Our family had lost touch by this time, though I remember talking to Winston on the phone once while he was staying at his new apartment in nearby Mount Kisco. It was good to hear his voice, but he sounded tired. Eventually I went away to college in up- state Rochester, and didn’t return home as much as I would have liked. I heard Winston had a small gallery show in Katonah in 2000, but I had to miss it. It’s too bad I did, because the next news I heard about Win- ston was when they discovered him slumped over the wheel of his car in the train station parking lot on January 30, 2001. I found it ironic that Link’s final moments were at the place that sparked my own in- terest in trains so long ago. I look back fond- ly on his gifts, which I have come to treasure over the years as I learned more about pho- tography and his contributions to the art. My fondest memories are sitting in the back yard with Winston and my parents enjoying a slice of that pie and some home made ice tea on a warm summer evening, listening to his stories—more valuable than any prints or books I own. —OTTO M. VONDRAK
Link’s Railfan Cover Night Shoot Our magazine has enjoyed a long working relationship with photographer O. Winston Link over the years, starting with Volume 1, No. 8, the Fall 1976 issue of RAILFAN (no RAILROAD, yet). Editor Jim Boyd approached Link with the idea of setting up one his fa- mous night shots so that the process could be documented and reported to our readers. Link, who had not taken a single railroad night photo since 1960, was interested enough to meet with Boyd to discuss the de- tails and come up with a plan.
The initial meeting took place in nearby Warwick, N.Y., on March 4, 1976. Along with Link was Salem Tamer, an art director who worked on the jackets of Link’s steam railroading recordings. Boyd’s plan was to pay tribute to local railroad Lehigh & Hud- son River, as Conrail was set to take over on April 1, less than a month away. They head- ed over to the L&HR shops to see the loco- motives that would potentially be in the pic- ture. Next, they headed over to Baird’s Farm, the proposed location of the shoot. Link approved of the scene, which included a waterfall, with an old mill and ice house. “Beautiful, just beautiful,” was his com- ment. A few test Polaroids made with a Ko- dak 4×5 monorail view camera, and every- one was convinced this scene was worth capturing. Link and Tamer starting making measurements with tape measure and a pocket rangefinder. Link had the whole scene sketched out in his notebook and cal- culated what kind of lighting would be need- ed to get the desired results. “Let’s see, a row of singles to light the train . . . A four bulb re- flector on the bridge to light the waterfall . . . The big 18 to hit the trees across the pond . . . Yep, it’ll work.”
The first attempt would be made on Thursday, March 18. On the afternoon of March 15, Projects Editor Bob Mohowski drove up to the L&HR offices in Warwick to discuss the plan. Superintendent Bill Flood agreed to the project, and would make a portable radio available for communication. Next, a visit was paid to the Baird family to get their permission and cooperation to use their
property. They were enthusiastic
about the idea of the photograph, too. The day before the shoot, the area was hit
with some unusually bitter cold and snowy weather, so the decision was made to reschedule for Tuesday, March 23. The day dawned cool but bright, and the snows from the previous week had all but melted away. Boyd checked in with the su- per at the L&HR office and confirmed the schedules. Then it was off to Baird’s. Link and his associates arrived at noon, this time with a U-Haul van packed with equipment. Tamer and Ed Spiro unpacked the van while Link set up his Kodak 4×5 to snap a test shot of the afternoon train to Og- densburg. The camera was fitted with a 3³⁄₈″ lens, and a neutral-density filter to render the 400 ASA Polaroid Type 52 film equal to the 100 ASA that the Vericolor film used for the night shot would have. The southbound L&HR train rolled through at 1:15, and Link was satisfied with the size and position of the train in the picture.
The next task was running power from the compact BC (battery-capacitor) power pack to all of the lights. In total, the circuit used 50 bulbs to light the scene. The entire set-up took about five hours to put together. Spiro was now wearing a carpenters apron, which he used the big pockets to carry Syl- vania No. 2 flash bulbs out to the reflector sets. Three separate series-circuit lines ran out to the reflectors, and each line had to be perfectly tight. Each reflector stand was an- chored with rocks, logs, or stakes, and the power lines secured with twine. Link was able to use a small battery-powered meter to check for continuity without firing the bulbs. A break in the No. 1 line sent Spiro scrambling to find the problem as darkness descended on the scene. After meeting with L&HR vice president Ed Brown and picking up a railroad radio, Bob Mohowski arrived to join the team at Baird’s. Shortly thereafter, RAILFAN’S Ad- vertising Manager Wayne Daniels joined the scene. The break in the line had been fixed, and Link pressed the Ektalux trigger for the first time since his last shot on March 16, 1960. FLASH! “Wow, that lit up the whole place!” was all Link said. Spiro and Tamer headed out into the darkness to re- load the flash bulbs (used bulbs into the right pocket, good bulbs out of the left). Link was very quiet as he attended to all of the last-minute details. A reporter from
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