Rural Retreat, VA, Train 42, December 24, 1957

[@colapone1895]

I come back to this every year during Christmas season, that whistle gives goosebumps

[@TheMaus9]

Christmas Eve 2023. Still gives me goosebumps and I’ve listened to it every year since about 2016

[@allisonmanley3231]

We’ve been listening each year for about that long too.. merry Christmas 2024

[@ChainsawNW1218]

Always enjoy hearing this O Winston Link recording, the fast moving Class J 4-8-4 highballing Eastbound and the mournful cry of the baritone 3 chime whistle coming in hot to Rural Retreat VA!🛤🚂🎄❄️

[@deloreanman14]

This is real America...steam locomotives running through small towns on Christmas Eve. I wish I could have been there.

[@Broman72511]

I live in rural retreat and yes I know that building on the right it's still in the same place today

[@mylesspear]

65 years old tonight. Plugged my earbuds in and closed my eyes. Almost felt like I was there; in a time that was so much more simpler and slower paced.

[@Eli_Santin]

This recording is 63 years old today and it still holds up as one of the most beautiful sounds ever put to tape. God bless O. Winston Link.

[@tristanforward]

you are absolutely correct ... it brings tears to my eyes

[@NSHorseheadSD70]

I also like how when she starts playing Silent Night, you can first hear the train roaring in the distance.

[@VincesArtDesigns]

1:32

[@ZaksMuscleMotors]

Merry Christmas

[@fakerstube]

Nope. This is the westbound shot. There were two photos made, with the other eastbound. Link planned to use the eastbound shot but this one shows my granddad's face and it became more popular. Both photos are on exhibit at the Link Museum in Roanoke. Thanks so much for putting this up. I was ten years old and standing over behind the crossing when this was made.

[@Titanicboy12345]

Nice me when me ten di that

[@NOVARailandWeatherEnthusiast]

There is another gentlemen in the comment section of this recording on another video, stating that the engineer was also his father! What a small world this is!

[@delpproductions217]

that J Class Could either Be 611, 603 or 604. Cuz there’s One that link Shot were hes in a similar Position Like That, And you can see A Guy and His Daughter Waiting on the Platform For 611

[@frankakers1189]

@@delpproductions217 The westbound engine was stopped, and Link took a number of photos. One had no one in the shot. Another is like the well known shot, but with the Depot illuminated. Some negatives have never been printed. The people you mentioned were Dallas Newnan, a local business, and his daughter, 'Sis'.

[@delpproductions217]

@@frankakers1189 So that Must Have Been 611 Right?

[@steamteam8283]

I’m actually on the 611 engine crew and the sound of a That whistle.. wow it gives me chills . Just close your eyes and imagine it .

[@josephignudo7405]

Is it bad that every time I listen to this I tear up? Merry Christmas!

[@kennethking732]

No it is good ! It is sad that as time has progressed and are supposed to better, they are worse. I miss the easier laid back lifestyle and the excitement of the old time Christmases at home with mom and dad

[@MisterStreamliner]

I do the same exact thing lol ❤️

[@roderickwhitehead]

Same

[@Willysmb44]

No, it means you have a soul, Joseph. Anyone listening to this would give anything to step back for about ten minutes to see this for themselves

[@Eddyisrich403]

Recordings will only get us so close to what this would really sound like, this is as close as we can get today. Thank you Mr. Link.

[@425ENGR]

In addition to this being one of his best recordings both in quality and emotion, just listen to how fast the 603 accelerates this train from a stop. It appears to be a long consist too. The "J" Class were an amazing engine.

[@PRL2204]

Not to mention the amazing throttle and reverser work of the engineers of that time! Listen to her get up and go!!

[@titaniumspike1779]

That hogger ran that thing like a dang car!

[@railfanjackson4531]

For sure. The Js represented a heartfelt conclusion to over a century of steam locomotive development on the N&W. Definitely the finest passenger locomotives to ever operate on the East Coast. Where the West Coast had the GS-4s, the East Coast had the Js.

[@drby0788]

That would've been 603 with the Pelican. Not a very long consist maybe 5 or 6 cars in total. Child's play for the J class

[@billykitahama3514]

That train whistle is such a mournful sound...

[@johnthompson4067]

After Norfolk and Western Class J 611 pulled its farewell fantrip on October 24, 1959, Winston Link was concerned that this last class J locomotive might be scrapped. He contacted N&W President Stuart Saunders and offered to purchase 611, if necessary. Saunders replied "We haven't decided yet what to do with 611, but you have my personal promise that the locomotive WILL NOT be scrapped." Saunders was as good as his word: a "hold" order was issued for 611, stored in the Schaffers Crossing roundhouse at Roanake; ultimately the magnificent locomotive was donated to the Roanoake Transportation Museum and the rest, as they say, was history. It must have been a truly heartwarming experience for Winston to see one of his beloved J's alive and well, on the head end of passenger trains in the 80s.

[@carsonthorpe6696]

Merry Christmas. 🎄

[@thewestpointrouteguy8611]

Here it is, Christmas Eve 2019, and I am again listening to this marvelous piece of audio history. It is a yearly tradition, and I never tire of it.

[@ebf82234]

Same here. I won't miss this for anything...Christmas Eve, approaching Midnight.

[@roderickwhitehead]

Ditto. I find myself sharing this link to more and more people every year.

[@BrandonMuir-c1r]

Dec 24th 2023 @ 21:00. The yearly tradition is here again...;)

[@SouthernMaineFoamer]

The bells playing Christmas music with the crossing bells and the j class passing through just defines chills.

