Thousands of retired NYC subway cars dumped into the Atlantic Ocean but it's not what you might think

We’re all used to seeing NYC subway cars in all their glory, speeding around the city from A to B, but it turns out that once cars pass their expiry date, they get a second shot at life.

We’re not talking about recycling parts to be used in newer vehicles, but rather, being dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.

The cars are put to a rather unique use underwater, far from Manhattan, and there they help wildlife in various ways.

So, forget going to scrap, the cars now house crabs, fish, and other sea creatures, and have been doing so for many years.

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The next stop on this subway service? The Atlantic Ocean

From Brooklyn to Manhattan and even Queens, subway cars cover vast distances when in operation.

However, the last destination is somewhere you wouldn’t expect: the bottom of the ocean.

In fact, according to CNN, over 2,500 cars have been dumped to create homes for wildlife, and even though the project ended decades ago, some cars are still there.

“We’ve been monitoring the carbon steel subway cars, and they are holding up well,” Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control artificial reef program manager Jeffrey Tinsman told the publication.

Of course, the subway cars needed to be stripped of their hard and electrical inside components, but after that was complete, the cars were good to go out of state.

The method?

Using a hydraulic lift to pick them up one by one and transport them to their home along the coast spanning from Delaware to South Carolina.

In fact, one photographer spent time capturing the process for all to see.

The new use for the NYC subway cars was documented in a special way

After the photographer Stephen Mallon snapped the subway cars, his work earned a special place in many New Yorkers’ hearts and was even displayed at the New York Transit Museum, according to Business Insider.

Beginning in 2001, it was a lengthy process, which the photographer reportedly picked up in 2008.

It’s not how or where you’d expect a subway car from New York to end its life.

We wonder if other parts of the world will adopt this approach? Only time will tell.

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