A Train To Celebrate Anniversary
The A train runs for 31 miles, but its history runs back 75 years.
When it first ran on September 10, 1932, it was known as the Eighth Avenue subway, and spanned only 12 miles and 28 stations, from the top of Manhattan to the bottom.
Today, the A line winds through Brooklyn to Far Rockaway in Queens — and all the way through straphanger lore, being the only New York train to have its own song: "Take the A Train," by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.
Transit officials plan to celebrate the A line's 75 years today with a ceremony at the Inwood/207th Street station and by offering service on a train made up of six 1930s-era cars.
Along the way, passengers may want to consider their fortune in having a rail that stretches across such vast space.
