From my Inbox to you. Virginia Museum of Transportation Director of Marketing informs me there are still a few Sunday slots left open.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation
to give rail fans a chance to operate a steam locomotive

At the Throttle
Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19

Train lovers will have the rare opportunity to operate the
New Hope Valley Railway #17 0-4-0 Tank Steam Locomotive.  

“At the Throttle” sessions will last 30 minutes. A qualified railroad engineer will
be in the cab with participants at all times.
Cost for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is $125.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) announces the “At the Throttle” program, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will put train lovers in the operator’s seat of a steam locomotive on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19.

Participants in the program will be in control of the New Hope Valley Railways #17 steam locomotive, a 0-4-0 tank engine, for 30 minutes. A qualified railroad engineer will be in the cab with participants at all times.

“Train lovers will experience what it was like to run a steam engine during the golden age of railroads,” said Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr., executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. “They can reach up, open the throttle and feel the engine move at their command.”

Participants in “At the Throttle” must be at least 18-years-old and have a valid driver’s license. Clothing appropriate to a working railyard should be worn at all times. Long sleeves, long pants, work boots and gloves are recommended.

Those wishing to participate in the program can register online at vmt.org or in person at the Museum’s downtown Roanoke location. Read more »

Hat tip, Jeff Sturgeon. I note that the creation of this program directly led to the Virginia Museum of Transportation’s decision to study whether the J-611 can be restored to track-worthiness (click here to read further.) From my Inbox to you:

Roanoke departure added to 21st Century Steam schedule for March 17

NORFOLK, VA. – A round trip between Roanoke and Lynchburg, Va., on Sunday, March 17, has been added to the previously announced 21st Century Steam excursions. The train, powered by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s (TVRM) steam locomotive SOU 630, will leave Roanoke at 11 a.m. for a 4.5-hour round trip. Tickets can be purchased at TVRM’s web site at www.tvrail.com.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded in 1961 in Chattanooga to create an interpretive operating museum of historic equipment and artifacts in an authentic setting. Today it operates an extensive schedule of historic and scenic trains in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, supported by its East Chattanooga shop facility. TVRM is the largest operating
historical excursion railroad in the Southeast. In 2012, more than 100,000 people visited the museum or rode on TRVM-sponsored 21st Century Steam excursions.

21st Century Steam is a partnership between Norfolk Southern and TVRM to operate steam-powered excursions throughout the territory Norfolk Southern serves. More information is available on the 21st Century Steam website at www.21stcenturysteam.com.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.

Today my year-end round-up ran, with a look back at some of the biggest arts news stories of 2012, as well as a preview of what the coming year will bring.

What do you think? What did I miss? What will you be watching? Let me know in the comments.

And may the holidays be kind to you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

UPDATE: The Link Museum posted this on on their Facebook page: “NOTICE: Sadly Mr. Abbott has had an emergency that prevents him from joining us this evening. We will still be celebrating our juried exhibition and have Mr. Abbott’s book available for purchase. Our apologies on the schedule change and we hope to have him here soon!”

From my Inbox to you:

"Midnight" by Diedra Bruce, Digital Photography, August 2012

"Abandoned Train" by Kara Duffus, Film Photography, 2007

From my Inbox to you:

The Virginia Rail Heritage Region announces that two of its artifacts win
top honors in the Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Competition
sponsored by the Virginia Association of Museums
and the Virginia Collections Institute

• Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 1923 Pullman Lake Pearl Deluxe Sleeper Car and the Alleghany Historical Society’s Chesapeake & Ohio #701 Locomotive were chosen by a panel of curators and experts due to their historical significance to Virginia and the nation.

• The Chesapeake & Ohio #701 Locomotive also earned a People’s Choice award in the public voting portion of the competition.

Passenger Car Southern Railway Sleeping Car "Lake Pearl" #2422

The Virginia Rail Heritage Region, a coalition of historical rail sites throughout Virginia, announces that two of its artifacts won top honors in the Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Competition sponsored by the Virginia Association of Museums and the Virginia Collections Institute.

Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 1923 Pullman Lake Pearl Deluxe Sleeper Car was chosen for its allure, beauty and historical significance. The Pullman car was a deluxe sleeper from the golden age of passenger rail travel. It was designed for multi-day travel across the country and offered luxury, comfort and status to passengers.

The Alleghany Historical Society’s Chesapeake & Ohio # 701 Locomotive, nicknamed “The Merry Widow,” was chosen for its historical significance to the region. The Merry Widow was also chosen as a “People’s Choice” in the public voting portion of the competition.

“We are thrilled that we were chosen as a Top 10 Endangered Artifact,” said Byron Faidley, Depot Attendant of the Alleghany Historical Society in Covington, Virginia. “This locomotive is the only surviving locomotive of the Hocking Valley Railway, and an important piece of Virginia history as well. It’s good to see the Merry Widow on the top of a list rather than the bottom.” Read more »

From my Inbox to you:

Courtesy Virginia Museum of Transportation. Alan E. Ronk (left), Executive Director of Foundation for Roanoke Valley presents Don Moser (center), VMT Deputy Director, and Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr. (right), VMT Executive Director.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation announces that Foundation for Roanoke Valley has awarded the Museum a $25,500 grant to develop new exhibits in its upcoming Wings Over Virginia aviation gallery.

