Virginia Museum of Transportation facts for kids
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| Established | April 1986 |
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| Location | Roanoke, Virginia |
| Type | Transport museum |
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is a museum devoted to the topic of transportation located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, US.
Contents
History
The Virginia Museum of Transportation began its life in 1963 as the Roanoke Transportation Museum located in Wasena Park in Roanoke, Virginia. The museum at that time was 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 N&W J Class Locomotive #611, donated by Norfolk & Western Railway to the City of Roanoke where many of its engines were constructed. The museum expanded its collection to include other pieces of rail equipment such as a former DC Transit PCC streetcar, and a number of horse-drawn vehicles including a hearse, a covered wagon, and a Studebaker wagon.
In November 1985, a flood nearly destroyed the museum, and much of its collection. It forced the shutdown of the facility and the refurbishment of #611. In April 1986, the museum re-opened in the Norfolk and Western Railway Freight Station in downtown Roanoke as the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The museum has earned that title, being recognized by the General Assembly of Virginia as the Commonwealth's official transportation museum.
The Norfolk & Western steam locomotives No. 611 and No. 1218 were originally property of the city of Roanoke due to the museum's original charter. On the April 2, 2012, VMT's 50 Birthday, the city officially gave the locomotives to the museum.
The Norfolk and 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, fifty-bay-long, freight station proper 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 and Western. The building closed for railroad freight business in 1964.
Galleries and exhibits
Automobile gallery
- Auto Gallery
- This exhibit features many automobiles from the early part of the 20th century to more recent vehicles. The oral history display, "Driving Lessons," features stories from individuals associated with car culture.
Many of the museum's antique automobiles are on display here as well. The museum also features occasional special exhibits such as the Hollywood Star Cars exhibit which showcased famous cars from the history of television and movies.
Railroad exhibits
On-going exhibits cover sundry aspects of railroad life in America, especially Virginia. In addition to these on-going exhibits, the museum maintains an O-Gauge train layout modeled after Roanoke, Salem, and Lynchburg, Virginia.
- The Claytor Brothers - Virginians Building America's Railroad
- Detailing the lives of Graham and Robert Claytor, this exhibit explores their past and their relationship 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 is the result of an oral history project sponsored in part by Roanoke area businesses and individuals to document the often-ignored roles played by African-Americans on the rails. The exhibit includes pictures, artifacts, and recorded interviews with African-Americans who worked for the railroad.
- Big Lick
- This exhibit reproduces a 1930s rural train depot, featuring freight scales, a telegrapher's office, time tables, and a velocipede hand car used for servicing track. A brief history of the N&W Freight Station, the home of the VMT, is also included in this space
Aviation gallery
- Wings Over Virginia
- This exhibit features the history of aviation, particularly as it pertains to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The oral history exhibit, "Flight Talk," features stories from aviation personnel who span the history of flight from the early days into modern aviation and space exploration
Collection
From January 20, 2011 to May 3, 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
Though the most prominent pieces of the museum's collection are the two Norfolk & Western engines, there are more than fifty pieces of rolling stock in the collection. Some exhibits may be closed to the public as restoration is in progress on some pieces. While most of the railyard is ADA-accessible to view the rolling stock, entry into the pieces are not as they were built long before the standards of 1990. Some of the museum's collection needs heavy restoration and is stored offsite on a track allowed by Norfolk Southern.
Steam
- Norfolk and Western J Class #611, operational since May 9, 2015.
- Norfolk and Western A Class #1218. Built at the Roanoke Shops in 1943. Used in excursion service from 1987 to 1991.
- Virginian Railway SA class #4 steam locomotive, the last remaining steam engine from the Virginian Railway. Built by Baldwin in 1910.
- Norfolk and Western Class M2c #1151
- Norfolk and Western Class G-1 #6, built in 1897 by Baldwin Locomotive Works. Oldest piece of equipment owned by the museum.
- Celanese Porter Fireless Locomotive #1
Electric
- Virginian Railway EL-C #135
- Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 #4919
- D.C. Transit Company PCC Streetcar
- Panama Canal Mule #686
Diesel-electric
- Wheeling & Lake Erie Switcher EMD NW2 #D3
- Mead Paper Industrial
- Southern GM EMD FTB Unit
- Virginia Central Porter Rod Driven #3
- Chesapeake Western Baldwin #662
- Norfolk and Western ALCO RS-3 #300
- Chesapeake Western ALCO T-6 #10
- Norfolk and Western EMD GP-9 #521
- Norfolk and Western ALCO C-630 #1135
- Norfolk and Western EMD SD-45 #1776, cosmetically restored, returned to Roanoke and will return to the museum July 7, 2012
- Blue Ridge Stone Whitcomb Switcher
- Nickel Plate Road EMD GP-9 #532 (sold to Roanoke Chapter of the NRHS)
- Southern (Ex Central of Georgia) EMD SD-7 #197
- Conrail SDP-45 #6670, stored offsite; set to be purchased and restored to operation by Youngstown Steel Heritage
- Wabash E8A #1009, cosmetically restored.
- Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac E8A #1002, stored offsite.
Freight cars
- Amoco Oil ARA 111 Tank Car AMOX #9465
- Depressed Center Flat Car APWX #1002
- RF&P Boxcar #2305
- Trailer Train Flatcar with Sea Land Containers #470534
- Derrick Tender Flatcar # 590374 and Derrick #514925
- Virginian Railway Hopper Car #107768, stored offsite.
- Steam Crane #527665 with Boom Car #514902, stored offsite.
- Conrail Crane and Boom Car, stored offsite.
Passenger cars
- Illinois Terminal "President One" Business Car
- Norfolk and Western Baggage Car #1418
- Norfolk Southern MOW Dining Car #999000
- Southern Pullman Sleeping Car "Lake Pearl" # 2422
- Southern Coach "W. Graham Claytor, Jr." Car #1070
- Norfolk and Western Jim Crow Car #1662, stored offsite
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
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
The museum is currently seeking exhibits for their aviation gallery while it is under construction.
