New York Transit Museum

New York Transit Museum
Side view of the street entrance on the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street
Location in New York City
Established	July 4, 1976 (July 4, 1976)
Location	Court Street (IND Fulton Street Line) station, Boerum Pl., Brooklyn, NY 11201 United States
Coordinates	40°41′25″N 73°59′24″W / 40.6904°N 73.9900°W / 40.6904; -73.9900Coordinates: 40°41′25″N 73°59′24″W / 40.6904°N 73.9900°W / 40.6904; -73.9900
Type	Railway and mass transit museum
Accreditation	ASTC
Public transit access	Bus: B25, B26, B38, B41, B45, B52, B57, B61, B62, B63, B65, B103 Subway: Court Street – Borough Hall Jay Street – MetroTech
Website	http://www.mta.info/mta/museum/

The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, commuter rail, and bridge and tunnel systems under the administration of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). 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 the midtown area of Manhattan.

Historic use as station

Court Street
Former New York City Subway rapid transit 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
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 (April 9, 1936)
Closed	June 1, 1946 (June 1, 1946)
Accessible	(station was not wheelchair accessible when it was in service)
Station succession
Next north	(Terminal): no regular service
Next south	Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets: no regular service

Next north	none: no regular service
Next south	Franklin Avenue (local): no regular service Utica Avenue (express): no regular service

Court Street was built as a terminus for local trains of the IND Fulton Street Line and opened on April 9, 1936, 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. A tile band of Aquamarine with a Cerulean Blue border is set in a course two tiles high, as is the case at most local stations.

The station exemplified the IND service theory which specified that local trains should operate within individual boroughs where possible, and provide transfers to express trains which would be through-routed between the boroughs. Court Street was to be the northern terminal of the HH Fulton Street Local, which would run south 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 from Manhattan.^[1]

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. Due to the proximity of other stations in the Downtown Brooklyn area, as well as the need to transfer to reach it, Court Street never saw much traffic and was abandoned on June 1, 1946. However, 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.

Around 1960, the station began to be used as a set for movies, most notably the 1974 film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and the entrance at Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street was reopened for shoots. To this day, the station and its connecting tunnels are still used for movie shoots. The 2009 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, a remake of the 1974 movie, was also filmed there. More recently, the Museum appeared in the Life on Mars episode "The Simple Secret of the Note In Us All", where a newspaper columnist is found murdered on a subway car. The Museum remains open to requests to use the station for filming, as well as to host private events during hours the Museum is not normally open.

Street entrance

Bumper block at end of Track A2

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance (stairs and elevator)
M	Mezzanine area	Exhibits, museum store
P Former platform level	Track A2 (see list below for cars)	→ No passenger service (No service: Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets)
	Island platform, used for exhibits
	Track A1 (see list below for cars)	→No passenger service (No service: Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets)

The station was a two-track, one-island platformed station while in service. An ADA-accessible chair lift and elevator were added after the station was converted into a museum.

Museum and scope

Special "Train of Many Colors" excursions are organized by the New York Transit Museum

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, with one subway token for admittance. Old subway cars which had been preserved, as well as models and other exhibits were displayed. Plans were to close the exhibition after the celebration, but it proved to be so popular that it remained open and eventually became a permanent museum.

The Transit Museum's main entrance is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn. Also, there is a new, separate ADA-accessible entrance for those with physical disabilities.^[2] The Museum includes subway, bus, railway, bridge, and tunnel memorabilia and other exhibits including vintage signage, models and dioramas of subway, bus and other equipment. A program of lectures, seminars, films, and tours for all ages is available 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, a screening room, and a dining space for visitors who have brought their own food or drink. Artifacts from historic subway and bus operations, as well as NYC transportation infrastructure, are on display. The exhibits on the upper level frequently change.

On the platform (lower) level, two fully powered operational subway tracks contain many historic examples of New York City Subway and Elevated railway equipment as a permanent display. Preserved subway cars, most of which can still be run, 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. In addition to the subway cars, there is a large wheel truck and motor (bogie) on display, 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, railway infrastructure, station maps and signage, and station artwork. In addition, a fully functional underground "signal tower" control room is on view, a facility that was used when the subway station was in active revenue service. The track diagram indicator lights and control levers are fully operational, and are still needed when the subway cars on display are replaced or moved; however, since the controls are live, the control panel is secured and locked, but visitors can still view it through a window and read explanatory signs.