• The Museum’s upcoming Wings Over Virginia aviation gallery opens November 17, 2012.
  

• The gallery will feature special exhibits made possible by funding from Foundation for Roanoke Valley.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation announces that Foundation for Roanoke Valley has awarded the Museum a $25,500 grant from the Foundation’s Community Catalyst Funds to develop new exhibits in the Museum’s upcoming Wings Over Virginia aviation gallery.

At one time, the Museum’s aviation gallery was a popular attraction and an educational asset for western Virginia residents and schoolchildren. In 2006, a storm ripped off the roof and destroyed the gallery below. To develop the new aviation gallery, the Museum solicited feedback from the community and developed its interpretive plan around the public’s ideas and dreams.

Don Moser, Deputy Director of the Museum and a pilot himself, has led the development of the gallery’s conceptual plan. “With the help of many valuable partners, Roanoke and Western Virginia will have a creative, hands-on way to explore Virginia’s aviation heritage like never before,” says Moser. Read more »

From my Inbox to you:

“Party Like It’s 1776”
Saturday, July 7: 10 am to 5 pm
The Virginia Museum of Transportation announces the return of the
Norfolk & Western SD-45 Bicentennial 1776 Locomotive
with a patriotic one-day event that celebrates the
country’s independence and Roanoke’s rail history.

 “Party Like It’s 1776” will feature Revolutionary War historical interpreters and re-enactors. Children are invited to design their own flag with Betsy Ross. The music group “NS Lawmen” will perform in the Rail Yard. Plus, model train displays, facepainting and other fun family-friendly activities.

 Also rolling into the Rail Yard for permanent display will be one of Roanoke’s Lost Engines: the Chesapeake and Western #662 Locomotive painstakingly restored by the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

 Reduced admission: $5 per person. Museum members and infants under 2 are free.

 For one day only, three of Norfolk Southern’s much talked-about Heritage Units will be on display: Norfolk & Western, Interstate and Virginian.  The all-new Norfolk Southern Exhibit Car will also be on display.

ROANOKE, VA: The Virginia Museum of Transportation announces a family-fun patriotic party on Saturday, July 7, to celebrate the homecoming of its beloved Norfolk & Western SD-45 1776 Locomotive. The locomotive is returning to the VMT after a cosmetic restoration returned the locomotive to her original red-white-and-blue glory.

“Party Like It’s 1776!” will celebrate the founding of our country, Roanoke’s rail history and our love of all-things-trains. The event starts at 10 am and ends at 5 pm.

The Museum offers reduced admission of $5 per person for “Party Like It’s 1776!” As always, Museum Members and infants two and under are admitted free. The day is also Norfolk Southern Employee Appreciation Day. All Norfolk Southern employees with employee identification and their immediate families are admitted free for the day.

The VMT will transport its Rail Yard to Colonial Days with Revolutionary War re-enactors and historical interpreters. Museum patrons and visitors are encouraged to learn about life in Virginia during the Revolutionary War. Children are invited to design their own flag with Betsy Ross.

Visitors can also enjoy model train displays, facepainting and other family-friendly activities. Read more »

For those readers interested in all things trains, Franklin County reporter Amy Matzke-Fawcett has a story today about a woman’s efforts to preserve the Boones Mill depot, which at one point was scheduled for demolition.

Boones Mill depot may get fresh burst of steam
Boones Mill has offered land to relocate the depot, but it will cost about $100,000 to move it. A local resident has taken up the cause.
By Amy Matzke-Fawcett

REBECCA BARNETT | The Roanoke Times. Lois Slotnick of Boones Mill is working to save the town's railroad depot, which sits on land owned by Norfolk Southern. The structure is on Virginia's endangered sites list. "I love railroads," Slotnick said. "I would just feel horrible if I would see this thing got torn down."

BOONES MILL — With its peeling paint, broken windows and graffiti, the Boones Mill train depot called to Lois Slotnick for more than 20 years.

She drove past it at least once a week and always lamented the deterioration, she said.

“I was always looking at the building and worrying because the building wasn’t being cared for,” she said.

She had called Norfolk Southern Corp., which owns the depot and the land it sits on, three years ago, and the railroad had offered to sell it to her for $1 — as long as she moved it.

So Slotnick waited and thought, until November when she called Norfolk Southern again to ask for a compromise. Instead, she learned the depot was scheduled for demolition this year.

The building also caught the attention of Preservation Virginia, which named the depot to its Most Endangered Historic Sites list earlier this month.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Shared with me by museum spokeswoman Peg McGuire. What do you think?

From Sunday’s column:

The Virginia Museum of Transportation will host Roanoke Rail Fest from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Part of the museum’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, the event includes rides from the New Hope Valley #17 steam locomotive, on loan from the North Carolina Railway Museum. Admission to the event is $5; steam engine rides $2.

The steam locomotive rides will continue May 13. Regular admission $8; senior citizens, $7; children ages 3 to 11, $6. For more information, call 342-5670 or visit vmt.org.

The text of the complete press release follows below: Read more »