I Rode The ‘World’s Smallest Subway’ Underneath The U.S. Capitol And It Was Awesome

I had no intention of riding the tiny subway that runs underneath the U.S. Capitol yesterday when I brought my daughter to D.C. on her first tour of the Federal City, but when someone asks you if you want a ride on a miniature monorail you say “yes!” Though it’s a tiny subway system, it managed to deliver a big moment for the inner transit nerd inside me.

If you go on the official tour given by the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. you’ll learn a lot about the building, the statues, et cetera. It’s worth doing and will provide you with some good context about the center of this country’s lawmaking.

What it won’t give you is access to the Senate or House gallery and, maybe more importantly, it won’t get you on the teeny train rolling from the offices of various representatives to the legislative chambers.

That’s a shame, because even though it’s small, the little subway has given rides to future presidents and was the setting of at least one shootout! Buckle up, because we’re going to talk about politics in a way that should make everyone happy.

From EV Studebakers To Open Trains

The United States Capitol building has been in mostly continual use since it first opened in 1800 (other than the time when Adrian’s great-great uncles tried, unsuccessfully, to burn it down in 1814), though both the size of the building and the necessities of Congress have expanded in the last 200 years.

While most representatives found space in the Capitol building itself or an adjoining annex for their offices, this eventually became untenable, and Congress approved the building of more office space for the Senate in a nearby parcel of land. Part of these plans included a little railway connecting this building to the actual Capitol, but it was deemed a little too luxurious.

The Senate’s Historical Office has a little history of the subway that’s quite colorful and explains what happened next:

The 760-foot tunnel from the newly constructed Senate office building (named for Georgia senator Richard Russell in 1972) to the Capitol had been completed, however, and senators had grown fond of the prospect of some kind of transportation to and from the Capitol. When the building opened in 1909, Capitol Superintendent Elliott Woods arranged for two custom-built lemon-yellow electric battery-powered Studebaker cars to run in the underground tunnel. Each car could hold eight people plus an operator positioned in the center of the car on a reversible seat, avoiding the need for the car to turn around. While the cars could travel up to 12 miles per hour, they moved much more slowly in order to navigate the narrow, winding tunnel.

The bright yellow cars, pictured above, are extremely charming and should be a reminder to any senator who might suggest electric cars are un-American. The U.S. Senate had electric cars way back in the 1900s!

While Senators and staff might have enjoyed the cars, the necessity to rush to the floor for a vote made the slow Studebakers less than ideal, so in 1912 an electric monorail system with overhead wires was added.

In the basement of the Russell Office Building you’ll still see the old monorail trolley on display:

The little wicker trolleys weren’t fast, but they were faster than the big yellow Studebakers.

The Slowest Getaway Car Imaginable

These specific wicker trolleys were in use until the 1960s when they were replaced by the monorail car that I got to take, which means it’s possible the one pictured above was used in one of the stranger moments in Congressional history when a disgruntled constituent, apparently suffering from a brain tumor, approached Ohio Senator John Bricker with a gun and opened fire.

From WETA’s story on the shooting:

Momentarily stunned, Senator Bricker realized that the man had just shot at him with a .22 caliber target pistol. Bricker practically flew to the subway car, clutching Macomber to run with him.

“Jerry, let’s get the hell out of here! I think that man is crazy,” Bricker shouted to the subway car operator. Through the window, they saw the man along a railing above the subway, pointing his gun right at them. The two men dropped to the floor of the empty car as another bullet rang out, F’TANG! It clattered against the wall of the tunnel.

Thankfully, no one was hurt; the man who shot at the Senator was found to be mentally unsound.

New Cars And New Routes

By 1960, America was well on its way towards reaching the moon, and the old-style monorail trains were starting to look a little dated. At the same time, more buildings to support an ever-growing Congress and its staff required more linkages.

The old-style cars were replaced with what I rode, and more lines, with non-wicker cars, were added to reach the House side and a second office building for the Senate.

