Roanoke is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is located in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanoke is approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of the Virginia–North Carolina border and 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., along Interstate 81. At the 2020 census, Roanoke's population was 100,011, making it the most-populous city in Virginia west of the state capital Richmond. It is the primary population center of the Roanoke metropolitan area, which had a population of 315,251 in 2020.
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.
Richmond Main Street Station, officially the Main Street Station and Trainshed, is a historic railroad station and office building in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1901, and is served by Amtrak. It is also an intermodal station with Richmond's city transit bus services, which are performed by Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC). The station is colloquially known by residents as The Clock Tower. It was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and in 1976 was made a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Main Street Station serves as a secondary train station for Richmond providing limited Amtrak service directly to downtown Richmond. Several Amtrak trains serving the Richmond metropolitan area only stop at the area's primary rail station, Staples Mill Road which is located five miles to the north in Henrico County.
The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center is a historic hotel located in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. Originally built in 1882, the hotel has been rebuilt and expanded many times. The central wing dates to 1938. The hotel is currently owned by Virginia Tech and operated under the Curio Collection by Hilton brand. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
Danville station, also known as Danville Southern Railway Passenger Depot, is a historic train station in Danville, Virginia. It is currently served by Amtrak, the United States' national passenger rail service, and is a stop on the Crescent line.
Culpeper station is a train station in Culpeper, Virginia. It was built in 1904 by the Southern Railway, replacing an 1874 station house which itself replaced two stations originally built by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. It is currently served by Amtrak's long-distance Cardinal and Crescent routes, along with two daily Northeast Regional trains with final stops in New York or Boston to the north and Roanoke to the south.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) is a museum in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, that is devoted to the topic of transportation.
Norfolk and Western 1218 is a preserved four-cylinder simple articulated 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive, built in June 1943 by the Norfolk and Western's (N&W) Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as part of the N&W's class "A" fleet of fast freight locomotives. It was retired from regular revenue service in July 1959, and was later restored by Norfolk Southern for excursion service for their steam program, pulling excursions throughout the eastern United States from 1987 to 1991. It is currently on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia.
The Grandin Road Commercial Historic District, also referred to as Grandin Village, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places located in the Raleigh Court neighborhood of the independent city of Roanoke, Virginia. Centered at the intersection of Memorial Avenue and Grandin Road, Grandin Village hosts an array of independently owned retail and dining establishments. The district has been noted as one of Roanoke's best examples of a mixed-use urban village, and has been used as a local model for future mixed-use developments within the community.
Roanoke City Market Historic District, also known as City Market District, is a national historic district located in the Downtown Roanoke area of Roanoke, Virginia.
Fire Station No. 1 is a former fire station listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the Downtown neighborhood of the independent city of Roanoke, Virginia, United States. Modeled after Philadelphia's Independence Hall, Fire Station No. 1 served as one of the longest continuously operating fire stations in the Commonwealth of Virginia from its completion in 1907 through the opening of a replacement facility in 2007. Designed by the Lynchburg firm of Huggins and Bates, No. 1 still stands as a monument to the civic pride of early Roanoke. It is located in the Roanoke City Market Historic District.
Norfolk Terminal Station was a railroad union station located in Norfolk, Virginia, which served passenger trains and provided offices for the Norfolk and Western Railway, the original Norfolk Southern Railway and the Virginian Railway. The N&W, Norfolk Southern, and Virginian's Norfolk terminal location stood in contrast to competitor railroads, such as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, Southern Railway, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad which operated out of Cape Charles (Virginia), Newport News and Portsmouth, terminals outside of Norfolk. Customers took ferries or, later in the 20th century, buses from Norfolk to reach those other terminals. The terminal was located at 1200 East Main Street in Norfolk, near today's Harbor Park baseball stadium.
The Patrick Henry Hotel is a Colonial Revival former hotel listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, United States. Located at 617 South Jefferson Street at the southern end of Downtown, the Patrick Henry was designed by William Lee Stoddart and opened in 1925. The building now serves as apartments, office space, and a restaurant in the former lobby rebranded simply The Patrick Henry. It is located in the Roanoke Downtown Historic District.
Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's (N&W) class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents one of the pinnacles of American steam locomotive technology.
Bristol station is a historic railroad station in Bristol, Virginia, USA, just north of the Tennessee state line. Built in 1902, the station was served by passenger trains until 1971. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Bristol Railroad Station in 1980.
Colonial National Bank, also known as the Colonial-American National Bank and the Colonial Arms Building, is a historic bank and office building located at Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1926–1927, and is a 12-story, granite and gray-enamel brick building in the Neoclassical style. The building's design echoes that of a classical column; its first three stories compose the base, its shaft is composed of the next seven stories of unornamented brick, and the top two stories of ornamented brick are the capital. The building has a three-story annex built in two stages in 1949 and 1959. The structure was Roanoke's tallest building for almost fifty years.
Norfolk and Western Railway Company Historic District is a national historic district located in Roanoke, Virginia. It encompasses three contributing buildings constructed by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). They are the Neoclassical Revival style General Office Building–South ; the Art Deco period General Office Building–North (1931); and the Moderne style Passenger Station.
The Crystal Spring Steam Pumping Station is a historic pumping station located at Roanoke, Virginia, in the United States. It was built in 1905, and is a one-story building constructed in common-bond brick. The building houses a Corliss-type pump made by the Snow Steam Pump Company in Buffalo, New York. At its peak, the pump provided 5,000,000 US gallons (19,000 m3) of water daily. It was in operation from 1905 to 1957, and was an important source of fresh water in Roanoke's early history.
Roanoke station is a train station in Roanoke, Virginia, the current southern terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Regional line. Built in 2017, it follows several other Roanoke passenger stations that operated from the 1850s to 1979. The unstaffed station consists of a single high-level platform with no station building or waiting room available for passengers. All tickets must be purchased in advance; there is no Quik-Trak kiosk at the station.
Christiansburg station was an intercity rail station located in Christiansburg, Virginia. Originally built in 1906 to replace a previous station, it was served by Norfolk and Western Railway passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by Amtrak's Mountaineer from 1975 to 1977, then the Hilltopper until 1979. The station building remains extant.
