Welcome to Roanoke Valley Field Notes, a collection of news and miscellaneous notes from the past week in the valley and a look ahead at what’s happening next week. Here’s last week’s edition if you missed it.
Any train lovers will want to tune in for news from the Virginia Museum of Transportation. And for residents of Salem, the city asks you to fill out a survey about your housing conditions.
As always, email me at samantha@cardinalnews.org to share your thoughts, ideas, questions and concerns.
Let’s get into the past week in the valley and what to look for in the coming week.
611 gets $10,000 in donations
The Virginia Museum of Transportation received two donations from the Norfolk and Western Historical Society and the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society to support the Norfolk and Western Class J. No 611 steam program.
The 76-year-old steam engine, which was retired nine years after its construction, was used to pull passenger cars on the Norfolk and Western railway system, according to the Roanoke museum’s website.
The $10,000 in donations will be used for tools needed for continued maintenance, preservation and operation of the train, according to a news release.
The 611 is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark and the Official Steam Locomotive of Virginia.
“These contributions directly strengthen our steam program and help provide the resources needed to preserve and maintain one of America’s most celebrated steam locomotives,” Mendy Flynn, the museum’s executive director, said in the release.
She recognized Tim Whitt and Ken Miller for helping to bring the Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society and the museum together, as well as Ron Davis for facilitating the connection with the Norfolk & Western Historical Society.
The locomotive is held at the museum when it’s not traveling. It was put back in operating services for excursions in 2015, after being put in and out of service briefly in the early 1980s.
Virginia Scenic Railway will kick off the “Summer of Steam” at the end of June, where the 611 will run on historic mainline tracks through the city of Staunton and Louisa County.
City of Salem opens housing conditions survey
If you’ve got thoughts on housing in Salem, there’s a city survey now open. Residents are asked to share their current housing situation and any challenges they’ve experienced in finding or maintaining their homes.
It’s the first step in an application process the city is undergoing to apply for a planning grant through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.
The grant would allow the city to conduct a city-wide housing study, which would provide a data analysis of existing housing conditions, housing affordability challenges, neighborhood stability, rehabilitation needs and future housing demands.
The survey will be open for at least the next several months while the city waits to hear back from its grant submission, according to city spokesman Mike Stevens. The survey can be found here.
Botetourt County to get new state historical marker for TransAmerica Bicycle Trail
On Monday, Botetourt County will unveil a new state historical marker, approved by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, to mark the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail.
The trail covers 500 miles in Virginia, which includes a stretch in Botetourt.
The eastern third of the trail, which falls in Virginia, is designated as U.S. Bicycle Route 76. The trail is the longest and first transcontinental bike route in the country, according to a Department of Historic Resources news release.
In 1973, according to the marker, four cyclists planned the Bikecentennial76, a months-long event with bike tours along the TransAmerica Bike Trail, stretching 4,250 miles from Yorktown to Oregon — and passing through Botetourt County. Over 4,000 cyclists rode across the trail, the release says.
The marker will sit right off of State Route 779, or Catawba Road, in Daleville.
Temporary parking restrictions announced for McAfee Knob hikers
Temporary no parking restrictions will be in effect on Old Catawba Road, or Route 864, until July 2, due to a bridge replacement project occurring on Bradshaw Road, according to Roanoke County.
Until the end of the restrictions, hikers visiting McAfee Knob are encouraged to park at the McAfee Knob Trailhead parking lot, or alternative parking locations, and to reserve a ride on the trailhead shuttle — which will offer free rides from June 26 to June 28.