Ever mindful of efficiency (at least when it’s in D.C. and there are no local contracts to hand out), the driven monorail that connected to the new Senate office buildings was replaced by a more modern, larger automatic train pictured above.

The newer, automated train feels like something you’d seen in an airport and doesn’t feel particularly special if there’s no senator inside. The little monorail, though? That’s awesome. (To be clear; They have three trains: two of the little monorails and one more modern car above).

What It’s Like Riding The Tiny Train

My wife was invited to attend a work conference in D.C. this week and, since our kid hadn’t been, I thought it might be nice to show my daughter the heart of our nation’s government. At the time we made our plans,  it didn’t occur to me that D.C. would hit a record consecutive four days of high temperatures above 100 degrees F.

We made an appointment with the office of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and, having taken the bus and walked across Upper Senate Park, we were melting by the time we reached the Russell building.

A young staffer named Jalen met us and listened to my daughter talk about her issues (climate change, wage disparity) and explained what Senator Gillibrand’s positions were, what her job was like, and a little bit about how the Senate functions. It’s rarely been easier to feel pessimistic about the world, but visiting an office full of young and idealistic people doing their best revived my civic spirit.

At the end of the meeting, I asked Jalen if there was anything we should do before we left the Capitol and he asked us if we wanted gallery passes to the House and Senate. It turns out, that you can get into the galleries of either the House or Senate by just asking. Remember: All these people work for you!

Even better, Jalen offered to escort us to the building via the tiny subway. My daughter and I love every form of transit so this was a can’t-miss opportunity.

Part of being in the Capitol is clearing line after line of security, and this meant going through our second checkpoint before the doors opened to the tiny subway. The little cars are symmetrical to allow for trips in both directions and feature two inward-facing benches on each side of the operator/driver and a single bench in the outside berths.

The cars are painted blue and red and feature the seal of the United States Senate on the sides. I let my daughter, wife, and Jalen sit in the four-person car so that I could ride up front and get this spectacular view of… a hallway with an overhead electric system:

The seats are nice and cushy and the open roof and sides make it feel like a very strange, extremely short carnival ride and not something designed to help our elected reps get to the floor for votes faster.

Still, I can see the value. I was an intern for a member of the Texas House of Representatives working in the Texas Capitol when I was younger and the walk from our offices to the floor was so long that my boss, one of the older members of the House, almost died walking back from a vote. He was rushed to the hospital and was ultimately fine. Just think how much better he’d have been if he had a train!

The whole trip is approximately 1,000 feet and it takes about 45 seconds to cover the distance, which means I don’t think the train goes much faster than around 18 mph. Still, it beats walking, especially when it’s miserably hot outside.

As you approach the Capitol building the operator slows the train down and you reach another big plant that, even with no sunlight, somehow manages to thrive. As with most things in Congress, the Senate side is way nicer than the House side, which you can see in this video:

How To Ride The Underground Subway

We have a representative form of government, meaning that you don’t get a vote on everything. Instead, if you’re a citizen, you pick someone you think is going to represent your interests as a constituent.

Even if the person you picked isn’t the one you voted for they’re still your rep and they and their staff work for you. All members of Congress have a form you can find on their various websites that allow you to set a meeting and they’ll ask what you want to talk about. While the subway is for people working in Congress, it’s also open to guests, so when you reach out to your local member of the House or Senate, you can mention to them that you’d like a pass to see the Galleries and would like a tour of the subway.

We went when the House and Senate were on break, so it was much easier to get a seat and get into the galleries with no wait, but it’s probably more exciting when they’re in session.

Also, another tip! All the Senators have snacks to giveaway from their various local industries/snack companies. Senator Gillibrand, for instance, has Chobani yogurts. Very healthy! Across the hall from her office is the office of Senator Marshall, from Kansas, whose staff very kindly gave my daughter some Peanut M&Ms.