Virginia Museum of Transportation facts for kids

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Virginia Museum of Transportation
The entrance of the Virginia Museum of Transportation
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Established	April 1986 (1986-04)
Location	Roanoke, Virginia
Type	Transport museum

The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) is a cool museum in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, that shows off all kinds of vehicles. It's a great place to learn about how people and goods have moved around over the years!

Discover the Museum's Journey

The Virginia Museum of Transportation started way back in 1963. It was first called the Roanoke Transportation Museum. It opened in Wasena Park in Roanoke, Virginia. The museum was first located in an old Norfolk & Western Railway freight depot. This building was right by the Roanoke River.

Early Collection Highlights

The museum's first items were super interesting. They included a United States Army Jupiter rocket. There was also the famous J class steam locomotive No. 611. The Norfolk & Western company gave this train to the city of Roanoke. Many of their engines were built right there in Roanoke.

The museum soon added more rail equipment. This included a DC Transit PCC streetcar. They also had many horse-drawn vehicles. These included a hearse, a covered wagon, and a Studebaker wagon. In 1983, the museum got a special title. The General Assembly of Virginia named it the Official Transportation Museum of Virginia.

A New Home After the Flood

In November 1985, a big flood hit Roanoke. It damaged the museum and many of its exhibits. But the museum didn't give up! In April 1986, it reopened in a new spot. This new home was the former Norfolk and Western Railway Freight Station in downtown Roanoke. This is when it became the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

The city of Roanoke used to own the famous Norfolk & Western steam locomotives No. 611 and No. 1218. But on April 2, 2012, during the museum's 50th birthday, the city gave ownership of these amazing trains to the museum.

The Norfolk & Western Railway Freight Station itself is a historic building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The building was finished in 1918. It used to be a busy place for railroad freight. It closed for freight business in 1964.

Explore the Museum's Exhibits

The Virginia Museum of Transportation has many cool areas to explore. You can see different types of vehicles and learn about their history.

Amazing Automobile Gallery

Auto Gallery. This gallery shows off cars from the early 1900s to today. You can see how cars have changed over time.

There's also an "oral history" display called "Driving Lessons." Here, you can hear stories from people who love cars. The museum often has special exhibits too. One past exhibit was Hollywood Star Cars. It featured cars from famous TV shows and movies!

Fascinating Railroad Exhibits

These exhibits teach you all about railroad life in America, especially in Virginia.

The Claytor Brothers - Virginians Building America's Railroad. This exhibit tells the story of Graham and Robert Claytor. They were brothers who helped bring together the Norfolk & Western and Southern Railways.
From Cotton to Silk: African American Railroad Workers. This exhibit shares the important stories of African-Americans who worked on the Norfolk & Western and Norfolk Southern Railways. It includes pictures, old items, and recorded interviews.
Big Lick. Step back in time with this exhibit! It looks like a small train depot from the 1930s. You can see freight scales and a telegraph office. There's even a special hand car used to check the tracks.

The museum also has a huge O scale model train layout. It shows Roanoke, Salem, and Lynchburg, Virginia, in miniature!

Exciting Aviation Gallery

Wings Over Virginia. This exhibit is all about the history of flying, especially in Virginia.

You can hear "Flight Talk," an oral history exhibit. It features stories from pilots and others involved in aviation. You can learn about the first days of flying up to modern space travel. After a storm in 2006, this gallery was rebuilt. It now includes:

How planes fly.
A walk-through of a private jet's inside.
Information on helicopters and emergency transport.
Stories about women in aviation.
Different jobs you can have in aviation.
New research and developments in flight.
Virginia's military bases.
Stories of Roanoke's first pilots.

The Museum's Collection of Vehicles

The museum has a huge collection of vehicles. It's like a giant parking lot of history!

From January to May 2011, the museum hosted the Chesapeake and Ohio 614 train. This was part of their Thoroughbreds of Steam exhibit.

Other cool items include a 1913 Metz car and a 1920 Buick touring car. There's also a Highway Post Office Bus. You can even see an armored car that once showed off the United States Bill of Rights in 1991.

Rolling Stock: Trains and More!

The museum has over 50 pieces of "rolling stock." This means trains, cars, and other things that roll on tracks. Some might be getting fixed, and some are stored in other yards.

Steam Locomotives

Norfolk & Western J Class #611. This amazing train has been running since May 9, 2015!
Norfolk & Western Class A #1218. It was built in Roanoke in 1943. It was used for special trips from 1987 to 1991. It's the very last 2-6-6-4 type train left.
Virginian Railway SA class #4 steam locomotive. Built in 1910, it's the last steam engine from the Virginian Railway.
Norfolk & Western Class M2c #1151
Norfolk & Western Class G-1 #6. Built in 1897, it's the museum's oldest piece of equipment. It's one of the oldest Norfolk and Western trains still around.
Celanese Porter Fireless Locomotive #1
EJ Lavino Company #34, 0–6–0

Electric Locomotives

Virginian Railway EL-C #135
Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 #4919. This train is painted Brunswick green.
Panama Canal Mule #686. This one was fixed up in 2020.

Diesel-Electric Locomotives

Wheeling & Lake Erie Switcher EMD NW2 #D3.
Mead Paper Industrial switcher #200
Southern GM EMD FTB Unit
Virginia Central Porter Rod Driven #3
Chesapeake Western Baldwin #662. This one was fixed up 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. This train was fixed up and returned to Roanoke.
Blue Ridge Stone Whitcomb Switcher
Nickel Plate Road EMD GP-9 #532.
Wabash E8A #1009. This one was fixed up by Norfolk Southern.
AEP #2, GE SL144 (VMTX 70). It's painted in Virginia Tech colors.

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
Virginian Railway hopper car #107768.
Southern Railway boxcar #33348
Southern Railway Big John hopper #8638
Norfolk Southern flatcar. This car is used as a stage for events!
3 Norfolk & Western hopper cars.
Norfolk Southern hopper car #23760.
Ex-Norfolk Southern Burro crane
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
Southern Railway Pullman sleeping car "Lake Pearl" #2422.
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 (You can even rent this one 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. This car is like a theater! It shows a documentary about fixing up the N&W 611 train.
Norfolk & Western Tool Car #9647
Norfolk Southern Research Car #31
VMTX N&W Auxiliary Tender #250001

Awesome Automobile Collection

Cars

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). This was a Jeff Gordon car from a movie!

Trucks

Ford Pickup Truck (1929)
Overnite B-Model Mack Tractor (1960) and Fruehauf Trailer.
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.

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