The Last Steam Railroad in America

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.


Filled with nostalgia and great photos of mighty machines   April 4, 2002
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

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.


It's our history!   January 19, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

The reason this book is especially special is a picture of my husband's father and little brother found on page 75. The photography is wonderful and brings back so many memories for some older folks here. The Virginia Creeper came through our county so this is a piece of our history.
And that is why I am ordering another one for a family member.
Thank you


A Rare Masterpiece   December 4, 2000
 15 out of 19 found this review helpful

Link is to his corner of history as Atget was to Paris. He knew what he wanted and went about photographing it his way and created a body of work nobody could anticipate and which nobody will attempt to match. His work should be part of contemporarly art history curriculum, as an example of the best personal statements made with a camera. This book is not about trains but about art. It is perhaps a narrative poem about some trains. There is nothing new about the subject matter and technically the photographs are just as good as they need to be, no more. The same could be said of Walker Evans, Atget, Hine, Nixon and others who have made their marks by their direct personal vision and complete "ownership" of their subjects. If you are a photographer, you should buy the book just to remind you of how far you have to go before you've done anything unique of lasting value. Give this book to a kid with imagination and you may start something. I watched a bunch of 7th graders at a show of Link's prints and they immediately caught on that the work isn't about trains but about dedication to an idea and the art of project management.


Great book!   November 30, 2000
 18 out of 19 found this review helpful

In 1955, photographer Winston Link took note of the disappearance of the steam locomotive from the American scene, and he decided to take quality photos of the last steam railroad left, the Norfolk and Western Railway. Over a period of several years, he took a series of excellent pictures of steam trains in motion. In the beginning, Mr. Link's idea was to take black-and-white photos of locomotives at night, but later he expanded this to trains operating during the day, and he even took some color photos.

This is an excellent book, if you like steam locomotives. In particular the color photos are breathtaking. My favorites were those of the streamlined J class. Great book!