Bus Festival

Besides subway cars, the Museum has a sizable vintage bus fleet. Because there is no area available for their permanent exhibition in the underground Museum, they are stored in various bus depots around the city. They are brought out for special events, such as the Museum's annual "Bus Festival," which is held annually in conjunction with the Atlantic Antic street fair. The Bus Festival began as an annual tradition in 1994. During the Bus Festival, the Museum opens its doors for free. Documents, photographs, and artifacts are stored both in the 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.^[3]

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 / 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.

Current exhibits

As of January 2012 the Museum featured several exhibits:

Steel Stone and Backbone, which highlights the challenges and labor involved in subway construction during the period 1900-1925.^[4]
Fare Collection, which explains different methods New Yorkers have used to pay subway fare over the years, and contains authentic subway turnstiles for passage through.^[4]
ElectriCity: Powering New York's Rails, an interactive exhibit showing the various types of electric power generation, how it gets to the subway and how electric motors work.^[5]
Show Me the Money: From the Turnstile to the Bank, which explains the old (pre-2006) process of revenue collection in the New York City Subway.
On the Streets, which contains a comprehensive history of New York City's street transportation from horse pulled vehicles to modern buses, as well as two bus installations visitors can sit in, including the driver's seat.^[4]
Clearing the Air, which discusses modern street transportation and its impact on the environment, and highlights steps that the MTA is taking to reduce its carbon footprint.^[4]
Stop Look and Listen, which allows visitors to enter a working subway signal tower dating from 1936 and see how trains are kept a safe distance apart and supervised.
Moving the Millions, which 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.^[4]

Turnstiles and fare collection

Various turnstiles from the history of subways are on display at the NYC Transit Museum. They date as far back as the subway's opening in 1904, up through turnstiles that were still in use as recently as 2003. The exhibit is designed to be interactive and to be viewed in conjunction with a large board that details the history of fare payment in the subway. Most of the turnstiles can be walked through by visitors wishing to do so. Also viewable in conjunction with this exhibit are several token vending machines that were used to sell subway tokens prior to the advent of the MetroCard.

Cars currently on display

This R21/R22 car was rebuilt for the movie Money Train, then donated to the New York Transit Museum collection

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 July 5, 2014:

Track A1

R7A 1575
R4 484
R1 100
BMT D-Type Triplex 6095A-B-C
BRT AB Standard 2204
R30 8506
R44 5240

Track A2

R33 World's Fair 9306
R12 5760
R15 6239
BRT BU Gated El Cars 1404, 1273, 1407
BMT Q-Type El Car 1612C
IRT Lo-V 4902
Long Island Rail Road Caboose C-60
SBK Steeplecab 5
Diesel Locomotive 10

Cars not currently on display

SBK Steeplecab 6, 7
IRT World's Fair Lo-V 5655
BMT D-Type Triplex 6019A-B-C, 6112A-B-C
R10 3189 (ex. Road Car Inspector School Training Car used at Pitkin Yard, 1984-2007)
R11 8013
R12 5782 (ex. Fire Department Training Car used at Coney Island Yard)
R14 5871 (ex. Fire Department Training Car used at Coney Island Yard)
R16 6387
R17 6609 (used in the 1971 film The French Connection)
R26 7774-7775
R28 7924-7925
R29 8678-8679
R32 3352-3353 (Rebuilt as Phase II)
R33 9010-9011, 9016-9017, 9068-9069, 9206-9207 (part of the Train of Many Colors excursion cars)
R36 9542-9543
R36 WF 9586-9587
R38 4028-4029
R40 4280-4281
R40A 4480-4481
R42 4572-4573 (used in the 1971 film The French Connection)
R95 Revenue Collection Cars 0R714 (former R21 7194) and 1R714 (former R22 7422) (stored elsewhere to allow for display of Ansonia, Derby & Buckingham Electric Locomotive)
"Money Train" Car 51050 (former R21 car 7203, modified and used in the 1995 film Money Train.)

