Ghost Of Christmas Past
With a little imagination, this could be Christmas Eve, 1957 in Rural Retreat, Virginia as O. Winston Link recorded his famous audio tape capturing the final days of Norfolk & Western Steam. The big J-class locomotive rolls into town with Train 42, "The Pelican" full of passengers trying to reach their holiday destinations. The distant whistle and steam engine chuffs can be heard over the bells of the Lutheran Church, growing increasingly louder as the train approaches the station. A quick stop, and soon the sound of the engine fades into the distance as the bells from the church peacefully play Silent Night.
The final edit of this tape was actually recorded a couple of days later, as Link was not satisfied with the original 12/24/57 recording. In reality, this photo was shot in Strasburg, PA in October of 2019 but it is a fitting tribute to a legendary piece of Americana. Posting variations of this scene has been a tradition for Adam Horgan and I on Christmas Eve.
Ghost Of Christmas Past
With a little imagination, this could be Christmas Eve, 1957 in Rural Retreat, Virginia as O. Winston Link recorded his famous audio tape capturing the final days of Norfolk & Western Steam. The big J-class locomotive rolls into town with Train 42, "The Pelican" full of passengers trying to reach their holiday destinations. The distant whistle and steam engine chuffs can be heard over the bells of the Lutheran Church, growing increasingly louder as the train approaches the station. A quick stop, and soon the sound of the engine fades into the distance as the bells from the church peacefully play Silent Night.
The final edit of this tape was actually recorded a couple of days later, as Link was not satisfied with the original 12/24/57 recording. In reality, this photo was shot in Strasburg, PA in October of 2019 but it is a fitting tribute to a legendary piece of Americana. Posting variations of this scene has been a tradition for Adam Horgan and I on Christmas Eve.