Writer’s Update | 2023 | For a limited time only, the Shenandoah Valley Limited gave train enthusiasts a unique opportunity to experience steam locomotion history in Virginia, thanks to the mighty N&W Class J 611. On these excursions, passengers experienced all the majesty of being aboard an American steam train legend on a spectacular journey through the glorious Shenandoah Valley during fall foliage. Go the Virginia Scenic Railway website for future plans for the No. 611.

The O. Winston Link Museum, dedicated to the work of this historic photographer, celebrates a pioneer widely considered the master of juxtaposition between steam railroading and rural culture.

Located in downtown Roanoke, the museum is situated in a restored Norfolk & Western Railway passenger train station and opened in January 2004. It currently displays hundreds of photographic prints and has several interactive displays, including audio, that provide information on link's photographic subjects.

The museum is dedicated to preserving, collecting and interpreting the photographic, audio and video works of Link and his project to document the last days of steam along the Norfolk & Western (N&W) Railway. It is home to more than 300 black-and-white and color images on exhibit of Link’s work depicting life along the railroad in the late 1950s.

The collection remains timeless even in this age of instant-gratification snapshots. “The allure of the museum extends far beyond the spirit of camaraderie felt by lovers of old steam locomotives," states Museum Director Mike McNeil. "It is not only devoted to the historic photography of Link, but is a photography cultural center dedicated to all fine photography that tells a story of our heritage and our social ethos, connecting us with our past and capturing the essence of who we are today."

Link captured the last days of steam operation on the N&W Railway in the late 1950s, but within the walls of the museum galleries, visitors can experience much more than just photographs – and more than just trains. The images created by link are vignettes into history and sociology. They are art as well as an integral part the history and technology of photography. Link (1914-2001) captured the sounds and sights of the powerful locomotives and the communities along the rail.

While in the museum visitors travel through six galleries that are designed to showcase a complete awareness of the time-period and the context in which Link worked, and each gallery offers new knowledge and different perceptions. Visitors become immersed in the auditory and visual experience as they hear and see the engines struggling up a grade or passing through towns.

The Roanoke gallery uses historic images, artifacts and film to introduce the N&W Railway and the impact it had on the communities along the lines. In the Radford Gallery, the names of towns along the top of each wall detail stops along the Abingdon Branch of the N&W Railway. The photographs in this gallery showcase the spectacular views and people along the line. One can look through the view camera to see the world as Link did. Many museum patrons will be surprised to see the daytime and color images in this gallery. Because the Abingdon Branch ran only during daylight hours, and because Link was drawn to the vibrant fall colors, many of his color photographs were made there.

Also on display is a showcase of Link’s original photographic equipment, everything from his numbered carrying cases to reflectors, power boxes, flash bulbs, and cameras.

The museum’s decade-long success has been instrumental in the revitalization of downtown Roanoke, a former railway town that today features a vibrant city core with eclectic restaurants, shops and art galleries.

Nearby is the Virginia Museum of Transportation, which includes a special pavilion constructed to house the static display of the Norfolk & Western J Class 611 and A Class 1218 steam locomotives. And before you reach these massive fellows, its the history of wheels in every shape and form that will stoke the kid in everyone.

According to its website, the 611 Steam Passenger Locomotive (the Spirit of Roanoke) has been moved to North Carolina Transportation Museum for complete renovation by 2015. The 611 retired from passenger rail service in 1959 and was moved to this facility. Once the 611 comes home, this facility will house the only remaining examples of the N & W's legendary Big Three - N & W Class A1218, Class J611 and the Class Y6a2156.

The museum provides visitors with hands-on exhibits featuring automobiles of yesterday, from those tiny kid-craved Hot Wheels cars that made imaginations explode to the fire engines that protected communities, the story of transportation unravels. However, it's these massive creatures in the yard and their American story that allows on-lookers to fathom their power which intrigued Link. An on-site guide Charles Hardy shares the same enthusiasm as he explains the marvel of these engines and the glory of a bygone era.

As a non-profit organization, The Virginia Museum of Transportation continues to raise money to restore these American steam engines and to keep them steaming into the future.

“The Class J Locomotives were the most technically advanced steam locomotive design of any type that was ever in service anywhere in the world,” says William Withuhn, Curator Emeritus, History of Technology and Transportation, Smithsonian Institution, and editor and co-author of Rails Across America: a History of Railroads in North America (Smithmark, 1993). “The J was –and is now –under its graceful skin the apex and epitome of its era of design, helping to make Americans the most mobile people on the planet.”

Visit the Virginia Museum of Transportation
303 Norfolk Avenue, SW, Roanoke, VA
Since much of the collection is outdoors, wear comfortable shoes and clothing appropriate for temperatures.
Discounts available for AAA, the National Railway Historical Society and the Norfolk  & Western Historical Society.
Tuesday - Sat, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, New Years Day
Purchase tickets online.
Admission: $12.66 adults; $10.55 seniors (60+); $8.44 children (3-11)
Add the O. Winston Link Museum for a $2.00 upgrade.