Although we do not specifically include WMATA/Metrorail in our preservation efforts as a museum, the creation of Metro and the present day operation of Metrorail holds a fairly important (and perhaps the most tangible) role in the history of transit in Washington and Maryland. Street car service ended in 1962, however DC Transit, the last operator of street cars, continued to operate buses until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority came into existence and assumed operations.
Metro's 1000 series subway cars were the first used by Metro, entering service in 1976 - about 14 years after the last of the street cars operated in Washington. The 1000 series cars represent a bridge from rail transit of "yesterday"(the street car era) with rail transit (Metrorail) of today. The last of the 1000 series cars were retired and removed from service in 2017. The two original cars, numbers 1000 and 1001, are preserved by Metro.
This horn was removed from a 1000 series car, thought to be number 1022, and is preserved in a private collection. These were mounted underneath the car and out of sight. The large rectangular box on top of the horn was where it was mounted to the car. Over 40 years of dirt, grime and grease remain caked on; its safe to say this horn "earned" its retirement.
We included this horn in our Trolley Trail Day display last year. Upon our eventual reopening, we will include this in a future artifact display, perhaps for the 2021 DC Transit Day.