Here is an improved version of the City Hall Station photo posted earlier:
It's interesting to ride the original 1 line (ex-IRT) to the viaduct over Manhattan Valley (between the 116th and 137th St. stations) and then up to the stations deep in the rock around 168th St which I think still preserve much of their turn-of-the-twentieth-century character. (Shrimp salad sandwich at the old University Food Market around 114th is still one of the best, too...)
Just a few more comments that might be helpful:
Senior citizens can ride the subway for 1/2 price. Go to an agent booth, show proof of age (65 and up), pay $2.75. The agent will sell you a metrocard good for two rides. Agents will only sell one reduced card per person.
The Staten Island Ferry is FREE! There are scammers at the Terminal who try to sell tourists "reduced fare" tickets. The SIRT is part of the subway system and uses the same Metrocards.
Coney Island is worth a ride. Four lines (D.F.N.Q) go to Stillwell Avenue (right across the street from Nathan's) and the B ends at Brighton Beach, two stops from Stillwell Ave. I recommend taking the N to Stillwell Ave., it runs through the yards at the Coney Island shops, which are huge.
If you take the A train to the Rockaways as Dave suggested, be aware that there are two branches of the A train in Queens: the Rockaways (which you want), and Lefferts Blvd. (which you don't want). If you go, look at the top of the subway cars. At certain times of the day, the local seagulls "commute" between Howard Beach and Broad Channel stations by riding on the tops of the cars.
Not all of the subway lines cross the East River in tunnels. The J and M lines cross on the Williamsburg Bridge, the B,D,N, and Q cross on the Manhattan Bridge (B&D on the north side, N&Q on the south). These offer great views of the East River that you can't see from anywhere else.
I'll add more if I think of anything else.
Why does the Transit Museum use what appears to me to be an IND R car to illustrate an invitation to ride Lo-V equipment?
City Hall station, on loop still used for reversal by No. 6 A-Division (IRT) trains, but closed except for special tours and inspections and railfan trips.
https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/subwayday/
The Interborough Rapid Transit subway opened on October 27, 1904 with 28 stations along a 9.1-mile line extending from City Hall to 145th Street. Since it first opened in 1904, New York’s subway has been the fastest and most popular mode of personal transportation in the city. Today, it is the largest 24-hour operating subway system in the world, with 472 stations, over 800 track miles and a fleet of more than 6,000 passenger cars.
Founded in 1976, the New York Transit Museum is dedicated to telling and preserving the stories of mass transportation – extraordinary engineering feats, workers who labored in the tunnels over 100 years ago, communities that were drastically transformed, and the ever-evolving technology, design, and ridership of a system that runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
The New York Transit Museum in Downtown Brooklyn and our Grand Central Gallery & Store will open at 10am on October 27th! Plan your visit now.
Ride the New York Transit Museum’s 1917 Lo-V train cars on the 2/3 line between Times Square and 96th Street from 12:30pm to 4pm.
View historic New York Transit Museum Collection photos of our system and city before, during, and after the construction of the subway on screens throughout the subway. Stop by the stations along the original IRT route to see what each station looked like when the subway opened in 1904!
A Forum reader asked for advice, and rather than reply just on my own thread, I thought the advice would be useful generally.
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