New York Transit Museum

Upcoming Events

On The Streets: New York's Trolleys And Buses

A gallery dedicated to surface transportation presents, in nine complementing segments, a history of above ground mobility for the last 175 years – from the early 1800s through the 21st Century. The central element of the exhibition On the Streets: New York's Trolleys and Buses is a simulated traffi... [ + ]c intersection complete with traffic lights and coordinated walk-don't walk signs, parking meters, fire hydrants, and an array of other "street furniture." Children of all ages will delight in our wheelchair accessible, 12-seat bus; refurbished 1960s "Fishbowl" bus cab; and child-sized trolley. Audio interviews with New York City Transit Department of Buses personnel and a commissioned photo essay A Day in the Life of a Bus complete the streetscape. Exhibition sidebars credit two men who were instrumental in the electrification of streetcars and railcars. Frank Julian Sprague (1857 – 1934), of European descent, often called "the father of electric railway traction" was responsible for the first large-scale successful use of electricity to run an entire system of streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, in 1887-1888; and Granville T. Woods (1856 – 1910), an African-American inventor who patented more than 60 devices over 30 years that sped development of telegraphs, telephones, and electric trains. One of Woods' most significant inventions, a third-rail system for conducting electric power to railway cars – successfully demonstrated in 1892 in Coney Island – made the subway a reality in New York City. The exhibition also tells the story of Elizabeth Jennings Graham (1830 – 1901), an African-American schoolteacher who won a landmark legal decision that defined the rights of people of color to ride any public conveyance on the city's streets. Ms. Graham's victory occurred 100 years before Rosa Parks won a U.S. Supreme Court case in the 1950s, that gave African-Americans the right to sit anywhere in a public bus.

Moving The Millions: New York City's Subways From Its Origins To The Present

On the platform level, Moving the Millions: New York City's Subways from its Origins to the Present provides visitors with an overview of the magnitude and complexity of New York City's rapid transit system. The exhibition uses historical photographs, diagrams, cartoons, period maps, and newspaper c... [ + ]lippings to illustrate major issues and events that influenced the development of the largest transportation network in North America. While touring Moving the Millions, museum visitors may board the Museum's vintage collection of subway and elevated trains and visit a working signal tower.

On The Streets: New York's Trolleys And Buses

A gallery dedicated to surface transportation presents, in nine complementing segments, a history of above ground mobility for the last 175 years – from the early 1800s through the 21st Century. The central element of the exhibition On the Streets: New York's Trolleys and Buses is a simulated traffi... [ + ]c intersection complete with traffic lights and coordinated walk-don't walk signs, parking meters, fire hydrants, and an array of other "street furniture." Children of all ages will delight in our wheelchair accessible, 12-seat bus; refurbished 1960s "Fishbowl" bus cab; and child-sized trolley. Audio interviews with New York City Transit Department of Buses personnel and a commissioned photo essay A Day in the Life of a Bus complete the streetscape. Exhibition sidebars credit two men who were instrumental in the electrification of streetcars and railcars. Frank Julian Sprague (1857 – 1934), of European descent, often called "the father of electric railway traction" was responsible for the first large-scale successful use of electricity to run an entire system of streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, in 1887-1888; and Granville T. Woods (1856 – 1910), an African-American inventor who patented more than 60 devices over 30 years that sped development of telegraphs, telephones, and electric trains. One of Woods' most significant inventions, a third-rail system for conducting electric power to railway cars – successfully demonstrated in 1892 in Coney Island – made the subway a reality in New York City. The exhibition also tells the story of Elizabeth Jennings Graham (1830 – 1901), an African-American schoolteacher who won a landmark legal decision that defined the rights of people of color to ride any public conveyance on the city's streets. Ms. Graham's victory occurred 100 years before Rosa Parks won a U.S. Supreme Court case in the 1950s, that gave African-Americans the right to sit anywhere in a public bus.

Moving The Millions: New York City's Subways From Its Origins To The Present

On the platform level, Moving the Millions: New York City's Subways from its Origins to the Present provides visitors with an overview of the magnitude and complexity of New York City's rapid transit system. The exhibition uses historical photographs, diagrams, cartoons, period maps, and newspaper c... [ + ]lippings to illustrate major issues and events that influenced the development of the largest transportation network in North America. While touring Moving the Millions, museum visitors may board the Museum's vintage collection of subway and elevated trains and visit a working signal tower.

On The Streets: New York's Trolleys And Buses

A gallery dedicated to surface transportation presents, in nine complementing segments, a history of above ground mobility for the last 175 years – from the early 1800s through the 21st Century. The central element of the exhibition On the Streets: New York's Trolleys and Buses is a simulated traffi... [ + ]c intersection complete with traffic lights and coordinated walk-don't walk signs, parking meters, fire hydrants, and an array of other "street furniture." Children of all ages will delight in our wheelchair accessible, 12-seat bus; refurbished 1960s "Fishbowl" bus cab; and child-sized trolley. Audio interviews with New York City Transit Department of Buses personnel and a commissioned photo essay A Day in the Life of a Bus complete the streetscape. Exhibition sidebars credit two men who were instrumental in the electrification of streetcars and railcars. Frank Julian Sprague (1857 – 1934), of European descent, often called "the father of electric railway traction" was responsible for the first large-scale successful use of electricity to run an entire system of streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, in 1887-1888; and Granville T. Woods (1856 – 1910), an African-American inventor who patented more than 60 devices over 30 years that sped development of telegraphs, telephones, and electric trains. One of Woods' most significant inventions, a third-rail system for conducting electric power to railway cars – successfully demonstrated in 1892 in Coney Island – made the subway a reality in New York City. The exhibition also tells the story of Elizabeth Jennings Graham (1830 – 1901), an African-American schoolteacher who won a landmark legal decision that defined the rights of people of color to ride any public conveyance on the city's streets. Ms. Graham's victory occurred 100 years before Rosa Parks won a U.S. Supreme Court case in the 1950s, that gave African-Americans the right to sit anywhere in a public bus.