Episode 20: The Limits of Control

O. Winston Link is the King of Steam Train Photography. His mastery of the medium and artistry in creating night shots is unparalleled.

Link was incredibly prolific, taking more than 2,000 images and 100 7-inch reels of sound recordings in 21 trips to rural Virginia before the last of the Norfolk and Western steam trains were converted to diesel in the 1950s.

O. Winston Link and George Thom with Part of Equipment Used in making Night Scenes with Synchronizer Flash, March 16, 1956

Sotheby’s has sold many of these iconic shots, including Hot Shot Eastbound, Iaeger, West Virginia (1956), that features trains, planes, and automobiles occupying in the same frame.

But while he was obsessive over trains and lighting, Link left a lot of details to chance when it came to what his wife was up to. Unfortunately, his relationship with his wife, Conchita, grew strained once he suspected her of stealing prints and money from him in the early 2000s. Listen to the episode to find out more.

Conchita and O. Winston Link, from the documentary “The Photographer, His Wife, Her Lover.”

The O. Winston Link Museum collection in Roanoke Virginia, comprises the striking photographic and auditory works developed by photographer-artist O. Winston Link between 1955 and 1960.

Wishing that his legacy be preserved and remain available to the communities he traversed, Link began negotiations with Roanoke’s Historical Society of Western Virginia in 2000, personally selecting the site for the Museum, the former N&W Passenger Station.

In addition to photographs taken by Link between 1955 to 1960, the museum collection includes all of his photographic equipment and a reproduction of his dark room.