Holiday Nostalgia Train rolls into New York right on schedule

World Today

Holiday Nostalgia Train rolls into New York right on schedule

The annual Holiday Nostalgia Train heads down the rails in New York City just in time for the holidays. It gives passengers a chance to be a part of the past on vintage trains and buses.

CGTN America’s Liling Tan reports.
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The vintage Holiday Nostalgia Train rolls in on the 2nd Avenue Line like a scene from an old Hollywood film. New Yorkers dress up and fully immerse themselves into the tradition, taking a step back in time.

Inside are eight original carriages from a bygone era, swing bands and jazz musicians, and old-school photographers adding an air of glamour.

“It gives me an opportunity to take the photos I would normally take, but have a little bit of a different environment around us,” one visitor said. “It certainly has a novelty about it.”

The onboard advertisements are authentic, as are the rattan seats, light bulbs, hand straps and ventilation system. The carriages are part of the New York Transit Museum’s fleet of some 20 different vintage cars, some more than 100-years-old.

“The best thing you can do for those train cars is actually move them on occasion. They need to kind of hit the rails,” according to Museum Director Concetta Bencivenga. “They need to work out the kinks in order to remain functional. And so for the sake of the trains, we need a venue to take them out every once in a while, and the holidays provide a perfect opportunity to really kind of give a gift back to the city of New York and the people who are visiting.”

The Holiday Nostalgia Train has been chugging for more than a decade, and runs every Sunday through December.