If Wishes Were (Iron) Horses
What is on your museum wish list? If funds and feasibility were not issues, how would you improve VMT?
You hear about various will be’s, could be’s and should be’s. A locomotive cab with interactive controls. Resurrection of the Virginia Scrap Iron ghost locos. A rail excursion—full size, not the converted Zoo Choo.
One of my dreams is to get the Y6 N&W steam locomotive moved back here from the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. It would complete the “big three” of classic late steam types built in Roanoke. Yeah, I understand the chances of that steam dream coming to pass. Nevertheless ….
Would you like to see more representation of other railroads besides the N&W? Which roads and what exhibits?
Do you wish for more interactive exhibits for your children, grandchildren or the young ones you teach? What would you add to or change about the museum for them?
What would you like to see done differently with non-railroad transportation?
Of the railroad equipment that needs significant restoration, that looks like it belongs as much in a scrap yard as a rail yard, which pieces would you most like to see brought back to pristine condition? The Lake Pearl sleeper? The Pennsy GG-1 electric loco? The Jawn Henry? Just kidding about that last one.
The museum’s exhibits have been criticized as static and stale. How would you breathe life and freshness into them?
Obviously funds and feasibility are issues. However, knowing what you’re thinking helps us have a better museum. And some of those wish list items that seem far-fetched now may lie closer to our grasp than we think.
Today my daughter and I hiked along the Roanoke River from Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital to Winchester St. There at Wasena Park I told her stories of the flood of ’85, including the devastation of VMT. Who then could have seen beyond the mud and muck to envision where and what the museum is today.
Out of the current “storm” can also emerge a stronger, better transportation showplace. Share your dreams with us and then help us make some of those dreams a reality.
Labels: Flood of 1985, Y6
posted by VMT-blogger @ 7:39 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
I personally would like to see the Viginian Railway 0-8-0 #4 be painted up and have the cab open to the public.
One of the big selling points the VMT has going is that people can literally climb all over the collection. Now, curators in their various ways would pull out their hair, but the average visitor could care less swinging from the hand rails of locomotives like a monkey.
That said, I'd love to see the VMT find a way to allow its visitors to share their memories and experiences. I enjoy the African-American exhibit because of the oral history collection. What if the VMT set up a computer terminal where guests could record their recollections of riding behind #611 or any of the other vehicles? Then have them stored so others can view them and share their own. There are so many great stories out there, it'd be a shame to lose them to time.
Aside from better care of the equipment, one thing I'd like to be able to do it actually sit in the engineer's seat of 611 and 1218. Obviously there are alot of other interesting exhibits but I have to imagine that those two are the big pullers. Maybe even have an air source hooked up so there's a noon-time whistle or something similar. Just some ideas.
I'd like to come to the museum and actually have the engines be there..
I guess i'm still bent that they were down at the NS yards when we came down there. We were excited to see our favorite steam engine (611).
Oh well.. perhaps another time.
The only thing better than getting up close to them would be seeing them run again and riding behind one of those amazing machines.
Is there a way to get the whistles and such working without literally firing those things up with water and such?
We didn't bother with the museum when we found out that 611 and 1218 weren't there. Though we really liked staying at Hotel Roanoke.
We went to the Strasburg Rail Road and museum and very much enjoyed the ride and the museum. The hotel was a good ways away though.
We've been to the B&O museum in Baltimore a few times as well. They seem to have excursion rides at certain times of the year, but we've not experienced them.
One thing that bugs me about all of the rail museums that I've been to is that it's very difficult to get quality pictures of the locomotives and tenders due to being so close to other locomotives and such.
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