At Roanoke

On the road:  I spent Thursday and Friday with sister-in-law Tish and brother Brad at their home in Roanoke, VA.  This was my first visit to southern Virginia.  As at Cumberland Gap, a high vantage point affords a striking view of the surrounding territory.

For several decades Roanoke has billed itself the "Star City of the South," and illustrates its nickname with an illuminated star on Hill Mountain, 1,045 feet above the city.  Roanoke claims that theirs is "the world's largest manmade star."  Erected in 1949, it stands 88.5 feet tall, weighs five tons, uses 2,000 feet of neon tubing (white, except at Christmas), and eats up 17,500 watts of electricity.  I'm glad the power company isn't billing me!

The view from Hill Mountain is wonderful.  Roanoke and next door neighbor Salem sit in a valley between two mountain chains, all of which are part of the Appalachian system.

Roanoke's Star is visible 60 miles away.

The "Star City of the South" nestles between the mountains.

After the Star, Brad and I investigated the Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) in downtown Roanoke.  The Roanoke Transportation Museum originated in 1962 as a partnership between the Norfolk and Western Railway Co. and the City of Roanoke.  It became a nonprofit corporation in 1976 and soon was designated the state's official transportation museum.  After its original site flooded in 1985, Norfolk and Western donated its 1919 freight station to serve as the museum's home.

I love trains, so going to VMT was like being sentenced to play in a sandbox!  One of the first exhibits we looked at was The President's Car, a vintage 1910 private "business car" for corporate bigwigs.  The visitor's guide says this car was made for Western Union Corp., while a sign on the car indicates that it was reserved for the president of the Illinois Terminal Railroad.  Whoever it belonged to, it must have made for luxurious travel in its heyday.  Restoration is a work-in-progress.

The President's Car is parked next to the kids' playground.

Railroad big cheeses dined on food prepared in a tiny
galley just down the hall.  But where did the staff sleep?

Just a few feet away is N+W's Class A Steam Locomotive #1218, built at Roanoke in 1943.  The Class A was so powerful it could haul 190 cars of coal, and during World War II it moved entire tank divisions using flatbed cars for the tanks, baggage cars for equipment, and sleepers for the troops.  Because the U.S. was at war, #1218 was built in just two weeks!  Retired in 1959, it is the last of its class in existence.  (By the way, an engine's class is determined by its wheel arrangement.)

Sitting next to #1218 is N+W's Class J Steam Locomotive #611, built at Roanoke in 1950.  For 18 years J Class engines pulled passenger trains between Cincinnati and Norfolk — 15 cars at 110 mph on level ground.  Like its bigger neighbor, #611 was retired in 1959 and is the last of its class.  Its lines ooze power and speed.

Brother Brad provides scale for #1218.

The engineer's seat was just three feet from the
firebox doors.  Warm work!

Even stationary, #611 looks like it's moving!

The black paint job is nearly flawless.

Among the train memorabilia is a section devoted to African-American train workers, who in this era staffed dining cars and sleepers.  However, a poster called attention to Black inventors who made significant contributions to the transportation industry, e.g., the automated electric traffic signal which greatly enhanced rail safety.

Another African-American invented the refrigeration
system used by railroads for hauling food.

The museum's artifacts document many modes of transportation used in Virginia.  For example, as we wandered around the yard, staff members wheeled a covered wagon into place on the platform (next to the horse-drawn hearses!), and inside the museum we found an original — a very original — Studebaker.  I especially liked the vintage 1913 school bus, which was fitted out with hard wooden seats and no shock absorbers!

"Cumberland Gap or Bust!"

Most car makers started out building other vehicles.

"School bus yellow" clearly goes back at least a century.

However, my special favorite among the motorized vehicles was the 1925 Ford Model T Truck.  Ever wonder why some cars are called station wagons?  Read the sign!  (To enlarge, click on the photo.)

The "T" Truck was a workhorse as well as a woody.

Kingsford?  You learn something new every day.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation has lots to see — a couple dozen train engines, various rail cars, trolleys, busses, a huge O Gauge model train layout, a couple dozen automobiles, and a small but impressive aviation exhibit.  If you are traveling this way, VMT is well worth a couple hours. •••