First, an introduction: I like railroads, and I like the business of running a railroad. That being said, the late Norfolk & Western Railway and the current Norfolk Southern Railway lead all others in my esteem.¹ This of course means that I've been to the Virginia Museum of Transportation several times. Haven't you? I've stood beside the silent flanks of N&W 611 and N&W 1218, and it's an awe-inspiring experience. The sheer scale of these things is astounding, and it's a little humbling to think that we used to be able to make these things, but that, like much else of our basic industrial capacity, has been vanquished. (We're paying you for a toast to a museum, not for an ill-tempered rant against globalization and the de-industrialization of America. If I wasn't busy calling someone in Punjab to order some iron girders, I'd come up there and beat you. --Ed.)

And so it goes that I'm also a fan of the work of the late O. Winston Link. He was a photographer and advertising man who spent time on the Norfolk & Western in the late 1950s, as the railway phased out the use of steam locomotives. Link shot hundreds if not thousands of pictures of the N&W in action, most of them in black and white. His work is, to an uneducated observer, an example of technical prowess masterfully combined with a compelling subject. Link's work on the N&W is documented in two books that I'm aware of, Steam, Steel and Stars and The Last Steam Railroad in America, both of which are highly recommended.

At any rate, a museum to the man and his work has finally been put together in the former headquarters of the Norfolk & Western, in a manner that I'm sure Link would approve of. The old N&W passenger depot in Roanoke, Virginia, has been converted to use as the O. Winston Link Museum, and it opens today, 10 January 2004. I'll let the Museum speak for itself:

The Station is the last structure to be renovated within Roanoke's Historic Rail District. Other significant renovation projects include the Virginia Museum of Transportation (former railway freight depot) and the Roanoke Higher Education Center (former N&W General Office Building North). N&W General Office Building South has been renovated for use as upscale downtown apartments.

The Station is a Virginia Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Recently, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources deemed the Roanoke Station eligible for national level significance on the Register. The Station is significant due to the "vital role played by the Norfolk & Western Railway in the development of the rail systems of the United States, and the vital role played by the N&W in the enormous expansion of American Industrial capacity."

Norfolk Southern Corporation (formerly Norfolk & Western Railway) used the Station for offices after passenger rail service was terminated from the Valley in 1971.

Yes, and that last paragraph grates considerably. I'm still hoping that our representatives in Richmond and the powers that be at Three Commercial Place in Norfolk are able to come to an agreement on the provision of passenger rail service to the Roanoke Valley and points west. And yes, I'd use it. I'd much rather sit on my butt on a train than have to drive on the interstate highways. I digress.

I am very glad to report the opening of this museum, and I'm just sorry that I couldn't have been there, due to previously existing academic commitments. If you've never been to Roanoke, the present's looking better all the time.

The only bad thing about this news is that now I'll have to schedule even more time when I go to Roanoke. Bother! Let's just hope they've got a well-stocked gift shop.

¹ Next on that list is the late Penn Central Railroad. Yeah, I've got a thing for black and white locomotive liveries.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 09:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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