Including over 5,400 linear feet of material, the New York Transit Museum’s archive holds innumerable stories waiting to be told. In the series, Mining the Archives, join Museum staff to uncover transit history.
Inspiration for the Museum’s new exhibition Subway Science: The Materials Inspection Division, curated by Content and Research Manager Polly Desjarlais, came from one of the many hidden histories found in our archives. For over 90 years, scientists and engineers in the Materials Inspection Division (MID) conducted thousands of experiments on materials used in the transit system, ranging from steel and concrete to fuels and paints and even uniforms. Learn about the work of this division’s civil servants who ensured materials met exacting standards for durability and safety.
