New York Transit Museum

When the subway first opened in 1904, riders handed a paper ticket to an employee who would then chop the ticket in half and allow the rider into the station.

As the three separate companies operating New York’s subways merged – Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT, later BMT), and the Independent Subway System (IND) – the design of fare-collecting turnstiles became increasingly automated and fool-proofed. 

This turnstile was built for the temporary 1939 World's Fair subway station, where passengers paid twice the normal fare for access. The turnstiles had coin slots at either ends of the device and passengers deposited a nickel both on entering and exiting the station.

The high entrance (or high wheel) turnstile was used where agents were not on duty to prevent riders from jumping the turnstiles (not paying their fare). The revolving circular cage occasionally trapped passengers inside.

The AFC turnstile is equipped with an electronic reader that subtracts one fare from a MetroCard and calculates its remaining value. The sharply slanted sides reduce leverage for leapers, while the narrow passageway inhibits people from crawling under the arms. 

A "signal tower” is a space in a subway station that provides a lookout for departing and arriving trains. Signal towers contain equipment that monitors and controls train movements on small, nearby sections of track.

The 1930s equipment in the Court Street Signal Tower, located within the Transit Museum, is used by Transit personnel when the Museum’s vintage trains are moved or when the tracks need to be cleaned and inspected. 

The numbered handles on the Interlocking correspond with track switches along this section of the subway. By changing the signals' lights, trains are given clearance, or indication, to move, proceed slowly, or come to a full stop.

This map provides a real-time view of trains as they move around the segments of track this Tower controls. It receives information from relays, which are electromagnetic devices designed to monitor trains as they move along 1000-foot-long sections of track, or “blocks.”  

Train crew schedules and assignments are visible around the desk, where workers would check in for their assignments. 

A magneto (a hand-cranked telephone), a standard telephone and radio equipment were used to connect with neighboring signal towers and all still function.

Car 1273 was among the early motorized cars ordered in 1903 after the Brooklyn Rapid Transit system electrified its elevated lines. Electric power was cleaner and more economical than the steam locomotives.

Electric motors increased the speed of service, created a smoother ride, and allowed for brightly lit and better heated car interiors. Car 1273 was in service on the Brooklyn Elevated Line from 1904 to 1938, after which it was used by different passenger systems in New York City until 1969.

Passengers entered and exited through the open air vestibules at the front and back of the wooden cars.

The windows could be opened and closed and were a source of relief in the summer, as there were no cooling units in the cars. 

A conductor manually opened and closed the metal gates and rang a ceiling-mounted bell when passengers were safely on board to signal the motorman to proceed. 

The Brooklyn Rapid Transit “Standard” represented a radical departure from the earlier subway car design of their competitor, the IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit). At 67 feet long and 10 feet wide, the Standards were larger than IRT subway cars, which meant they could not run in IRT tunnels.

The larger, more accommodating subway train cars set the BRT service apart from the IRT and better addressed the challenges of a growing subway ridership.

The Standard cars addressed the overcrowding problem in the subway system. IRT cars contained 42 to 44 seats, but the larger Standard cars had 78 seats with an additional 14 drop-down auxiliary seats and a standing load of 182 people. 

The Standard cars were a departure from earlier subway car designs with a greater number of light fixtures and windows, making for a brighter ride above and below ground.

A system that allowed a single conductor to operate all the doors on an 8-car Standard train made its first appearance on the Standard cars.  

In anticipation of the construction of the Second Avenue subway, the city ordered 10 trial R-11 cars in 1947. Because of its many innovations and stainless steel construction, The New York Times described it as “the car of tomorrow.”

Because construction on the Second Avenue subway line was delayed for decades, the “car of tomorrow” never went into full service operation. They were rebuilt to be compatible with existing cars. This car was in service from 1949-1976. 

The circular windows used on the car’s doors evoked the design cues of the era’s luxury cruise liners.

The R-11 was the first New York City subway car model to feature speakers through which the conductor could make station and route announcements to passengers.

The R-11 was the first New York City subway car model in which the conductor could make station and route announcements to passengers from a microphone in the conductor cab and transmitted through speakers in the train car.

A motor truck is an assembly of many parts, including wheels, axles, electric motors, and a braking system. Two motor trucks are located underneath each subway car and provide the basic motive power for all subway cars. 

The weight of a 1930s motor truck is almost the weight of two adult elephants! Motor trucks on today’s subway cars are almost half the weight of a 1930s motor truck. This motor truck was in use until 1940.

The third rail supplies the high voltage of electricity to power the subway. It is located alongside the two running rails (the rails that support the train’s weight).

The contact shoes are in the center of the motor truck. Over 600 volts of electricity are transmitted from the third rail to the train motors using this sliding metal “shoe,” which is held in contact with the third rail.  

Insulators support the third rail and prevent electricity from touching the ground and short-circuiting.  In the past, insulators such as these were made of stone or ceramic; today, they are made of fiberglass.

As subway service increased in the 1910s and 1920s, the private companies operating the subway began to search for economical ways to increase passenger capacity. In 1924, The Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) introduced plans for the Triplex, an articulated subway car.

Articulated cars are connected by a flexible joint and allow passengers to walk between cars. Articulated cars are still used in subway systems around the world today.

These electrically-illuminated origin-and-destination signs made their first appearance on the Triplex. Green signs indicated operation via the Manhattan Bridge; and white for the Montague Street Tunnel.

At a time when many elevated lines operated with wooden cars, the Triplex represented the height of transit modernity with its steel body.

At 137 feet long and with seating for 160, each Triplex was the equivalent of two standard cars in size and passenger capacity.