Wheels UP at the VMT!
Wheels UP for the Wings Over Virginia Aviation Gallery!
From our Board President...
Life Along the Line: A photographic portrait of America's Last Steam Railroad
Preschool Pufferbellies at the VMT!
Save the Date: Candy Cane Express December 8 and 9
VMT Gift Passes
Happenings: Road. Rail. Air.
 
What you'll find in the
Wings Over Virginia Aviation Gallery


Hint: It's all based on what you, the community and our fans,
told us you wanted to see at the VMT

 

We invite you to experience our new Wings Over Virginia Aviation Gallery!

See and touch real airplane engines. Figure out how wings work to keep a plane flying high. Trace the growth and development of passenger air travel and air mail. Discover how pilots use runway lights to guide the airplanes to a safe landing. Meet Roanoke area aviation legends and learn about their impact on the community. Climb aboard a real Jet Commander airplane and take a peek inside the cockpit. Listen to oral histories of pilots and nurses who flew during World War II and the Korean War. Explore careers in aviation and learn the principles of flight. All this and more!

The Gallery has been six years in the making. The Gallery has been closed to the public since the Museum suffered severe damage from a storm in the summer of 2006. The roof of the Gallery was blown off, ruining the majority of the exhibits in the gallery.    

A few years ago, we asked you -- the community and our fans -- what you wanted to see in existing and future exhibits at the VMT.  The response was incredible -- over 1000 inviduals responded to the survey!
 
The Wings Over Virginia incorporates the very best of your ideas. You'll see more hands-on and educational exhibits and oral histories from members of the community. The new design philosophy includes a broad emphasis of the history, science and technology of aviation.

Come visit and see how your ideas helped to create the
Wings Over Virginia Aviation Gallery!
 
  

From our Board President 
Hitting important milestones -- together 

Hi, my name is Ken Lanford and it's my honor to serve as Board President at the Museum.  

Ken Lanford  

 

 

As you have read in this newsletter, there's a lot going on, and it's because of several things.   

 

First, the Museum staff is working hard to come up with new programs and find ways to do more (usually with fewer resources). This small group has worked tirelessly and made tremendous progress over the last several years. Next, our volunteers come out daily to do whatever needs doing; which can mean cleaning-up an oil spill from a leaky car to washing a locomotive, to teaching a group of second graders how an engine works. Truly, the volunteers are our life blood and I am grateful for their commitment.  

 

I also want to recognize our board members who help behind the scenes and continue to strengthen our Museum. We've also received support from many of our local governments as well as foundations and grants.

 

So, with such great support, I only see us getting better. We continue to bring in more visitors, because people are seeing that this is not the same VMT from years past. I also know we will be successful, because all the people I mentioned earlier are more concerned about making the Museum work than taking credit for it.

 

 
Ken Lanford
 
President, Lanford Brothers and  
Board President of the  
Virginia Museum of Transportation

   



LIFE ALONG THE LINE
A photographic portrait of America's last great steam railroad 
   
O. Winston Link photographed the Norfolk and Western, the last major steam railroad in the United States, when it was converting its operations from steam to diesel in the 1950s. Link's N&W project captured the industry at a moment of transition, before the triumph of the automobile and the airplane that ended an era of passenger rail service.

His work also revealed a small-town way of life that was about to experience seismic shifts and, in many cases, vanish completely. Including a collection of more than 180 of Link's most famous works and rare images that have never before been published, O. Winston Link: Life Along the Line offers a moving account of the people and communities surrounding the last steam railroad.

The book includes a CD of Link's recordings of the railroad.

On sale NOW online and in our Museum Store.

SPECIAL PRICE: $32 (Publishers price is $40.)

When you shop at the VMT, you are supporting the VMT!

Our Museum Store has the ultimate gifts for your train-loving, car-loving, aviation-loving enthusiasts. You can shop in person at the Museum in Downtown Roanoke or online at your convenience. We have toys, models, books and lovely items for the home.

Browse our online store. We're sure you'll find the perfect gift!

