New York Transit Museum facts for kids

More information
Established	July 4, 1976; 48 years ago (July 4, 1976)
Location	Former Court Street station, 99 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 United States
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 ​​ ​

The Museum's Home: An Old Subway Station

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
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; 89 years ago (April 9, 1936)
Closed	June 1, 1946; 79 years ago (June 1, 1946) (as a subway station)
Accessible	ADA-accessible (station was not wheelchair accessible when it was in service)
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
Street map

The main museum is inside a real subway station called Court Street. This station opened on April 9, 1936. It was built as the end of the line for local trains on the IND Fulton Street Line. The station has one platform in the middle with two tracks. The tracks stop at the end of the platform.

The station walls have cool blue and green tiles. Even though it's a museum now, it's still a working subway station. Trains can be moved in and out of the exhibits using tunnels that connect to another station nearby.

Why the Station Closed

The Court Street station was supposed to be a local stop. It was designed to connect to express trains at other stations. However, it was very close to other subway stations in Downtown Brooklyn. Not many people used it because they had to transfer trains to get there.

Because of this, the Court Street station closed on June 1, 1946. This saved the city money. After it closed, most of the entrances to the street were sealed up.

Life After Closure

Even after it closed to the public, subway trains would sometimes run through the station. This helped keep the tracks clean. There were even ideas to turn the old station into a bowling alley in 1961, but that never happened.

The station also became a popular spot for filming movies! It was used in films like Guilty Bystander (1949) and The FBI Story (1956). By the 1960s, many movies were filmed there each year. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) is another famous movie filmed there. Even today, the museum allows movies and private events to be held in the station when it's closed to visitors.

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  Looking down the platform

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  The end of the tracks at the museum

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  Moving old trains around the museum

The museum's main entrance is on the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. It has a special lift and elevator for people using wheelchairs. You need to ask for help or use a call button to use them.

What You Can See and Do

The New York City Transit Exhibit first opened on July 4, 1976. It was part of the United States Bicentennial celebration. You could get in for the price of one subway token! They planned to close it after a few months, but it was so popular that it became a permanent museum.

In the mid-1990s, the MTA took over the museum. They made it bigger to include all kinds of transportation in the New York area. This includes commuter trains like Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road, as well as bridges and tunnels.

The museum has lots of cool stuff! You can see old subway cars, buses, and train items. There are also old signs, ads from inside vehicles, and models of trains and buses. The museum also offers talks, movies, and tours for all ages. You can even go on special tours of MTA buildings or ride vintage trains and buses!

The upper level of the museum has most of the exhibits, restrooms, and a gift shop. You'll find old items from subway and bus operations, plus information about New York City's transportation buildings. The exhibits on this level change sometimes. There's also a small room where you can watch videos about safety and good manners on public transport.

Amazing Old Trains

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

Down on the platform level, you'll find many historic subway and elevated train cars. These old trains are still working! They date back to the very first subway companies, like the BMT and IRT. Some of these trains are so old, they were built before the city even owned the subway system!

The platform next to one of the tracks has special yellow boards that flip out. These help you safely get on the older, narrower trains.

You can also see some special work vehicles that were used to maintain the tracks. There's even a large wheel and motor from a train on display. You can learn how New York City's train systems grew over time.

A cool part of the museum is a working underground "signal tower" control room. This room was used to control trains on the IND Fulton Street Line when the station was open. The lights and levers still work! They are used when the museum needs to move or replace the trains on display. You can look through a window and read signs to learn how it all works.

Other old items include a movie poster from 1926 and an original brass light from the station. There's also a beautiful old mosaic sign from the 137th Street station, from when the subway first opened in 1904.

Fantastic Bus Collection

The annual Bus Festival shows off working historic buses, like this double-decker

The yearly Bus Festival in Brooklyn Bridge Park

The museum also has a big collection of old buses! Since there's no room for them underground, they are kept in different bus garages around the city. They come out for special events, like the museum's yearly "Bus Festival." This festival happens with the Atlantic Antic street fair. During the Bus Festival, you can visit the museum for free.

Some of the cool buses include:

• #3100 (built 1956): This was the first air-conditioned bus in any American city! It had special push-to-open rear doors and soft seats.
• #236 (built 1980): This was a high-tech bus for its time. It had lifts for wheelchairs and electronic signs.
• #2969 (built 1948): This bus was custom-made for New York City. It was one of the first 40-foot buses. Its front door was extra wide.
• #100 (built 1959): This was a "New Look" bus by GMC. It had a curved windshield and parallelogram-shaped windows.
• #1201 (built 1981): This bus was part of a large group of buses with wheelchair lifts. The MTA was the first agency in the US to have a fully accessible bus fleet!

You can also see some bus items in the museum. There's an old "revenue bag" from the 1950s. Bus drivers used these bags to carry money from the buses. It's part of an exhibit where you can see how money was collected from the subway and bus system.

Current Exhibits to Explore

As of 2017^[update], the museum has several interesting exhibits:

• "Steel, Stone & Backbone: Building New York's Subways" shows how challenging it was to build the subways from 1900 to 1925.
• "Moving the Millions" tells the story of the subway system, from private companies to today's MTA.
• "Fare Collection" explains how New Yorkers have paid for subway rides over the years. You can even walk through real subway turnstiles!
• "On the Streets" explores the history of street transportation, like horsecars, streetcars, and buses. You can even sit in two bus installations.
• "Clearing the Air" talks about how modern street transportation affects the environment. It shows how the MTA is trying to be more eco-friendly.
• "Stop Look and Listen" lets you enter a working subway signal tower from 1936. You can see how trains are kept safe distances apart.
• "No Spitting on the Platform" displays old signs about finding your way and good manners in the subway.

Turnstiles and How We Pay

An array of historic subway turnstiles

The museum has many different turnstiles from the subway's history. They go all the way back to 1904, when the subway first opened. You can even see special turnstiles from the 1939 New York World's Fair. These turnstiles made passengers pay twice! Most of the turnstiles are interactive, so you can walk through them.

Amazing Subway Cars

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 museum's collection can still run. They are often used for special "Nostalgia Train" trips around the subway system. These cars are decorated with old ads and maps, making you feel like you've traveled back in time! You usually buy tickets for these trips in advance. Sometimes, special trains like Holiday specials are open to everyone with a regular subway fare.

Here are some of the cool cars you can see at the museum as of 10 February  2024 (2024 -02-10)^[update]:

Gallery of Trains

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  An old wooden elevated train car, still working!

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  A "Q-type" car, built in 1903 and used for 66 years

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  R7A car 1575, a test car for newer models

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  Inside R7A car 1575

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  An R12 subway car on display

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  Inside an IRT R12 subway car with cool rattan seats

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  Inside the R11/R34 car

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  A "Money train" car, used to carry money

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  Inside the "Money train"

Grand Central Gallery Annex

Grand Central Terminal Gallery Annex and Store

The New York Transit Museum also has a smaller spot at Grand Central Terminal. It opened on September 14, 1993. This location has a gift shop with transit-themed items. It also has a space for temporary exhibits that change often. Every year, they have a "Holiday Train Show" with a cool model train display. It's free to enter the Annex, unlike the main museum in Brooklyn.

Museum Archives

The museum also keeps many documents, photos, and items in its Archives. This helps preserve the history of transportation in New York. If you are a historian or researcher, you can visit the Archives through the museum. Some pictures from their collection can also be seen online on Historypin.

See also

• List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City