The MTA (for non-New Yorkers, that’s. . .the subway) ran the “Nostalgia Special,” a train first used in 1917, from Grand Central Station to Yankee Stadium on the uptown express Lexington track, this morning at 11:30 am for Opening Day at the ballpark. The Low-V (Low Voltage) train, which doesn’t draw its power from the electrified third rail but uses the rail to charge its batteries, ran as a “super express,” stopping at no other stations on its route. This is not the first time the MTA has run nostalgia trains as they often roll out both old trains and buses during the holiday season in NYC.

As of now there are unofficial reports that the train covered the route from Grand Central to Yankee Stadium faster than Masahiro Tanaka’s pitches covered the route from the pitcher’s mound to the batter’s box at today’s game.

The MTA may want to keep the “Nostalgia Special” running to the Bronx. It could distract fans from a probable losing season.

benspn also suggests that Yankee Stadium management add the Nostalgia Special as the fourth entry in the ballpark’s iconic train race during the fourth inning of home games. That’s one Yankee Stadium tradition we could all welcome.