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Title: The Last Steam Railroad in America by O Winston Link, Thomas H Garver ISBN: 0-8109-8201-3 Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Pub. Date: 01 September, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.98 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Technically perfect and artistically peerless
Comment: American steam railroading should go down in history as the most evocative and romantic aspect of the industrial age. Winston Link understood what was happening during the 1950s, and he took care of it. Times were changing, the cheapness of the airplane and automobile were replacing the steam railroad with its giant fire breathing behemoths--indeed the most 'human-like' machines, in my opinion. Link primarly photographed at night using indepedent flashbulbs and reflectors; this way he could control the lighting. This makes his images haunting, yet nastolgic and desirable.
My favorite shot in this book is titled "Highball for the Double Header", one of the last images Link photographed of the railroad, and one of the few in which he used color film at night. In it you witness his mastery for composition as well as symbolism: two articulated steam locomotives being given the all clear by a switchman's lantern, the man being dwarfed by the giant engines and their cloud of steam reaching far up into the night sky--all perfectly illuminated by Link's flashbulbs. A fitting end to Link's oeuvre.
Get this book, you won't be disappointed. Check out the new museum dedicated to his work in Roanoke: www.linkmuseum.org
Rating: 5
Summary: A Book of Masterpieces
Comment: O. Winston Link, in my opinion, was the best train photographer that ever lived. He knew where to aim the light, how much light to have, and the best places to take photos. Most of Link's photos are taken at night, which enhances view of the massive amount of pure white steam.
This book defines nostalgia more than clearly. Being a railroad and steam locomotive enthusiast myself, I dream about the living in pictures that Link took. In the book, Thomas Garver, one of Link's assistants, illustrates the sounds, details, and reasons for the trains being where they are in each photo.
The Norfolk & Western was the last major railroad in the U.S. to say "good-bye" to steam power. When Link heard of the inevitable decision, he immediately began to "document" the railroad as it was before steam was gone. From about 1955 to 1958, he spent countless hours taking thousands of photos of the steam engines on the N&W. "The Last Steam Railroad in America" brings out some of the best photos he ever took.
I like the photos in this book that pertain to the "Abingdon Branch" of the N&W. I used to live in Damascus, VA, a small town that was one of the major stops on this line. The railroad bed is now a bike trail and I have found every spot that Link stood at in order to take his photos of the Abingdon Branch.
I highly recommend "The Last Steam Railroad in America" to any train enthusiast, photographer, or anyone who has memories of a steam locomotive roaring by their home. It will always have a special place on my bookshelf.
Rating: 5
Summary: Filled with nostalgia and great photos of mighty machines
Comment: I'm far from an expert on railroading, but I still get nostalgic looking at all these great photographs. "The Last Steam Railroad in America" was an impulse buy from an art museum primarily because the title caught my eye and I am a big fan of black and white photography (historical or otherwise). Yes, the pictures are fantastic, and I was even pleasantly surprised with the reading.
Winston Link was a fine photographer who took it upon himself to document the last years of steam railroading by traveling the Norfolk & Western Railway routes in the 1950's. His project started with nighttime b/w photos, and later expanded to daytime b/w's and color photos. His work has made it to numerous museums and art collections, and it's easy to see why: the photographs in this book are stupendous.
Mr. Link had a kind of "photographic vision" that produced something interesting to admire in virtually every photo he published. I'd call every one in this book a work of art. In addition to portraying the "machines," the human element has a strong presence as well, from those who toiled for N&W, to those who are shown just watching the trains go by. Their faces will forever be a part of Mr. Link's chronicling of steam railroading. The color photography has some amazingly striking depictions of rural scenes, almost to the point of making the train a welcome denizen of the countryside.
Thomas H. Garver provided the text, both the biographical documentation of Mr. Link's photographic/artistic endeavors and the captions supporting the illustrations (over 150). Photo historians will enjoy the former; Americana buffs will love the latter.
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Title: Steam Steel and Stars by Tim Hensley, Winston O. Link ISBN: 0810981858 Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.98 |
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Title: World's Greatest Steam Locomotives: C&O 2-6-6-6, Virginian 2-6-6-6, N&W 2-6-6-4, Up 4-8-8-4 by Eugene L, Ph.D. Huddleston ISBN: 1883089603 Publisher: Tlc Pub Inc Pub. Date: August, 2001 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: One Track Mind: Photographic Essays on Western Railroading (Masters of Railroad Photography Series) by Ted Benson ISBN: 1550462733 Publisher: Boston Mills Press Pub. Date: 30 December, 1999 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: Guide to North American Steam Locomotives (Railroad Reference, No 8) by George H. Drury ISBN: 0890242062 Publisher: Kalmbach Publishing Company Pub. Date: December, 1993 List Price(USD): $28.95 |
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Title: The Pennsylvania Railroad: The 1940S-1950s by Don, Jr. Ball ISBN: 0393023575 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: December, 1986 List Price(USD): $50.00 |
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