The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) is a museum in downtown Roanoke, Virginia, that is devoted to the topic of transportation.
History The Virginia Museum of Transportation began in 1963 as the Roanoke Transportation Museum in Wasena Park in Roanoke, Virginia. The museum was initially housed in an old Norfolk & Western Railway freight depot on the banks of the Roanoke River. The earliest components of the museum's collection included a United States Army Jupiter rocket and the J class steam locomotive No. 611, donated by Norfolk & Western to the city of Roanoke, where many of its engines were built. The museum added other pieces of rail equipment, including a DC Transit PCC streetcar; and a number of horse-drawn vehicles, including a hearse, a covered wagon, and a Studebaker wagon. In 1983, it earned the title as the Official Transportation Museum of Virginia by the General Assembly of Virginia.
In November 1985, a flood damaged the museum and much of its collection. In April 1986, the museum was re-opened at the former Norfolk & Western Railway Freight Station in downtown Roanoke as the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Under the museum's original charter, Norfolk & Western steam locomotives No. 611 and No. 1218 were property of the city of Roanoke. On April 2, 2012, during VMT's 50 Birthday, the city transferred ownership of the locomotives to the museum.
The Norfolk & Western Railway Freight Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The station consists of two clearly identifiable sections, both of which were completed in 1918. They are the two-story, 50-bay freight station which was built parallel to the railroad tracks and now is oriented south, and the one-story-with-basement brick annex that formerly housed the offices of the Shenandoah and Radford divisions of the Norfolk & Western. The building closed for railroad freight business in 1964. and Accompanying six photos
When the station opened, it replaced several older depots and included an annex for the railway's freight-accounting and billing staff.
Galleries and exhibits
Automobile gallery Auto Gallery. This gallery features automobiles from the early 20th century to the present day. Many of the museum's antique automobiles are displayed here, illustrating the development of automotive design and technology over time. An oral history display titled "Driving Lessons" presents stories from individuals associated with American car culture.
The museum also hosts occasional special exhibitions in the automobile gallery, such as the Hollywood Star Cars exhibit, which showcased vehicles featured in television programs and films.
Railroad exhibits Ongoing exhibits cover various aspects of railroad history in the United States, with a particular focus on Virginia.
The Claytor Brothers – Virginians Building America's Railroad. This exhibit examines the careers of Graham and Robert Claytor and their roles in the railroad industry, including developments that led to the merger of the Norfolk & Western and Southern railways.
From Cotton to Silk: African American Railroad Workers on the Norfolk & Western and Norfolk Southern Railways. This exhibit originated from an oral history project supported in part by businesses and residents of the Roanoke area. It documents the contributions of African American railroad workers through photographs, artifacts, and recorded interviews.
Big Lick. This exhibit recreates a rural train depot from the 1930s. It includes freight scales, a telegrapher's office, timetables, and a velocipede handcar used for track maintenance. The exhibit also provides a brief history of the Norfolk & Western Freight Station, which houses the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
The museum maintains an O scale model railroad layout representing the rail networks of Roanoke, Salem, and Lynchburg, Virginia.
Aviation gallery Wings Over Virginia. This exhibit explores the history of aviation in Virginia. An accompanying oral history project, "Flight Talk," features recorded stories from aviation figures, covering developments from the early years of aviation through modern flight and space exploration.
Collection
From January 20 to May 3, 2011, the museum was home to Chesapeake and Ohio 614 as part of the museum's Thoroughbreds of Steam exhibit.
Other pieces include automobiles such as a 1913 Metz, a 1920 Buick touring car, a Highway Post Office Bus, and an armored car used to showcase the United States Bill of Rights in 1991.
Rolling stock The collection includes more than 50 pieces of rolling stock. Some may be closed to the public for restoration, and some in need of heavy restoration are stored offsite in yards managed by Norfolk Southern.
Steam Norfolk & Western J Class #611. Operational since May 9, 2015. Norfolk & Western Class A #1218. Built at the Roanoke Shops in 1943, used in excursion service from 1987 to 1991, it is the last remaining 2-6-6-4. Virginian Railway SA class #4 steam locomotive. Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1910, it is the last remaining steam engine from the Virginian Railway. Norfolk & Western Class M2c #1151 Norfolk & Western Class G-1 #6. Built in 1897 by Baldwin, it is the museum's oldest piece of equipment and one of the oldest Norfolk and Western locomotives still in existence. Celanese Porter Fireless Locomotive #1Steam locomotives EJ Lavino Company #34, 0–6–0 Nickel Plate Road #763. Sold to Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio, in 2007 Chesapeake & Ohio Class H-8 #1604. Transferred to the B&O Railroad Museum in 1986 Norfolk & Western 2156. The sole survivor of the Y6 class, it was on five-year loan from the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri between 2015 and 2020.
