Virginia Museum of Transportation

The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) occupies the former Norfolk & Western Railway Freight Station in downtown Roanoke, a two-section brick building completed in 1918 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The museum traces its origins to 1963, when it opened as the Roanoke Transportation Museum in Wasena Park; after the November 1985 flood damaged the original riverside site, it reopened at the freight station in April 1986. The General Assembly of Virginia recognizes it as the Commonwealth's official transportation museum.

Roanoke grew up as a company town around the N&W, whose Roanoke (East End) Shops built many of the railroad's finest locomotives. VMT's collection reflects that heritage: more than 50 pieces of rolling stock spanning steam, diesel, and electric power, described by the museum as the largest collection of diesel locomotives in the South. Exhibits range from the "Big Lick" recreated 1930s depot to "From Cotton to Silk," an oral-history exhibit documenting African American railroad workers on the N&W and Norfolk Southern, and the Claytor Brothers exhibit on the Virginians who led the N&W-Southern merger.

The outdoor railyard offers the best angles on the large steam power — Class A #1218's articulated running gear and the massed diesels photograph well in morning or late-afternoon light. Indoors, the SD40 cab and the streamlined nose of #611 (when on site) are popular subjects, and personal photography is permitted throughout. For active-railroad shots, the Roanoke Railwalk beside the museum overlooks the busy Norfolk Southern main line, while the nearby O. Winston Link Museum celebrates the definitive night photography of N&W steam.

VMT is the permanent home of two of the most significant surviving American steam locomotives, both built at Roanoke's own N&W shops. Class J #611, a streamlined 4-8-4 completed in May 1950, is the only survivor of the fourteen-strong J class and was returned to operating service on May 9, 2015; it is designated the Commonwealth's official steam locomotive and frequently travels off-site for excursions. Class A #1218, a 2-6-6-4 articulated built at the Roanoke Shops in 1943, is the last remaining Class A and the sole surviving 2-6-6-4 in the world; it ran excursions from 1987 to 1991.

Beyond the two headliners, the collection includes Virginian Railway SA-class #4 (Baldwin, 1910), the last surviving Virginian Railway steam engine; N&W Class G-1 #6 (Baldwin, 1897), the museum's oldest piece; a Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 #4919 electric; a Virginian Railway EL-C #135; and a deep roster of first- and second-generation diesels. For railfans, few sites concentrate this much Norfolk & Western and Virginian Railway history in one place.

Indoor galleries are interactive and family-oriented. The Rail Gallery lets visitors climb into a full-size Norfolk Southern SD40 cab; the Auto Gallery displays more than 30 vehicles from a 1913 Studebaker to GM's EV1 electric car; the Aviation Gallery includes a walk-through fuselage and a Jupiter rocket; and an O-scale model layout depicts Roanoke, Salem, and Lynchburg. The outdoor railyard is the highlight for train enthusiasts, where you can walk among and board historic equipment, including Class A #1218.

Plan roughly two to three hours. The museum is family-friendly with hands-on exhibits for children, and the adjoining Roanoke Railwalk links VMT to the O. Winston Link Museum with interpretive markers along the active Norfolk Southern main line. Note that #611 is often away on excursions, so check ahead if seeing it in person is a priority.