This Saturday!
Roanoke Railfest 
Celebrating the Spirit of Roanoke 
Photo courtesy of Aron Schuessler
 
Saturday, May 11*
10 am to 5 pm

 Ride behind a steam locomotive!  
Food. Music. Crafts. Model Trains.

Activities for the entire family. 
Stand in the cabs of the 611 and 1218!  
Meet people who worked on the 611!  
Roanoke Mayor David Bowers will be on hand to declare
Roanoke Railfest as "611 Celebration Day!"
 
 
Admission: $5 per person. 
As always, Museum Members and  
infants 2 and under admitted free.
Train rides: $3 per person per ride,  
including Museum Members. 
Infants 2 and under ride for free. 

  *Reduced admission and train rides continue on Sunday, May 12 from 1 pm to 5 pm. Extra special activities on Saturday, May 11.
Train rides and reduced admission on Sunday, May 12. 
May at the VMT!
Roanoke Railfest is Saturday, May 11!
A bright and beautiful spring at the VMT!
Cotton to Silk Oral History Project
Not too early to think about Father's Day Gifts!
Register for Wings & Wheels Summer Camp
Lerro Productions to hold night photo sessions at the VMT
Become a VMT member
Happenings: Road. Rail. Air.

The ultimate railroad experience 
AT THE THROTTLE 
Operate a steam engine! 
Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19

YOU can operate a steam engine! AT THE THROTTLE puts you in  
control of the New Hope Valley's Railway's #17, a 0-4-0 tank steam engine
  

Experience the magnificent power of steam.
Reach up, open the throttle and
feel the engine move on your command.
Pull and listen to the scream of the whistle.

 

The engineer sessions are 30 minutes long and a qualified engineer will be  
in the cab with you at all times.

A PERFECT Father's Day gift. 
Give your dad the experience of a lifetime.
(And if you're a dad, start dropping hints...) 

Cost: $125  

You will have your choice of day and either a morning or afternoon spot. The VMT will send you a confirmation email detailing the experience, safety rules and your time slot. Free parking will be available in front of the Museum. Bring your camera! (You won't be able to take pictures while operating the locomotive, but you can take pictures before and after the session.)

Because this is an actual steam locomotive, there are a few rules: 
  • Must be 18-years-old or older and have a valid driver's license.
  • Long pants and closed-toe shoes are REQUIRED.
  • Long-sleeve shirts are recommended, but not necessary.
  • The temperature inside the steam locomotive can reach 125 degrees,
    so be certain you can take the heat.
  • Bring your work gloves -- most valves and levers are HOT.
  • You must be able to climb into the locomotive cab and stand
    for over 30 minutes.  
REGISTER ONLINE NOW!  

1218 in Spring
    From our Executive Director
A bright and beautiful
spring is here!


We kick off our bright and beautiful spring with Roanoke Railfest this Saturday, May 11. Join us as we celebrate  the Norfolk & Western Class J 611 locomotive. This American icon attracts visitors from all over the world. At Railfest, you can sit in the cab of the 611 and ride behind a real steam locomotive -- the New Hope Valley Railway #17, a 0-4-0 tank steam engine. We'll have music, food and fun activities for the entire family! 

Soon, the Roanoke Valley Garden Club will plant their beautiful flowers in our Railyard. Families will enjoy time together in our galleries. And in June, our Wings & Wheels Summer Camp will start rolling.


We invite you to visit us this spring. We try to delight everyone in the family!

Bev
Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr.
VMT Executive Director

 




The VMT and the Historical Society of
Western Virginia announce the
Cotton to Silk
oral history project


Cotton to Silk will document the
stories, struggles and triumphs of
African-Americans on the
Norfolk & Western and Norfolk Southern railroads


Cotton to Silk has been funded by a grant from the  
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities


The Cotton to Silk project will collect the oral histories of the VMT's African-American Norfolk & Western Heritage Celebration group and other retired and current employees of the railroad. The oral histories will be included in a book, an online exhibit and will add to the popular and groundbreaking "African American Heritage on the Norfolk & Western 1930-1970" exhibit at the VMT. The exhibit is one of the few in the country that focus on the impact of African Americans to the railroad.

Cotton to Silk is made possible by a $5,000 grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the largest award the Foundation gave in this grant cycle.  
 
"We are so proud of our African-American Norfolk & Western Heritage Celebration group," said Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr., executive director of the VMT. "It is our hope that Cotton to Silk provides hope and inspiration for generations to come."

Look for more information about this important oral history project soon!  

 

It's not to early to think about
Father's Day Gifts!


Our Museum Store has Father's Day covered! We have all kinds of things you dad (or grand dad or favorite uncle) would love to receive.

Here are two of literally hundreds of ideas we have in our Museum Store:

The Fire Up 611! Mug  
Available for pre-orders. Will be in our Museum Store by June 1!   
  • Exclusive! Only available at the VMT
  • Midnight Black or Sunfire Red
  • Made in the USA by Sunset Hill Stoneware
  • Holds 14 ounces
  • Available for on-line pre-orders -- SHIPS JUNE 1  

 $22.99 plus shipping or free in-store pick up

 

Proceeds support the VMT and the Fire Up 611! Feasibility Study!   

