S-1 Switching Locomotive and Crew, Roanoke

Artist O. Winston Link (American, 1914-2001)

CultureAmerican

Date1958

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Frame: 23 3/4 × 61 1/8 in. (60.3 × 155.3 cm)
Overall, Image: 15 × 51 in. (38.1 × 129.5 cm)

InscribedSigned and dated by the artist in pencil on the verso of the print

Credit LineGift of O. Winston Link

Object number97.22

Not on view

DescriptionThis photograph depicts the Norfolk and Western Railway. The print was made from seven different negatives. The negatives were combined digitally to create this panorama.

Label TextO. Winston Link American (1911-2000) S-1 Switching Locomotive and Crew, Roanoke, 1958 Gelatin-silver print made from seven negatives, 1996 Gift of O. Winston Link 97.22 ~ Between 1955 and 1960, O. Winston Link made hundreds of negatives of steam locomotives on the Norfolk and Western Railway in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The Norfolk and Western was the last railroad in America to employ the steam locomotive, and Link wanted to document these wonderful manmade work horses before they completely vanished from the American landscape. Many of Link's images were made at night using huge arrays of flash bulbs creating eerie surrealistic effects. This image was made by digitally combining seven separate negatives to create one panoramic print. In 1983, the Chrysler Museum was one of three venues to host Link's first museum exhibition in the United States. The Chrysler, with the support of Norfolk Southern Corporation, published Link's first catalogue of his photographs that also included a recording of his train sounds. Exhibition History"Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004. Published ReferencesPhotographs by O. Winston Link; text by Thomas H. Garver. THE LAST STEAM RAILROAD IN AMERICA: FROM TIDEWATER TO WHITETOP. New York: H.N. Abrams. 1995: illustrated on the title page.