Grand Central Gallery Annex and Store

Grand Central Terminal Gallery Annex & 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.^[6] 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.

Gallery

New York Transit Museum display

Classic 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

Some Brooklyn Rapid Transit "AB Standard" steel-bodied cars remained in service for over 50 years

Interior of R7A car, a prototype for the R10 series

Interior of IRT R12 subway car with rattan seat cushions

Exterior of an IRT "Lo-V" car

Interior of an IRT "Lo-V" car, with original advertising placards

Exterior view of R11/R34, the first series built of stainless steel

Interior of R34 car

Vintage ad for Crisco on display inside a subway car

View from one vintage bus to another, at Bus Festival

An array of historic subway turnstiles

A Diamond Jubilee subway token on display

Machine used to sew bags of subway tokens

Real "Money Train" car, retired circa 2006

(See also: Media related to New York Transit Museum at Wikimedia Commons)

References

↑ Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (23 August 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 416-417. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
↑ "Transit Museum Becomes Accessible To Disabled". NY1. June 8, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
↑ Avalith. "nytransitmuseum - Historypin". historypin.com.
1 2 3 4 5 "MTA - Transit Museum General Information". mta.info.
↑ "ElectriCity". lsc.org.
↑ "New Yorkers & Co.". The New York Times. September 19, 1993. Retrieved September 22, 2009.

External links

Official websites

Unofficial sites with official content

Unofficial sites

Google Maps Street View tours

New York City Subway stations

Fulton St. Line	Court Street [← to Jay Street – MetroTech, 8th Ave. Line] Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets Lafayette Avenue Clinton–Washington Avenues Franklin Avenue Nostrand Avenue Kingston–Throop Avenues Utica Avenue Ralph Avenue Rockaway Avenue Broadway Junction Liberty Avenue Van Siclen Avenue Shepherd Avenue Euclid Avenue Grant Avenue 80th Street 88th Street Rockaway Boulevard [to Aqueduct – North Conduit Avenue, Rockaway Line →] 104th Street 111th Street Ozone Park – Lefferts Boulevard

See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Stations and line segments in italics are closed or demolished. Track connections to other lines' terminals are displayed in brackets. ~~Struck through~~ passenger track connections are closed or unused in regular service.

Museums in Manhattan

Current	American Academy of Arts and Letters American Folk Art Museum American Museum of Natural History Rose Center for Earth and Space Asia Society Asian American Arts Centre Castle Clinton Center for Jewish History Children's Museum of Manhattan China Institute The Cloisters Drawing Center Dyckman House El Museo del Barrio Eldridge Street Synagogue Ellis Island Federal Hall Fraunces Tavern Frick Collection FusionArts Museum George Gustav Heye Center Girl Scout Museum and Archives Gracie Mansion Grolier Club Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Hamilton Grange National Memorial Hispanic Society of America International Center of Photography International Print Center New York Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame Japan Society Jewish Museum John J. Harvey John M. Mossman Lock Museum Lower East Side Tenement Museum Madame Tussauds Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center Merchant's House Museum Met Breuer Metropolitan Museum of Art Morgan Library & Museum Morris–Jumel Mansion Mount Vernon Hotel Museum The Museum at FIT Museum of American Finance Museum of Arts and Design Museum of Biblical Art Museum of Chinese in America Museum of Jewish Heritage Museum of Mathematics Museum of Modern Art Museum of Motherhood Museum of Primitive Art Museum of Sex Museum of the City of New York National Academy Museum and School National Jazz Museum in Harlem National Track and Field Hall of Fame Neue Galerie New York New Museum New York City Fire Museum New York City Police Museum New York Public Library New York Public Library for the Performing Arts New York Transit Museum New-York Historical Society Paley Center for Media Nicholas Roerich Museum Rose Museum Rubin Museum of Art Scandinavia House Skyscraper Museum South Street Seaport Museum Statue of Liberty Studio Museum in Harlem The Theatre Museum Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Tibet House Ukrainian Museum United Nations Art Collection Whitney Museum of American Art Yeshiva University Museum

Defunct	Chelsea Art Museum Dahesh Museum of Art Forbes Galleries Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art

See also: Museum Mile

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