A New York artist is transforming an old Metrorail car into benches, retail space and industrial art as Metro continues to decommission its 4000-series rail cars.
Fivesquares Development has teamed up with artist Robert Mojo and his team to repurpose an 80,000-pound 4000-series rail car.
At a Brookeville, Marylarend warehouse, Mojo and his team from Rusted Rebels in Long Island are turning pieces of the main rail car body into pop-up retail kiosks, slicing the car into seven different sections.
The shell of the car will be used to make the kiosks, the iconic seats and benches will be turned into outdoor seating and the scrap metal left behind will become art installations.
The team uses everything they can, the goal being to reuse and recycle as much as possible.
"It's art; it's sculpture; it's entertaining the public; it's recycling; it's bringing back history," Mojo said. "When you walk into one of these cars, you just get a feeling of going back in time."
The repurposed rail car will be featured at Strathmore Square, a new Fivesquares Dvelopment project by the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station in Montgomery County.
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Ron Kaplan of Fivesquares Development said they were hearing from the surrounding community that they'd like some retail options where they could stop on their way home when they come out of the Metro station.
"This is trying to create -- out of an old Metro station -- create a community," Kaplan said.
Mojo said the most challenging thing about the project is how the cars are built. "Going through all of this heavy metal, it's not the easiest task," he said.
However, Mojo said he jumped at the opportunity to work on the project. "Why wouldn't you? It's very cool," he said. "How can you not see the coolness? The recycling. I'm from New York; we recycle."
Mojo and his team have been working for five days on the old rail car and have already cut out three sections.
The team will be working 12-hour shifts until May 17, when they're hoping to cut the ribbon on the project.
