J. O. Hayden with his Grease Gun, Bluefield Lubritorium, Bluefield, West Virginia
Artist
O. Winston Link
(American, 1914-2001)
CultureAmerican
Date1955
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 15 5/8 × 19 7/16 in. (39.7 × 49.4 cm)
Overall, Support: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Mat: 25 1/16 × 28 1/8 in. (63.7 × 71.4 cm)
Overall, Support: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Mat: 25 1/16 × 28 1/8 in. (63.7 × 71.4 cm)
InscribedSigned and dated by the artist in pencil on the verso of the print. Artist's Studio stamp on the verso of the print.
Credit LineGift of Susan and David Goode
Object number2022.31.29
Not on view
Label TextO. Winston Link American (1914-2001) J. O. HAYDEN WITH HIS GREASE GUN, BLUEFIELD LUBRITORIUM Bluefield, West Virginia, 1955 L2004.11.64 The lubritorium was a long building where the locomotives were serviced along with being inspected, coaled, watered and washed. They would be stopped in a certain location and several workers would immediately begin lubricating them. The N&W's service facilities in the large yards of Bluefield and Williamson, West Virginia, Shaffers Crossing, Virginia, and Portsmouth, Ohio, were so efficient that a locomotive could be lubricated in less than 15 minutes. Engine Supplyman, J. O. Hayden holds one of the tools that made such speed possible, the Alemite grease gun, which shot grease into locomotive fittings using compressed air. Specialized lubricants were fed into the guns through separate hose lines. Many African-Americans worked for the N&W at this time, often in physically demanding jobs such as engine lubricators. Typically, there would be no advancement from the position for which they were hired, but J. O. Hayden arrived at the beginning of the civil rights movement and later became a skilled machinist with the railroad. Edited By: DS Approved By: MHM Approval Date: 07/25/2005ProvenanceRobert Mann Gallery to Susan and David Goode to CMA.Exhibition History"Norfolk and Western Railway Photographs by O. Winston Link," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., July 1 - December 31, 2005. Published ReferencesGhost Trains: Railroad Photographs of the 1950s (Norfolk: Chrysler Museum, 1983). This booklet accompanied the exhibition of Link's works at the Chysler. It includes some of Link's recordings on an 8" 33 RPM and data on all the photos. Night Tick by O. Winston Link: Photographs of the Norfolk and Western Railway, 1955-60 (London: The Photographers' Gallery, 1983) Tim Hansley and O. Winston Link, Stream, Steel, and Stars: America's Last Steam Railroad (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987) Anthony Korner, "The Night Owl," Artforum 27, no. 27, no. 9 (May 1989): 141-146 O. Winston Link and Thomas H. Garver, The Last Steam Railroad in America, (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995)