Electric Virginian Railway EL-C #135 Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 #4919. Painted in Brunswick green, it currently lacks pinstripes and keystones. D.C. Transit Company PCC Streetcar. Sold to National Capital Trolley Museum in 2020, it is slated for operational restoration. Panama Canal Mule #686. Cosmetically restored by the Roanoke Chapter of the NRHS in 2020.Electric locomotives
Diesel-electric Wheeling & Lake Erie Switcher EMD NW2 #D3. Donated by Celanese Corporation. Mead Paper Industrial switcher #200 Southern GM EMD FTB Unit Virginia Central Porter Rod Driven #3 Chesapeake Western Baldwin #662. Cosmetically restored by the Roanoke Chapter NRHS in 2012. Norfolk & Western ALCO RS-3 #300 Chesapeake Western ALCO T-6 #10 Norfolk & Western EMD GP-9 #521 Norfolk & Western ALCO C-630 #1135 Norfolk & Western EMD SD-45 #1776. Cosmetically restored by Norfolk Southern Chattanooga shops and returned to Roanoke. Blue Ridge Stone Whitcomb Switcher Nickel Plate Road EMD GP-9 #532, donated to Roanoke Chapter of the NRHS. Southern (Ex-Central of Georgia) EMD SD-7 #197Diesel locomotives Sold to Southern Appalachia Railway Museum Conrail SDP-45 #6670, built as Erie Lackawanna Railroad #3639. Stored offsite Wabash E8A #1009. Cosmetically restored by Norfolk Southern. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac E8A #1002. Stored offsite, stripped of body panels. AEP #2, GE SL144 (VMTX 70). Painted in Virginia Tech colors Seaboard System EMD SW1200 #2289 sold to Southern Appalachia Railway Museum Norfolk Southern slug #9914. Ex-Virginian Railway FM Trainmaster turned into a slug unit, stored offsite
Freight cars Amoco Oil ARA 111 tank car AMOX #9465 Depressed center flatcar APWX #1002 RF&P boxcar #2305 Trailer Train flatcar with Sea Land containers #470534 Derrick tender flatcar # 590374 and Derrick #514925.Rail freight cars Crane scrapped in 2017, flatcar stored offsite Virginian Railway hopper car #107768, stored offsite. Steam crane #527665 with boom car #514902. Crane scrapped in 2017, flatcar stored offsite. Virginian Railway 250-ton wrecking derrick B-37 #40037, Southern Railway boxcar #33348 Southern Railway Big John hopper #8638 Norfolk Southern flatcar. Used as a stage for events 3 Norfolk & Western hopper cars. Saved from Virginia Scrap and Iron Norfolk Southern hopper car #23760. 25,000th rebodied car from Roanoke shops Ex-Norfolk Southern Burro crane Steam-era Norfolk & Western steam crane #514908. Stored offsite VMTX 200298. coal gondola for 611 VMTX 200340. coal gondola for 611 VMTX 66538. coal gondola for 611
Passenger cars Illinois Terminal "President One" business car Norfolk & Western baggage car #1418. Stored offsite Norfolk Southern MOW dining car #999000. Sold to private owner Southern Railway Pullman sleeping car "Lake Pearl" #2422. in primer, lacking Southern Railway paint Southern Railway Coach "W. Graham Claytor, Jr." Car #1070, stored offsite Norfolk & Western Jim Crow Car #1662, stored offsite VMTX (RF&P) passenger car #513 VMTX (RF&P) passenger car #514 (Open window car) VMTX (RF&P) passenger car #524 VMTX 9647, former CN baggage car, 611/1218 tool car
Cabooses Norfolk and Western Class CF #518302 (Can be rented for Birthday parties) Virginian Class C-10 #321 Nickel Plate Class C-7 Bay Window #470
Other unique rolling stock Norfolk & Western Dynamometer Car #514780 Norfolk & Western M-1 Post Office Car #93 Norfolk & Western Safety Instruction Car #418. A Theatre car that shows a 1983 documentary produced by Norfolk Southern titled "Going Home" about the restoration of the N&W 611. Norfolk & Western Tool Car #9647 Norfolk Southern Research Car #31 VMTX N&W Auxiliary Tender #250001
Automobile collection
Automobiles Oldsmobile Curved Dash (1904) Piedmont Touring Car (1923) Ford Model T Depot Hack (1925) Willys-Overland Whippet (1928) Cadillac Fleetwood Coupe (1936) Siebert Ford Combo Ambulance/Hearse (1936) Packard Super Eight (1948) Studebaker Land Cruiser (1950) Studebaker President Speedster (1955) DeSoto Fireflight Sportsman (1957) Studebaker Lark (1962) Chevrolet Impala (1963) Chevrolet Corvair Monza (1965) Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SX (1970) Volkswagen Beetle (1972) -COMING SOON Mercedes-Benz 450 SL (1976) DMC DeLorean (1981) Ford Mustang GLX Convertible (1983) DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo (1993). A Jeff Gordon car from the 2003 Warner Brothers movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Trucks Ford Pickup Truck (1929) Overnite B-Model Mack Tractor (1960) and Fruehauf Trailer, on loan from UPS Corporation. Concord Fire Department Oren Fire Truck Dodge Cab Over Truck Jeep Oren Industrial Fire Truck 1962 GMC Arlington Barcroft & Washington No. 1319 New Look Bus, on Loan from Commonwealth Coach and Trolley Museum.
Other road vehicles Extended Roof Rockaway Carriage Studebaker Half-Platform Wagon (1870) Howe Fire Engine (1882) James Cunningham, Son and Company Hearse (1895) Freight Wagon "Prairie Schooner" (1900–1915) F-20 McCormick-Deering Farmall Tractor (1936) Federal Aviation Administration Tucker Sno-Cat
Aviation collection After a storm in 2006, the aviation gallery was rebuilt into a collection of interviews and first hand collections, including:
Technology of how a plane flies Walk-through of the fuselage of a private jet, passenger compartment and cockpit Helicopters and emergency transport Women in aviation Careers in aviation Cutting-edge research and development Virginia's military bases Roanoke's early civilian and military aviators
See also O. Winston Link Museum Science Museum of Western Virginia Taubman Museum of Art
References
External links
Virginia Museum of Transportation Virginia's Rail Heritage Region