Norfolk Southern Challenge Stewardship Report

2009 — 2012

June, 2012

Greetings:

The Virginia Museum of Transportation launched the Norfolk Southern Challenge for new

exhibits and improved infrastructure three years ago, and we are so grateful for your support

as the effort continues!

Norfolk Southern offered the Museum $1 million if we could raise $1 million each from

private sources and from local governments. Because of the economic downturn of the last

several years, we temporarily put our plans for an aggressive campaign on hold, but our work

toward the Challenge’s objectives has never stopped. We have already raised nearly a

half million dollars toward our Challenge goal, without embarking on a formal campaign.

Because we are planning for our future and tackling important projects now, your

investment in this Museum has already yielded important dividends.

Compared to three years ago, your support has

contributed to…

double digit increases in visitation each year, with a 88%

increase over three years — 182% in five years

school group attendance up 270%

memberships up 300% — 770% in five years

the economic impact of direct tourist spending up 50%

please continue reading

THE COMMONWEALTH’S OFFICIAL TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM

303 Norfolk Ave SW | Roanoke, Virginia 24016 | www.VMT.org | 540.342.5670

As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we look

forward to an exciting future!

Your support enabled us to plan for that future. First, we

solicited public input so that our plans would be responsive to

community needs and interests. We received feedback,

comments and suggestions from over a thousand individuals.

This advice — from visitors, members, donors, local residents, historians, and people with an

interest in every aspect of transportation — has shaped our course, and been essential to the

development of our new Interpretive Master Plan.

We made a plan; we’re working our plan.

Because we listened to the community, we have been able to use Challenge funds to identify

and address some of our constituents’ most desired improvements — now. These

improvements, in line with the Challenge’s objectives and driven by community input, are

outlined below. The response has been extremely positive: steadily growing attendance has

resulted in increased earned income and greater financial stability for the Museum, even during

the recent economic downturn.

Thanks to your help,

the Museum’s transformation has already begun!

The community asked us …

… to restore our rail equipment and get rid of the rust in the Rail Yard

Our locomotives, freight cars, and other rail equipment sat rusting and untouched for at least

a decade. Over the past 15 months, we have cosmetically restored seven pieces with five

more underway, representing 25% of the Museum’s rail collection.

The cosmetic restoration of the iconic Norfolk

& Western Bicentennial locomotive 1776

garnered the Museum national attention and

financial support. The engine was a People’s

Award Choice winner in the Virginia

Association of Museum’s Top Ten Endangered

Artifacts competition and was awarded Trains

magazine’s prestigious annual Preservation

Award, chosen as the sole recipient from

among 120 applicants. The beautifully restored 1776 returns to the Museum on July 7.

Our next major projects are the Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 and the Southern Pullman

Sleeping Car Lake Pearl, both of which have partial designated funding already.

After restoration

Before

… to update our exhibits, and bring in new things to see

Exhibits in the Advance Auto Parts Automotive Gallery now change frequently, with a

new vehicle arriving about once a month. We bring in distinctive automobiles and rail

equipment for special events and short term exhibitions. New permanent exhibits in

the last three years include a real Norfolk Southern diesel locomotive cab; one of only

three existing Virginia-made Piedmont touring

cars (1923); rail and truck models; trucking and neon

signs; and a significant display of Matchbox and Hot

Wheels cars. We also installed downtown Roanoke’s

first electric car charger.

… for more programs for children

We doubled our education staff in the past year, and

began a series of preschool programs aligned with

Virginia’s Foundation Blocks for Early Learning. We

are developing lifelong learning programs for families

and adults, and our first summer camps in a decade.

The Museum is serving increasing numbers of school groups, including preschools, TAP

Headstart Centers, and special needs students, as well as private schools and homeschooled

groups. The Museum serves all of Roanoke City’s kindergarteners with a specially designed,

multi-disciplinary SOL-based curriculum. We are also working with the

city schools to develop a technology-enhanced field trip curriculum for

seventh graders utilizing the school system’s iPod Touch devices.

… for heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer

HVAC work and new insulated walls built in spring 2011 make a

profound difference in the comfort of our visitors during hot and cold

weather and enable us to book special events year round.

… for more storytelling through video

Our recently restored N&W Safety Instruction Car 418 includes a 48-seat theatre in which

we show a film about our most popular steam locomotive, the N&W Class J 611. Each

presentation includes Operation Lifesaver rail safety public

service announcements. Other programs are available for

schools and groups on request.

… to reopen the aviation gallery, destroyed by a

storm in 2006

Public input significantly shaped our upcoming Wings Over

Virginia Aviation Gallery, our first new gallery in many years.

Featuring all-new exhibits, Wings Over Virginia will exemplify the new

design philosophy embodied in our Interpretive Master Plan. Instead of

continuing the Museum’s focus on equipment, the story of aviation in

Virginia will be told through the personal stories of pilots, passengers,

flight instructors, and others. The gallery explores aviation history,

science and technology. Its design includes multidisciplinary learning

experiences for all ages.

Gallery components include aviation technology,

the advancement of aviation through time, and the personal stories

of local heroes, both military and civilian. Displays will feature

artifacts, photos, hands-on exhibits, and the passenger compartment

and cockpit of a private jet.

The Museum formed extensive partnerships which will significantly

enhance the gallery’s scope: NASA Langley Research Center, the Air

Force Association, Civil Air Patrol, the Roanoke Regional Airport,

Landmark Aviation, Carilion Life-Guard, and ITT Exelis. Interns from Virginia Tech, Roanoke

College, George Mason University, and Radford University have researched our aviation

history. They have recorded more than two dozen moving oral histories, primarily of WWII

aviators, so that we can share the contributions of our local heroes with Museum visitors.

Plan to join us when Wings Over Virginia opens on November 17.

Thank you! This past year has been another year of accelerated growth in all areas of the Museum with

increased local, regional, and national media coverage and accolades for our progress. In fact,

the Virginia Association of Museums asked us to present a 90-minute session at its annual

conference in March: The Little Museum That Could, how we survived our near-death

experience in 2006 and surged ahead in the worst economy in decades.

We hope you feel as proud of the success that you have made possible, as we are grateful for

all you have done for us! We are preparing for a major capital campaign at the end of our 50th

Anniversary Celebration in 2013 and will be sharing our dreams — which represent the

community’s dreams — with you soon. In the meantime, we invite you to visit us at any time!

Sincerely,

Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr.

Executive Director

540.767.4640