Thirteen years ago Abrams Publishing published [I]The Last Steam Railroad in America[I] featuring a nice selection of O. Winston Link's color and black and white photographs. This past month they released another volume entitled Life Along the Line written by Tony Reevy. This newest book is in the same format and size of the previous two volumes of Mr. Link's works, however, it is a much thicker book at 239 pages vs. 144. The quality of the photo reproduction is every bit as good as in Steam, Steel, & Stars and The Last Steam Railroad in America. One improvement, though, is the printing of one large plate per page for the balance of this book. There are a total of 183 very excellent color and black and white photos that will give the reader hours of viewing pleasure. The majority of the photos published in this book were taken during daylight, but this does not detract from the overall quality of Mr. Link's night time work since he was very careful even during the day with his composition. The foreward of Life Along the Line was written by Scott Lothes of The Center for Railroad Photography and Art, and the afterwood by Mr. Link's son Conway. The book is divided into five chapters, Railroaders, Iron Horses, Side by Side, In "The Land of Plenty," and How It Was Done. While a handful of the photos have been published previously the vast majority have never been seen in print. For anyone one in this group who is interested in black and white photography, flash photography, steam locomotives, etc. this book is a must have, just beautiful.

There will be an opening reception at the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke, Virginia on Friday, November 9 to celebrate the release of this long awaited book. The reception will include a book sigining and lecture by Tony Reevy, and an exclusive exhibition featuring some of the never before printed photographs featured in the book. For more information you can contact the museum at www.linkmuseum.org.