As part of a November 2017 trip to Roanoke, Virginia, Ye Olde Photographer, visited the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The museum is an adaptive reuse of a former Norfolk & Western freight station. Exhibits include automobile, aircraft and railroad items. Roanoke was the headquarters of the N&W, including major shops where the railroad was one of the last to build and maintain steam locomotives. The museum has a Class A 4-6-64 and a Y6a 2-8-8-2 compound on exhibit. Those were among the largest and most advanced ever built. There is alo an operating Class J streamlined steam locomotive which is restored for operation on excursions that may sometimes be seen at the museum, but was off to its winter quarters on this visit.

There are many things to see here, including some video and graphics covering a lot of history. Among the automobiles are two that were actually built in Virginia. There are Studebaker autos that were styled by famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy who had an association with Roanoke. He redesigned a modernization for the N&W passenger station in 1949 and also designed streamlining for the Class J locomotive. In addition, there is a Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 electric locomotive which also was styled by Loewy.