ROANOKE, Va.- – Back on the road and still rolling. There have been a lot of changes at the Commonwealth Coach and Trolley Museum since a fire destroyed a majority of its historic buses and caused more than a half million dollars in damage.
A year ago, a two-alarm fire ripped through the museum. It's been four months since museum president Bev Fitzpatrick returned to the site.
"Being back here is good and bad. It brings back great memories of how we were doing really well. And then when I got the phone call," said Fitzpatrick.
All you see now is nothing but a slab of concrete and remnants of the building. Twelve historic buses and other materials destroyed.
"We have no equipment to work on buses anymore. Just the simple things like a jack. We had $3,000 worth of oil in the little supply room right here, all that's gone,"
Money from a fundraiser helped them rebuild as much as they can.
"That went to fix some of the buses that were damaged but not destroyed, and of course it also goes to keep us running. Fuel and mechanical."
Fitzpatrick says the museum wouldn't make it without the generosity of the community. Commonwealth Coach and Trolley collects, repairs and operates historic coaches and buses.
"It does show you have to prevail. You can't let something hold you back. You have to keep on moving," said Fitzpatrick.
As part of moving on, the salvageable buses from the fire are now stored at a temporary location. The CC&T also has a new partnership with the Virginia Museum of Transportation.