The "Railroad Photographs of O. Winston Link: The Last Steam Railroad in America" exhibit features some of Link's finest work. Even those consciously familiar with Link are likely to recognize some of the images that will be part of the exhibition, so much have they ingrained themselves into the public consciousness.

"We are very pleased that Mr. Link approved of this exhibition just prior his passing in January," said George Collins, director of Tusculum's Program and Studies. "His work is not only excellent photography but a treasured historical record of a time, places and people. Whether you were raised around railroads or not, the photographs evoke an involvement."

The exhibition will be open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 7 p.m. and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, except on No. 2-4 and Nov 9-11 when it will be open from noon to 9:30 p.m. The exhibition will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22. The exhibition will be housed in the Allison Gallery in the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Center.

The Norfolk & Western Railway was the last class one railroad in to operate exclusively with steam power, and Link's documentation is regarded as one of the best records of this long-gone type of locomotion. Yet, the broad appeal of these photographs comes not from the images of

the steam locomotives themselves, but from the way in which the Link them to express his deeply felt respect for the quality of life that the railroad reflected and supported. In fact, the emphasis in Link's photographs is often placed more directly on the life along the railway than on the machinery itself.

With the permission of the Norfolk & Western, Link had total access to the railway, and he personally financed his efforts. As the result of 20 trips, Link compiled a record of about 2,400 negatives and transparencies. Link a flash system of more than 60 bulky flashbulbs mounted into large aluminum reflectors, which were rounded and deepened to his specifications. He also designed a special battery capacitor to provide enough power to fire

the flashes and trigger the shutter releases of the large 4-x-5 format cameras he used. To get the shot Link wanted, everything had to happen at the exact same moment as the light from flashbulbs only would last for a few hundreths of a seconds before they burned out.

The TC exhibition is sponsored in part by the college's Department of Museum Program and Studies, the Department of Visual Art, the Acts, Arts, and Academia program, and WETS-FM, with support from the Arts Council.

For more information, contact George Collins at 1-800-729-0256, extension 348, or gcollins@tusculum.edu.