Riding the Rails into Roanoke, Visiting the Virginia Museum of Transportation

Riding the Rails into Roanoke, Visiting the Virginia Museum of Transportation

by a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads – Art & Other Odd Adventures

Riding the Rails into Roanoke, Visiting the Virginia Museum of Transportation

As I mentioned in my earlier post on Roanoke, the city simply wouldn’t exist without the railroad. As you roll into town, you can’t miss the tracks; they slice straight through the heart of downtown, a constant reminder of Roanoke’s iron-and-steam backbone. This is the city that went from a sleepy farm village called Big Lick to the “Magic City” almost overnight, all because the Norfolk & Western Railroad, which planted its headquarters here in the 1880s.

Here’s the funny thing, though: for all that history, Roanoke hasn’t really leaned into its railroad past the way some cities do. There are no big neon “Railroad City” signs, no passenger depots turned tourist meccas, no train-shaped cafés downtown. Which is a shame, because the city’s story is practically welded in steel tracks.

There is, however, a real gem, the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Housed in an old Norfolk & Western freight station, it’s where you can get up close to the gorgeous locomotives that once powered America. Wander through the railyard, marvel at the craftsmanship, and feel the sheer scale of machines that pulled the country’s weight. Beyond the rails, the museum also celebrates cars, planes, and even space tech, but let’s be honest, it’s the locomotives that steal the show.

"Railroad iron is a magician's rod, in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The story of Norfolk & Western began in 1838 with the City Point Railroad, which was built to transport agricultural goods and supplies to and from the James River. Through a series of mergers and reorganizations, it became the Norfolk & Western Railway in 1881. The company focused heavily on coal transport, becoming the primary link between the coalfields of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia and the ports and industrial centers along the coast.

In addition to serving as the railroad’s corporate headquarters, Roanoke housed the N&W locomotive shops, where some of the most powerful and elegant steam engines ever built came to life, including the Class J passenger locomotives and the Class A and Y series freight engines. Norfolk & Western continued to operate steam locomotives well into the 1950s, long after other railroads had transitioned to diesel power. It’s a remarkable piece of railroad history, and Roanoke was right at the heart of it.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation opened in 1963 as the Roanoke Transportation Museum and was located in a former freight depot in Wasena Park. In 1983, the Virginia General Assembly designated it as the official transportation museum of the Commonwealth.

"We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us."

Henry David Thoreau

Just two years later, disaster struck. In 1985, a severe flood caused by the remnants of Hurricane Juan inundated Wasena Park, damaging much of the collection and forcing the museum to close. Rather than rebuild, the museum moved to its current home, the historic Norfolk & Western Freight Station in downtown Roanoke, reopening in April 1986.

Today, the museum’s collection is truly impressive. Its two crown jewels are No. 611, a streamlined J-Class passenger locomotive, and No. 1218, a powerful A-Class freight engine, the only one of its kind still in existence. The museum also displays more than 50 full-size pieces of rolling stock, including two electric locomotives, as well as a 30-piece automobile collection, an aviation gallery, historic horse-drawn carriages, and, my personal favorite, model train displays that bring out the kid in everyone.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation tells the broader story of how the railroad shaped Roanoke, its growth, architecture, economy, and identity as the Magic City. It offers a fascinating glimpse into how railroads influenced not just Roanoke but the nation as a whole.

"There isn't a train I would not take, no matter where it's going."

-Edna St. Vincent Millay

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and admission is $14.77. If you’re taking the back roads through Virginia, make a stop in Roanoke. Go see the 611 gleaming like a polished bullet, or the 1218 with its iron muscles on full display. Imagine what this city once sounded like when those giants roared to life. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll agree that Roanoke’s rail story deserves more than a whistle stop; it deserves center stage.

xoxo a.d. elliott

PS. You can check out my YouTube video of the museum here: https://youtu.be/-QhDii9eAgg

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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller based in Tontitown, Arkansas.

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

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