 

 

DVD: Fifty Years After Link     

 

50 years after link Fifty years after Mr. Link made his famous portraits of steam in the night, this DVD revisits many of these places to see what has changed and, surprisingly, what has not. Vintage film of 1950s action at Roanoke and elsewhere blends with steam excursions of the 1980s and modern NS freight to provide a half century perspective of change. The trains are totally changed; some of the buildings are gone. But the mountains remain, as does the hospitality of the people in the rural towns where O. Winston Link worked his nocturnal magic over half a century ago.

 

$24.99 plus shipping or free in-store pick up.  

 

Check out the MUSEUM STORE for more gift ideas!

school group banner
Give them the best week of their summer!   
Virginia Museum of Transportation  
Wings & Wheels Summer Camps  
REGISTER NOW! Spots are filling quickly!



ZOOM CAMP

Pre-K (3-5 years)   
Monday, June 17 - Friday, June 21 
9:30 am to 11:30 am  

Members $70  Nonmembers $85
  
CHUG, SOAR, and MOVE!
Your camper will spend two hours each day playing, discovering, and learning about all things transportation. Activities will include daily visits by special guests who have real-life experience in the air, on the road, or on the rails.    

   

LET'S GO CAMP 

Grades K-1 (completed) 
Monday, June 24 - Friday, June 28 9 am to 4 pm  
Members $180   Nonmembers $195               
RUMBLE, WHIR, and BEEP!  
Your camper will climb inside real locomotive engines and rail cars, learn about aviation while sitting inside a real Jet Commander, and fly a professional-grade glider simulator. The week ends with a field trip to a transportation venue. 

  

Summer camps

 

ROLLING WHEELS CAMP 

Grades 2-3 (completed)
Monday, July 15 - Friday, July 19

9 am to 4 pm  

Members $180 Nonmembers $195
 
ROLL, SOAR, and ZIP!  Your camper will explore the basic physics of flight, learn how steam powers a locomotive, and experience the power of the sun in solar activities. Our professional staff will use the museum's collection of trains, cars, and planes as hands-on and climb-aboard learning centers. The week ends with a field trip to a transportation venue.
  
ON THE MOVE CAMP

Grades 4-5 (completed)
Monday, July 8 -  Friday, July 12Kids at the O Gauge

9 am to 4 pm   

Members $200   Nonmembers $225  

ROADS, RAILS, and HANGARS!   
Your camper will have a week of exploring trains, cars, trucks, and planes in real life settings. Campers will visit a variety of transportation venues, getting sneak peeks and behind the scenes tours at an airport, truck terminal, railyard, and auto dealership. Campers will ride a train, climb behind the wheel of a truck cab, fly a soaring simulator, and build their own model rail car.

  

Register Online or at the VMT!  

1218 Night Shoot 2009

Night Photo Sessions
by Lerro Productions

July 12-14, 2013 at the VMT!

Attention photographers!

For the first time in nearly 20 years, both the N&W 611 and N&W 1218 will be outside together in the open air and will be the star attractions for a photo shoot by Lerro Productions.

Unlike our previous night photo shoots at the VMT, the steam locomotives will be pulled out from under the Museum's Railyard Canopy, allowing you to photograph them like never before. Because of all the moves needed to get the locomotives out of the covered area, they will be left in the open all weekend, allowing photographers clear views throughout the day and in various lighting situations.

Our night sessions will feature dramatic lighting, human-interest scenes, actors, props, antique automobiles and artificial smoke. The day sessions will feature all the fun of the night sessions but will allow us to photograph live action of the actors without the use of a tripod or long exposures. Other steam locomotives at the VMT will also be used during the sessions. The locomotives face East so the early-morning sun will produce dramatic light and color for our scenes.

Virginia Museum of Transportation facade
Are you a VMT Member?  

A membership to the Virginia Museum of Transportation isn't just a way to support the Museum; it's a year of fun! As a member, you can enjoy each and every gallery throughout the year and be the first to see new exhibits!

You'll also enjoy special events, discounts on birthday parties and summer camps, special offers in our Museum Store and advance notice of upcoming exhibits! 

Members can also purchase 10 Anybody Passes for $20. Anybody Passes allow you to bring anybody outside your membership package with you to enjoy the Museum!

You can become a member online or by calling
540-342-5670 ext. 106.

Join or renew today!   

 

Correction

In the April issue of the VMT newsletter, we reported that the replica of the Pere Marquette 1225 Locomotive now on display in our O-Gauge Gallery was donated by the  Hotel Roanoke. It was actually donated by VA811, the one-call utility service that prevents damage to underground utility lines.  We apologize for the mistake and thank them for their generosity.

 

Happenings: Road. Rail. Air.     
 
Now - June 7: The O. Winston Link Museum:
The new exhibit, Examined - Roanoke Youth Advocate Program Photography, features the photographic response of Roanoke students to a series of questions posed to each student.

May 9 - May 12: Norfolk & Western Historical Society: Archives work session.

June 12 - June 16: Norfolk & Western Historical Society presents its annual convention at Twin Falls Resort State Park in West Virginia. Register online.

July 28 - August 1: Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society presents its 4th Annual Conference at Pipestem State Resort Park in West Virginia. Register online.

Monthly - Second and Fourth Thursdays at 7 pm: 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.   

  

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.     
 
QUICK LINKS