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September 28, 2022
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ICYMI: Press Passes Available For Historic Ride To The Woodlawn Cemetery |
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Take the New York Transit Museum’s 1917 Vintage Lo-V Train on a Trip Back in Time on October 22nd! On Saturday, October 22nd, the New York Transit Museum’s WW1-era Lo-V subway cars will venture uptown to The Woodlawn Cemetery for the last ticketed Nostalgia Ride of the year. This trip aboard authentic 1917 vintage train cars departs from the decommissioned Old South Ferry Station and arrives for an afternoon among the Gilded Age mausoleums and monuments of The Woodlawn Cemetery.
The New York Transit Museum’s fleet of vintage New York City subway and elevated train cars is one of the most comprehensive historic fleets in North America and one of only a few in the world that can run on its originally intended lines. The Nostalgia Ride program provides an opportunity for the Transit Museum to embody the spirit of a “museum without walls” by showcasing these irreplaceable and iconic artifacts of New York history on the rails of the city.
The train’s departure from the decommissioned Old South Ferry Station is an added treat. Opened in 1905 and decommissioned in 2009, Old South Ferry contains terracotta bas relief artwork designed by the original subway architects, Heins and LaFarge, as well as a newer art installation commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Similar to Old City Hall Station, the station was designed as a loop for trains to turn around and head back uptown. Originally built for 5-car trains, the platform could not be lengthened when 10-car trains entered service. To exit at South Ferry, passengers had to move to the first 5 cars.
Old South Ferry Station was originally decommissioned in 2009 when the new South Ferry Station opened. In October 2012, the new South Ferry Station suffered extensive damage during Superstorm Sandy and Old South Ferry was re-opened five months later to provide service while repairs were made. This was the first instance in the history of the New York subway system in which a decommissioned station was returned to passenger use. In 2017, the renovated new South Ferry Station opened and service to Old South Ferry Station ended once again.
In Lo-V, or “Low-Voltage” cars, the motorman’s master controller configuration uses 32-volt batteries to control the train’s propulsion, rather than the 600 volts used in earlier IRT equipment. The low voltage configuration made conditions safer for train crews and shop personnel. The fleet replaced composite cars on the IRT subway and introduced a much safer steel-bodied design. Nostalgia Train riders can explore the interior details of the Lo-V, including rattan seats, ceiling fans, drop sash windows, longitudinal seating, enamel handles, and incandescent lightbulbs.
During a 2-hour visit to The Woodlawn Cemetery, riders can enjoy a picnic lunch and join an exclusive guided tour featuring Woodlawn’s art, architecture, stained glass, and gravesites of some of the most famous jazz musicians, suffragists, civic leaders, and business moguls that “reside” there. Guests are invited to bring their own picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds. The Nostalgia Train will depart Woodlawn Station at 4pm and return to Old South Ferry Station at approximately 5pm.
The ride is sold out, but press are invited to attend. All tickets include a round-trip ride aboard vintage Lo-V subway cars from Old South Ferry to Woodlawn, a guided tour of the cemetery, and a return trip from Woodlawn Station to Old South Ferry.
Please e-mail Chelsea Newburg, PR & Marketing Manager at the New York Transit Museum, at press@nytransitmuseum.org to request press passes for the ride or schedule an interview.
ABOUT THE WOODLAWN CEMETERY:
A cultural resource and a veritable outdoor museum, Woodlawn has been an active, 400-acre, non-sectarian cemetery from its inception in 1863. The cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011 by the National Parks Service. Its celebrated lot owners include Herman Melville, Joseph Pulitzer, Fiorello LaGuardia, Celia Cruz, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The cemetery’s unrivaled collection of monuments—including over 1300 mausoleums—were designed by legendary American architects, landscape designers, and sculptors. The work of McKim, Mead & White, Carrere & Hastings, Beatrix Farrand, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Daniel Chester French graces Woodlawn’s grounds.
The Woodlawn Conservancy is dedicated to enhancing Woodlawn Cemetery as a historic, natural and cultural landmark; to creating a superior visitor experience to the Cemetery; and to building a community of supporters dedicated to preserving Woodlawn for the enjoyment of present and future generations.
ABOUT THE NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM:
The New York Transit Museum is the largest museum in the United States devoted to urban public transportation history and one of the premier institutions of its kind in the world. Since its inception over forty years ago, the Museum – which is housed in a historic 1936 IND subway station in Downtown Brooklyn – has grown in scope and popularity. For nearly 25 years, the Transit Museum has also operated a Gallery & Store in Grand Central Terminal. To learn more, visit nytransitmuseum.org
What: Historic Ride to Woodlawn Cemetery
When: Saturday, October 22nd, 12pm - 5pm
Where: Old South Ferry to Woodlawn Station
Media Contact: press@nytransitmuseum.org
More Info: nytransitmuseum.org/woodlawn |
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