Subway riders can go back in time this month and travel to Coney Island on a vintage train with cars that date back to 1925.
The train includes both R1-9 “City Cars,” which have rattan seats, and articulated “Triplex” cars, which let passengers walk from one car to the next through passageways. Riders will also experience what straphangers endured without air conditioning — both cars rely on fans, and the “Triplex” model has vents on the roof.
They can try out both cars together for the first time at 11 a.m. on July 18, when the old-school train leaves from the New York Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn to the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue stop, then returns at 4:30 p.m. The journey costs $50 for adults, and $25 for children.
The R1-9 “City Cars” rode the city’s rails between 1932 and 1977, and were originally ordered by the Independent Subway System, which had seven lettered lines. The D-Type “Triplex” trains were used between 1925 and 1965, and were considered more modern with signs that showed route destinations. They were ordered by the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Corporation, which also ran lettered routes. The Transit Museum will offer another vintage train trip in the Bronx in August.
Subway cars that date back to World War I will hit the rails to Pelham Bay Park and Orchard Beach on Aug. 8.
