No DeLorean necessary: Opening Day nostalgia train runs back in time (to Yankee Stadium)

Nostalgia train goes back in time to Yankee Stadium

By Mike Bertha

April 3, 2015

On Opening Day of the 1917 season, Yankees fans flocked to the Polo Grounds to watch a Red Sox pitcher named Babe Ruth best the Bronx Bombers in a three-hit shutout. The New Yorkers at the game that day also had the pleasure of riding around in one of these:

Riding inside the special "nostalgia train" that's running today in NYC in honor of 110th anniversary of NYC subway. pic.twitter.com/6FMghvemOh
- Harvey Silikovitz (@hbomb_worldwide) October 26, 2014

The Lo-V subway cars were rolled out in 1917, back before the numbered lines were actually numbered. On Monday, April 6, 2015, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will bring back four of these bad-boys for its "Nostalgia Special."

Approximately 90 minutes before the Yankees and Blue Jays kick off their 2015 seasons at Yankee Stadium, the "Nostalgia Special" will depart from Grand Central-42 street and make its nonstop journey to the 161 St-Yankee Stadium stop.

The four-car Nostalgia Special will leave from the uptown express platform at 11:30 a.m., Monday April 6, and run as a "Super Express" to 161 St. What the 1917 Lo-V (low voltage) cars lack in modern amenities they more than make up for in character and historic significance. These cars ran in service for more than five decades before they were retired in the late 1960s. With their rattan seats, paddle fans and incandescent lightbulbs, they serve as a splendid illustration of just how far rapid-transit car design and technology have advanced over the past 100 years.

Rather than shelling out some sugar for a dimbox or a cake basket, don your best urban set and dog kennels, then head on down to Grand Central-42 and pick yourself up a dive-ducat to the Yankees game. It'll be the cat's pajamas.