50 th anniversary at Rural Retreat

[NW Mailing List]

O. Winston Link was busy during the days surrounding Christmas 1957.  The clock was running out for steam on the Bristol line passenger trains, and the last runs were scheduled for Dec 31.  Link did not have a lot of time to spare for photos or recordings.

On December 18, he was in Rural Retreat, recording train #17.  No photos were taken.


>From December 19 through 23, Link was in Max Meadows and took a lot of pictures, but he didn’t make any recordings.


On December 24, Link started by recording trains #46 at Wytheville and #42 at Max Meadows, then late Christmas Eve he worked his way south to catch the chimes of the Lutheran church in Rural Retreat.  The recording at Rural Retreat wasn’t to his liking because he noted, “Auto sounds should come out. Not good for anything”.  

Still, Link must have heard and seen something worth remembering, because on December 26 he was back in Rural Retreat and took four pictures (NW1628-1631).  He concentrated on the photo setup, and no recordings were made.  He posed Dallas Newman and his daughter Elizabeth on the station platform and photographed southbound train #17.  He requested a slow order past the station for northbound train #42, with lots of steam and white smoke.  Engineer W. W. Rickey, fireman Doug Wohlford and Class J 603 delivered on that request, and Link captured it all!  The photo is unpublished, but it may be the most visually dramatic of all Link’s photos at Rural Retreat. Better yet, Mr. Wohlford is clearly visible in the cab window.

However, Link was still not satisfied, and had one more idea in mind before he had to move on to other locations. There were only five days left.

Link returned to Rural Retreat December 27, with a plan to put all the pieces together: chimes, train, and people.  There were seven artists at work that night:  Link (cameras), Roy Zider (recorder), Mrs. J. E. Dodson (chimes), J. L. Akers (lantern), C. H. Hartshock, (the passenger who got off the train) and the still-unidentified crew on 603.  Those combined forces gave us what is likely the most memorable steam railroad recording ever made.

But wait a minute.  This recording has always been “9:39 P.M. on Christmas Eve, 1957 in Rural Retreat, Va.” in the liner notes for all versions of The Fading Giant, yet it was made three days later.  Did Link try to put one over on us?  I don’t think so.

OK, so it wasn’t recorded on Christmas eve; that’s a matter of history in Link’s own handwriting.  But the recording is much more than just a day on the calendar.  Link’s “Christmas Eve in Rural Retreat” is what he wanted us to remember: carols from the nearby church, the distant whistle and approach of The Pelican, and the wonderfully long departure as 603 continues into the night.  The sounds are transcendent.   It’s really Christmas Eve anywhere we want it to be.  The recording doesn’t need a location or a date or a time.  Just listen and you’re there, 50 years ago today.

Dave Stephenson

Sources:
Crew identification and description of events 12/26/57 - Doug Wohlford
Photo NW1630 (cropped) by permission, O. Winston Link Museum
Page from Trip Notebook #10, from collection of O. Winston Link Museum


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