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remember railway romanticism through chrysler exhibition of steam locomotive photos

Former Norfolk Southern Chairman owns the collection on loan.

(Norfolk, Va.) – Revisit a time gone by with the Chrysler Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, Norfolk and Western Railway Photographs by O. Winston Link. This intimate display of 18 photographs on loan from the personal collection of David and Susan Goode transports you to the past when the steam locomotives of the N&W still ruled the rails with their transportation trademarks: piercing whistles, noisy clattering on the tracks, and billowing plumes of smoke.

“There is nothing like a steam locomotive to set the imagination running. The power, romance, and sheer physical thrill of these marvelous and now-vanished machines has never been matched,” says Chrysler Museum Director William Hennessey. “And no one captured the magic of steam railroading better than Winston Link.”

Norfolk and Western Railway Photographs by O. Winston Link opens March 6 and will remain on view through October 18, 2009 in the Museum’s Kaufman Theatre Lobby.

O. Winston Link (American, 1914-2001) Class A 1241 Bursts from the Westbound Portal of the Twin Montgomery Tunnels East of Christiansburg, Virginia, 1955 Gelatin-silver print Promised gift from David and Susan Goode © O. Winston Link Trust

THE ARTIST AND HIS WORK

O. Winston Link (1914-2001) made his living as a commercial photographer in his native New York City, but fostered a longstanding fascination for railroads. In the mid 1950s, railways began to replace their aging steam locomotives with modern diesel engines. Though the new trains were cleaner, quieter, and more efficient, they lacked the distinctive personality of their predecessors. Between 1955 and 1960, Link made it his mission to document these locomotive dinosaurs as they sped toward extinction from the railways and popular memory.

Since Norfolk and Western Railway was the last major railroad to make the change from steam to diesel, the company became an obvious focus for Link’s art. Although his work was entirely self-financed, N&W granted the artist unprecedented access to its trains, terminals, people, and properties. For a few weeks at a time between advertising assignments, Link traveled throughout Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland, creating a chronicle of the company and the communities it served. By 1960, Link had created more than 2,200 negatives, preserving on film not just a historical record of the railroad, but a magical mystery tour of nostalgic rural America.

Link was not only an artist, but a photographic engineer. Most of his seemingly effortless shots were meticulously staged. Link would set up at scenic junctions and general store stations hours in advance to wait for the exact moment to capture the locomotives in their full-steam glory. Night photos posed even greater challenges. Link and his assistants often spent days rigging elaborate lighting and running the wiring to synchronize more than 40 flashbulbs to go off at once, stopping the motion of the evening trains in dreamy, surrealistic images. This juxtaposition of technology and timelessness, speed and the slower pace of life, is a hallmark of his work.

THE COLLECTION

It is no coincidence that the photographs in this exhibition have a second connection to railways. They are on loan to the Chrysler from former Norfolk Southern Chairman, President, and CEO David R. Goode, and his wife, Susan.

O. Winston Link (American, 1914-2001) The Lone Star Shifter Passing the Cloverdale Station, Cloverdale, Virginia, 1957 Gelatin-silver print Promised gift from David and Susan Goode © O. Winston Link Trust

“Link represents a special place in photography, joining his artistry and technology with a slice of history,” says David Goode. “Trains are the subject—and naturally that interests me—but Link goes much further and records people, places, and a time when an era was passing. The photographs speak on several levels. I’m eager to share them with as broad an audience as possible.”

The Museum found it easy to oblige since the Goodes’ collection of more than 100 silver-gelatin prints comprises the most comprehensive set of original, signed photographs printed by Link himself. The photographer personally selected each image to chronicle the last days of the steam locomotives of Norfolk and Western, now Norfolk Southern.

THE COLLABORATION

The Chrysler and Norfolk Southern have a long history of cooperation, especially where Link’s work is concerned. In 1983 the Museum hosted the artist at one of the first comprehensive exhibitions of his work, which also featured Link’s first published catalogue, Ghost Trains. A subsequent Chrysler exhibition in 2005-2006 continued to foster greater public exposure for Link’s railway photography.

O. Winston Link (American, 1914-2001) Train No. 17, the Birmingham Special, Passes a Giant Oak, Max Meadows, Virginia, 1957 Gelatin-silver print Promised gift from David and Susan Goode © O. Winston Link Trust

This current exhibition reinforces the longstanding connection between the Museum and Norfolk Southern. The Fortune 500 company is a member of the Business Exhibition Council, a group of generous corporations that underwrite special exhibitions and help the Chrysler succeed in its goal of bringing art and people together across Hampton Roads. In addition, many Norfolk Southern Chairmen – Charles “Wick” Moorman, David Goode, Arnold McKinnon – their families, and their coworkers have contributed to the Museum’s ongoing success with their leadership on the Board of Trustees, numerous volunteer endeavors, and regular financial support.

Norfolk and Western Railway Photographs by O. Winston Link opens March 6 and will remain on view through October 18, 2009 in the Museum’s Kaufman Theatre Lobby.

 

Members of the media in need of high-resolution images of the exhibition may contact the Office of Communications at 757.333.6295 or communications@chrysler.org for more information.