For the first write up of the Railroad Record Fanclub, we are going to look at something both old and new.  And while it isn’t a record in the traditional sense, it certainly bears mentioning here.

A new book was released on October first, 2012, entitled “O. Winston Link: Life Along The Line.”

Why the mention of a new book release?  Included in the back cover of the book is a fifty minute CD of Mr. Link’s unreleased audio recordings.  While the first expectation might be a collection of rejects from the five LP records released by Mr. Link between 1958 and 1977, this is not the case.

My first impression listening to this material is that it was not unreleased due to any glaring quality issues.

If you listen to Mr. Link’s records, each one has a theme of some sort. “Sounds of Steam Railroading” and “The Fading Giant” both were overviews of various sounds. “Thunder On Blue Ridge” focused on Blue Ridge Grade. “2nd Pigeon And The Mockingbird” focused on the last steam to run on mine switchers just before the fires were dropped. “Mainline To Panther” focused on mainline action.

One must remember that at the time those record were released, producers were limited to about 48 minutes of running time; 24 on each side. If you recorded hours of material, most of it was doomed to land on the edit room floor simply because of time constraints. Other bits may have been good as far as technical quality goes, but did not fit with the theme or story that was being told.

Much of this new CD falls into the latter category. Also, several tracks feature interaction between Mr. Link and railroad employees. In a way, that is what I believe the theme of this CD is intended to be; a look behind the scenes to add to the photographs in the book and shed light on Mr. Link’s endeavors.

In many recordings, you can almost tell what record was being produced when it was recorded. A recording, for instance, of the sound of a worker tapping the rods of a locomotive with a hammer during inspection likely was recorded along with the engine terminal sequences found on “The Fading Giant.” Cab recordings aboard a light Y following a train up Blue Ridge (including dialog reminiscent of “Mainline To Panther”) is almost certainly from the “Thunder On Blue Ridge” sessions. A stereo recording made inside of a tunnel seems to be from the “2nd Pigeon” sessions.

Overall, the new material is an interesting listen. There is nothing earth-shattering, so to speak, but it is a continuation of and appendix to the previous N&W releases all in one.

Notes for the CD are contained in the back of the book.

Here are some of the highlights:

Track 1 – Mr. Link and N&W P.R. man Ben Dulaney talking about the 611 (which is heard in the background) on a train in 1958.

Track 5 – a sequence of a train arriving at Boaz siding as a light pusher returns from Blue Ridge.

Track 6 – In the cab of Y6a 2160 (continued in tracks 12 and 18).

Track 8 – Y6 2136 in Mingo Tunnel.

Track 17 – The oldest surviving recording made by Mr. Link: a Y leading #51 at Shenandoah Junction in the summer of1956.

There are several other runby tracks as well.

The book alone is worth the price of admission and then some. The CD is an added bonus, and worth having on its own merits.

Mary McPherson