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The Yankees will kick off their 2017 playoff run in the Bronx tonight, and the MTA is celebrating the occasion with a blast from the past. At 7pm, a subway train dating back to the first World War will make a no-stop trip from Grand Central to 161st Street and Yankee Stadium along the 4 line. Tonight's AL Wild Card Game starts at 8pm and will determine whether or not the Yanks will proceed to the ALDS on Thursday.
The Standard Low-V train, dubbed the “Nostalgia Special” for events of this kind, originally debuted on the Interborough Rapid Transit in 1917. Since being decommissioned in the 1960s, the model has made regular special appearances on the subway (including a ride through Brooklyn earlier this year). The cars are fitted with rattan seats, movable windows and ceiling fans, and they look nothing like the ones operating on the system today.
A press release from the MTA stated that the train is meant to serve “as a splendid illustration of just how far rapid transit car design and technology have advanced over the past 100 years,” which is exactly what you'd say if you were trying to make straphangers forget that subway service has been nothing short of miserable this year.
Scoring a seat on the throwback ride won't be easy—there are only four cars on the train, and it's only scheduled to make one trip. The Yankees heading to the playoffs (again) might be pretty exciting, but we all know that the real winners today will be the lucky fans who score a seat on the century-old piece of transit infrastructure.
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