Preschool Pufferbellies at the VMT

Hands-on. Fun. Educational. Memorable. 

For preschoolers and their caregivers.  

 

Tuesdays AND Wednesdays, 10 am to 11 am

 

Designed for 3-5 year olds to learn and play. Our little engineers will create and explore within the VMT classroom and galleries. They'll meet new friends all while touching trains, cars and planes. Activities include songs, stories, real objects, crafts and transportation toys. There's a new topic every week! Preschool Pufferbellies

  

WHEN: Every Tuesday and Wednesday until May 31, 2013. The program starts at 10 am and follows the Roanoke City School calendar for breaks and closings.  

 

Cost: $5 per member student/$10 per non-member student/FREE for ADULTS

Contact: Courtney Plaster, Education Coordinator at [email protected].

 

 
SAVE THE DATE!
The VMT's annual
Candy Cane Express is rolling into town on

Saturday, December 8 (10 am to 5 pm) 
and Sunday, December 9 (1 pm to 5 pm)

TRAIN RIDES! Santa. Crafts.
A special reading of the
Polar Express by the Roanoke County Children's Library!  
A wonderful holiday tradition that pleases the  entire family!

$5 per person. Members and infants 2 and under admitted free.
Train Rides are $2 per person per ride (including members).
Infants 2 and under ride for free.
 
 
Give a Museum Membership to
someone you love this holiday season!

A membership to the Virginia Museum of Transportation is the perfect gift for your train lover, car enthusiast or flight fanatic. With a membership, your loved ones can enjoy special events, discounts on birthday parties and summer camps, special offers in our Museum Store and advanced notice of upcoming exhibits and fun! 

You can purchase VMT Memberships and Anybody Passes online 
or by calling 540-342-5670 ext. 106. 

Happenings: Road. Rail. Air.     

Now to February 11, 2013:  The O. Winston Link Museum: A new exhibit, Life Along the Line, offers an expansive view of Link's multidimensional portfolio and a moving account of the people and communities surrounding America's last steam railroad.  Highlighting selections from Life Along the Line and new prints from the archives, the exhibition brings a new appreciation to the skill and vision of Winston Link.

Saturday, December 1: The O. Winston Link Museum: Santa By Rail.  A season favorite, Santa will arrive at the Link Museum in the evening under the snowflakes and stars. Santa arrives in downtown Roanoke, riding a Norfolk Southern caboose. Please call for more information and to purchase advance tickets. $8 per person / $7 with a donation for Feeding America Southwest Virginia.

December 6-9: Norfolk & Western Historical Society Archives Work Session.

Weekends of December 8 and 9 and December 15 and 16: Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society:  Experience the wonder and magic of the holiday season aboard our restored 1932 dining car, the Gadsby's Tavern.  This delightful adventure will include a dramatic reading of TooT!!...The Toy Train that Saved Christmas, a new and original story by area author Biff Downey. 5 pm and 7 pm.  $12 per person. Call 540-862-8653 to reserve your space.

Monthly -- Second and Fourth Thursdays: The International Plastic Modelers' Society, Roanoke Valley Chapter hosts building and business meetings at the Museum each month, and competes in area shows. The entrance is on the back of the Museum just off the Rail Walk and around the corner from the Jupiter Rocket. 7 pm.  

  

Weekly - Tuesdays: The Roanoke Valley Model Engineers work on their ON30, HO, Lionel and N scale layouts each week in the basement of the Museum. The entrance is at the back of the Museum around the corner from the Jupiter Rocket. 6:30 pm to 8 pm. The club also invites younger members ages 8 - 18 to learn about model railroading. New members welcome!   

 

Monthly - Second Wednesday:  Blue Ridge Chapter, National Railway Historical Society meets at Charley's Restaurant, 707 Graves Mills Road, Lynchburg, VA. Dinner begins at 6 pm. Official chapter meeting begins at 7:30 pm. 

  

Monthly - Third Thursday: Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society meets in the auditorium at the O. Winston Link Museum at 7:30 pm.

  

For more information about events, attractions, and lodging in and around the region, visit the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau.     
 
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