The Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, VA is great for kids and photographers. Just one thing to note is that the photography policy says photos are only for personal use. If you want to photos to sell, you need their permission first.

We stopped there on the way back home from the Great Smoky Mountains. There are plenty of cars, trains and aircraft there to keep most busy for at least a couple hours.

Planes

The aircraft section of the museum is off to the right after entering. There are good exhibits but nothing interested me enough to take a photo. There is also a Jupiter rocket on the side of the building but we didn’t make it over there.

Trains

The trains are outside and mostly under cover. Not bad for lighting but the backgrounds are not always great.

Visitors are allowed into a couple of the trains providing the opportunity for some interior shots.

There are freight trains frequently using the tracks on the other side of the fence also. If you are up on the platform by the building you can probably get a shot without the fence in the way. I wasn’t lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Automobiles

The cars are inside so a fast lens or a flash would help. I didn’t ask if tripods are allowed but I would guess they might say something based on their policy. I didn’t use a flash or a tripod. I just tried to stay as still as possible with my F2.8 lens.

The ropes provide a bit of a challenge since they are in the way of some angles you might want to get.

They have old cars as well as some that are more recent. But the older ones are always more interesting to shoot in my opinion. The Studebakers definitely caught my eye.

If you’re ever in the Roanoke, VA area, I would definitely suggest a visit. You can see more of my better shots from the museum in my Roanoke album on Flickr.