The special subway shuttle that was set up last month on the Rockaway Peninsula after Sandy damaged the area’s transit is being honored with a limited collection of “H” line merchandise available through the New York Transit Museum store’s website.
The store, which already carries clothing and other items featuring the city’s subway lines, is selling t-shirts and sweatshirts with a blue “H” subway logo and “The Rockaways” or “Rockaway Shuttle” spelled out underneath, as well as magnets and pins. Additional merchandise may also be developed.
Proceeds from sales will benefit Sandy relief efforts through the Graybeards, a local nonprofit organization established in response to 9/11 and dedicated to the Rockaways community, said the MTA.
“The H Line has piqued a lot of interest in subway service in the Rockaways and, with the help of a few of our product licensees, presented us with a unique opportunity to promote the service and to provide tangible assistance to efforts to rebuild that community,” said Mark Heavey, MTA director of marketing and communications.
Currently the “H” line runs between Far Rockaway-Mott Av and Beach 90 St and connects riders to a shuttle bus providing service to the “A” train at the Howard Beach/JFK Airport stop.
According to the transit agency, the first “H” line (known as the “HH”) started running on repurposed LIRR tracks in 1956, and travelled from Euclid Avenue to either Rockaway Park or Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway. It stopped running in 1972, but in the late 70s, it came back as the “CC” train, then returned to the “HH,” and was shortened to just the “H” train in 1986. In 1994, it was again renamed as the “S” (shuttle) train.
