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Rural Retreat, VA, Train 42, December 24, 1957 [Christmas Eve Vanity]
YouTube.com ^ | 12/27/1954 | O. Winston Link / Corky Zider

Posted on 12/24/2015 6:30:10 PM PST by Rodamala

Train 42, 'The Pelican', headed by N&W 4-8-4 Class J 603 arrives at Rural Retreat, VA eastbound from New Orleans to Washington shortly before 10pm Dec. 27th, 1957, and thunders off into the night. The Norfolk & Western Railway's own Class J was perhaps the finest of all express steam engines, and 603 is heard here in its last days of main line service with a consist of 17 cars.

The photograph is of Train 17, 'The Birmingham Special' westbound arriving later that same night at 11:37pm, being waved through by Agent J.L. Akers. The photograph and sound recording were by O. Winston Link and his assistant Corky Zider who operated a Tapesonic recorder and non-directional microphone; chimes were played specially for the recording at the nearby Grace Lutheran Church by Mrs. Kathryn Dodson. Seven nights later, steam motive power would come to an end on the N&W main line through Rural Retreat and Bristol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzAJoW34DM

Alternate recording, with different photo of an eastbound and possibly of better audio quality:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdWl4ur6hMM

NPR interview with Mrs. Dodson in 2001:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqRwIKJYPLA


TOPICS: History; Miscellaneous; Reference; Travel
KEYWORDS: christmaseve; owinstonlink; trains; virginia
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From my archive... I try and post this every Christmas Eve. Maybe it's just me, but if this doesn't bring tears to your eyes, you must not have a soul. Enjoy.

Peace on Earth.

1 posted on 12/24/2015 6:30:11 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

Superb photo — was that ambient lighting or did the photographer add illumination?


2 posted on 12/24/2015 6:37:45 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: Rodamala
 photo img079_zps139270d2.jpg

This is number 611 coming down 8 mile grade in Western North Carolina. I photographed it at Ridgecrest then drove down to Old Fort and got there in time to get it again.

3 posted on 12/24/2015 6:44:06 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: Rodamala
 photo img081_zps83a9e621.jpg

Another from the same location.

4 posted on 12/24/2015 6:46:32 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: Rodamala

Beautiful.


5 posted on 12/24/2015 6:48:54 PM PST by o_1_2_3__ ( –)
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To: Rodamala

A rotten capture by Google, but here’s the same location and train building in recent years:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rural+Retreat,+VA/@36.8937726,-81.2758678,3a,66.8y,270.13h,86.04t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1syZlyulkbS0CY9YOyuoj78w!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x8851d960fcc46c29:0xcb4e575d6978cb51?hl=en


6 posted on 12/24/2015 6:55:21 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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To: Rodamala
I Love Those Old Steam Trains!
Those were every where when I was a kid!
Thanks For Posting!







7 posted on 12/24/2015 6:56:26 PM PST by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! I reallyRead it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: BenLurkin
O. Winston Link's railroad photography is iconic. He is known for his night shots on the N&W. My grandfather introduced me to him when I was a much younger man.

Click the NPR YouTube link in the original post for the layman's backstory on OWL. One photo shows some of his flash gear.

8 posted on 12/24/2015 7:11:06 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: T-Bird45; Inyo-Mono; hout8475; AlexW; razorback-bert; basil; The_Media_never_lie; Spartan302; ...

ping.

My Christmas Eve tradition.


9 posted on 12/24/2015 7:11:06 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

Thank you and Merry Christmas!


10 posted on 12/24/2015 7:28:32 PM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: fieldmarshaldj
You can "drive" up the hill and see the church, too.

One of the FReepers I pinged this year, JamesA, had responded to my identical post back 2 years ago. In 2013, he lived in Rural Retreat:

I live in Rural Retreat, VA. A great place to live. The Depot has plenty of history, it was widely used for years and most notably was during the Civil War. Today, the depot is being renovated back to its original condition and it's a wonderful place. Rural Retreat once was known as the cabbage capitol due the many cabbage farms. Music is another reason to live in Rural Retreat, be it from fiddle, guitar or banjo, it's all here.

11 posted on 12/24/2015 7:35:44 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

It’s funny, I’ve passed Rural Retreat on I-81 countless times but never visited the little downtown. A lot of those little towns have gotten spruced up. I’m grateful they spared the old RR depot. Too many places, unfortunately, have lost theirs over the years. :-(


12 posted on 12/24/2015 7:46:31 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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To: Rodamala

Thank you for posting. Merry Christmas.


13 posted on 12/24/2015 8:28:36 PM PST by Reddy (B.O. stinks)
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To: Rodamala

Thanks for keeping me in mind for your Christmas Eve tradition and a Merry Christmas to you and yours!


14 posted on 12/24/2015 8:52:00 PM PST by T-Bird45 (It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)
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To: fieldmarshaldj
Check this out. Right in the heart of Silicon Valley, only a few miles from Intel Corp., is the Santa Clara railroad station.

Constructed in late 1863 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad Company as one of two "way stations" built between San Francisco and San Jose, the original 24 foot by 50 foot passenger portion of the depot was built on the east side of the tracks. The first regular through passenger service to San Francisco started on January 17, 1864. When the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, the first shipment of fresh fruit, a carload of pears from the Santa Clara depot, was sent from California to the eastern states in October, 1869.

It was the oldest continuously operating railroad depot in the State of California until the ticket office was closed in May 1997. Today it houses a railroad museum and model train layouts.


15 posted on 12/24/2015 8:58:27 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not, no explanation is possible)
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To: Rodamala

Brings to mind one of my favorite movies.....The Station Master


16 posted on 12/24/2015 9:32:44 PM PST by Guenevere (If.the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do....)
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To: Guenevere

Ooops...scratch that

It’s .....The Station Agent


17 posted on 12/24/2015 9:34:17 PM PST by Guenevere (If.the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do....)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

That’s purty. It looks in better shape today than in the older picture.


18 posted on 12/24/2015 10:07:05 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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To: Rodamala

Thanks for posting.

Great way to start Christmas. morning!


19 posted on 12/25/2015 5:25:08 AM PST by basil ( God bless the USA! AMEN!)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Merry Christmas. It looks so great because “the South Bay Historical Railroad Society, a nonprofit group founded in 1985, began renovation work in 1986 on the depot, by then badly in need of repair. A group of dedicated volunteers spent over 25,000 hours hauling away debris, replacing support timbers, siding, exterior decking and interior flooring, scraping peeling paint, painting and many other repairs. With the major renovation now complete, this 139-year-old building hosts a railroad library and museum while still serving its original function as a passenger depot.”

It was made of heart redwood from the nearby Santa Cruz mountains, so it naturally resisted rot. The clapboard siding on my 60 year old house is all heart redwood, too.


20 posted on 12/25/2015 6:35:02 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not, no explanation is possible)
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