years, and Yankee/Met specials) are available for anyone to ride, so long as they have paid the regular subway fare. In addition to the subway cars displayed in the Transit Museum, there are also a number of museum cars that are kept off-site in various subway yards and shops while awaiting restoration, undergoing restoration, or in storage.

The following cars are displayed in the museum as of February 10, 2024^[update]:

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:

Gallery

• 
  Wood-bodied "BU-type" elevated railcar, restored to original appearance and still operational
• 
  BMT "Q-type" car, built in 1903 and updated in 1938; some were in revenue service for 66 years
• 
  R7A car 1575 was used as a prototype for the R10 series following a wreck in 1946
• 
  Interior of R7A car 1575, a prototype for the R10 series
• 
  An R12 car on display
• 
  Interior of IRT R12 subway car with rattan seat cushions
• 
  Interior of the R11/R34 car
• 
  A "Money train" car, retired circa 2006
• 
  Interior of the Money train

Past exhibits

Some exhibits no longer on view include:

• "ElectriCity: Powering New York's Rails", an interactive exhibit of the various types of electric power generation, how it gets to the subway, and how electric motors work.^[34]
• "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.^[3]: 1

No longer on view in the "Fare Collection" exhibit are several token

Other previous exhibits have included surveys of historic subway maps, artwork, signage, and mosaics. A refrigerator-sized plug-in circuit breaker, a complete relay-based classic electric motor controller, and numerous other artifacts that highlight topics such as subway signaling and control, electrical power, and railway infrastructure are no longer on view at the platform (lower) level.

Grand Central Gallery Annex and Store

The New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store opened on September 14, 1993 at Grand Central Terminal, in the terminal's main concourse. It houses a transit-oriented gift shop as well as a space for rotating temporary exhibitions.^[35] 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.

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 images from their collection can also be seen on Historypin.^[36]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New York Transit Museum.

See also

• List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City

References