Happy 100th Birthday to the BMT!

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the commencement of revenue service on the Brooklyn Rapid Transit company's 4th Avenue subway line and the MTA is celebrating:

On June 22, 1915, on a seasonally cool but fair Tuesday, The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, or BRT, (which would become the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, or BMT), opened its first subway with much pomp and circumstance with Manhattan to Coney Island service. Its first train crossed the East River to Downtown Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge and then headed out to Coney Island using the new Fourth Avenue Subway and Sea Beach Lines. The inaugural ride from Chambers Street to Coney Island took 48 minutes, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. It was New York City’s second subway company and, in its time, one of the most innovative transit networks in the world.

The BMT’s centennial was relived today at the New York Transit Museum where MTA New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco took part in the festivities. In addition, nostalgia trains will be put into service as part of the centennial celebration this weekend on June 27 and 28, when customers can ride the vintage subway cars between noon and 4 p.m. with just the swipe of a MetroCard. The Brighton Beach Q station will serve as the terminus for these nostalgia rides and as the site of other special centennial-related children’s activities.

According to the transit museum's Facebook page, the Triplexes, Standards, Arnines and the R11 will be available for shuttle rides...of course that roster is subject to change. Not a bad way to spend your $2.75 this Saturday and Sunday

edit: It is not immediately clear to where these shuttles are running, I have heard elsewhere they will run between King's Highway and Brighton Beach.

" I have heard elsewhere they will run between King's Highway and Brighton Beach."

You are correct. The express tracks will be used between Kings Highway and Brighton Beach.

I just hope that they take care with the R11(R34) car 8013. The last time they took it out of the Museum (earlier this year) and used it on an excursion (on a day on which it rained) they blew most of the electric components in the ceiling. It was the first time the car had been out of the Museum in over 25 years.

It wasn't explicitly stated at that point

Yup, that was the Rockaways trip last summer. Even though the electrical system shorted out it still rode like a dream. I'm glad they fixed it too!

All of my Vintage Nostalgia Train catches this past weekend (scroll down to the bottom half of the playlist): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... TSSfTZL7Dc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some sample clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LITCtNKfwbc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1108NldMLFY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtMvIfopYmY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A79BTykoILg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm8nOLMkyQs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r9axInANV0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyt4H6oVT3U" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Saturday
BMT Standards
R-1, R-9, plus R-4 and R-6
D-Type Triplexes
R-11, R-16, and more

My best shots of the charade...I mean parade
(Considering it was pouring towards the end, not a bad showing at all.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/48383371@ ... 2915276344

R1 381 wheelslip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub_CfAeuEi0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice to see the Standards and Ds on the road. The Ds were the mainstays of the Nostalgia Fleet many years ago, but were out of service for a long time. I have never seen a live Standard.

lol the standards finally broke down around 3:30 on Sunday. Problems with the batteries and the low voltage system. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done on them before they can see long haul nostalgia service.

I rode the Standards for a number of years (including a year of commuting between Sheepshead Bay and Broad St. Manhattan), but it wasn't until I saw the ones exhibited at the museum that I realized they were originally brown. Anytime I rode them the exteriors were generic dirt--I had no idea there was an actual color under there.