[@brandonmuir5117]

Classic Trains Winter 2020 brought me here... I had no idea this existed...

[@JoeRailfan]

The slamming sound was the conductor closing the trap over the steps of the coach from which a passenger had just detrained (undoubtedly someone coming home to Rural Retreat for Christmas--perhaps a sailor on leave from his base in New Orleans). He had probably already given the engineer (way up ahead on the 603) a highball sign.

[@josephignudo7405]

JoeRailfan that sound was the slack being taken out of the coupler as the train started to pull away. I know that sound well. Hear it everyday on the railroad.

[@railfanjackson4531]

Listening to this in the early hours of Christmas 2024, right after watching the Polar Express. The sound of the whistle at around the 6:48 mark never fails to make me tear up. What a locomotive the J was

[@pennsy6755]

well it's that time of the year to listen to this

[@phil8083]

This is priceless.

[@scottwoods9141]

I listen to this every Christmas Eve. It always provides a thrill. Merry Christmas

[@terrystandridge955]

I have listened to This recording every year..since I was about 10 years old . And has became a Christmas tradition every year. My brother passed 4 years ago..and I still have his original vinyl album..The Fading Giant. .O Winston Link saved these for eternity....For all of us to enjoy..God bless Mr Link and My brother Mike Standridge.....I never ever listen to this emotional recording..without shedding a happy tear...Some traditions are best if shared with family...And this is one of mine...Merry Christmas to all.Terry Standridge.

[@hsavage3350]

Merry Christmas to you. As a child in the 50s, my Mom and I rode the J Class from Suffolk Va to Bedford Va. I was born the same month and year as the boiler plate on the 611. I personally met O Winston Link, in the 90s, and told him how much he meant to those of us that cherish the N&W, and how his gifts of sight and sound allow us to live it over and over. Shed a tear of joy for your brother, and rest assured that you have witnessed something that is timeless. Love for trains and Love for your brother. Amen!

[@tuxedorailfan4630]

I listen to this clip each year. It’s magical.

[@troynolen6448]

I listen to this every Christmas Eve without fail

[@BBVCorvettec62005]

Truly beautiful sound, brings tears to my eyes. Wish I could go back in time to see these living legends. Thanks for sharing

[@kennethking732]

Me too! I grew up near ivanhoe and my father worked for union carbide, and when small would watch the locomotives pull out one plant ; and between the trains and MM PRICES store and the union carbide Christmas show at the old Ivanhoe High School it brings back bitter sweet Christmas memories ! I also travel through Rural Retreat on occasion, it is still a beautiful rural town.

[@roderickwhitehead]

Christmas Eve tradition of coming to this link to listening to this.

[@Bassfanatic94]

Wow! I get chills up my spine when I hear that moaning Hancock 3 chime go off into the night as the big class J steams away. Truly magnificent. You get a even deeper sense of your surroundings when you can't see whats going on, but can hear everything.

[@TheShiftySkies]

Christmas 2015. A quiet night of Train Simulator and a steaming cup of hot cider by my side with this playing in the bg...can't beat it.

[@michaelhollingsworth4688]

Steam locomotive whistle and this song is very awesome to hear around Christmas time when everyone is getting together for the holidays

[@flytrapguy7431]

The station still stands today, has been spiffed up, and even has a caboose beside it. Freight still runs through town. I can only hope they will get a steamer going through again for special ocasions.

[@NCleanne]

Paints such a lonesome picture in my mind. Nothing like that 'J' whistle to give you goose bumps!

[@MrSockobot]

The N&W 603, the Sister of the 611. My late Father-In-Law David O. (D.O.) Strawn was one of the Engineers on the 611, and O. Winston Link, road with him many times taking Photos for his Books...

[@abk2k3aaronkauflin83]

I have a recording of Winston on the 611 on a CD that came with a book maybe he was the engineer he was talking to do you remember his voice?

[@GDP999-z1u]

at 6:55 you can hear another Hancock 3 chime off in the distance, it sends chills down my spine the sound is so true and clear

[@binderfan436]

The finest whistle of all.

[@Deputybull]

The Depot has been beautifully restored and is used now as a community center. It would be nice to have some steam come through town every once in a while but it doesn't happen very often. I live a block from the tracks here in Rural Retreat.

[@depotcat1763]

The locomotive whistle has to have one of the best tones. So haunting as it approaches in the distance. Fantastic.

[@Willysmb44]

1:31, you hear the locomotive for the first time. I LOVE this one, I can feel what it might have been like on a cold, lonely evening

[@MisterStreamliner]

It’s been 63 years today Link, thank you for this legendary masterpiece. ❤️

[@JonesC1066]

This is incredible

[@joecassidayjr5404]

I can't help but, get tears in my eyes from this !! How Solemn, and personal

[@jonathanwohlford3977]

The slamming sound was when engineer Bill Brickey opened up the throttle on the 603 to leave the station and head on east toward Roanoke.

[@Buynot]

61 years ago tonight! Happy Holidays everyone!

[@pwalpar]

Nice presentation Tip my hat to mrs dodson excellant chime playing

[@b3j8]

This is pure tonic for the soul!

[@trainsupporter9088]

Loved it...wish I could have lived back in that time and be lulled to sleep in a Pullman room by the sound of the steam locomotive and the clickety clack of the rails. Thank you!

[@Sam_Green____4114]

We had a German church in the snow that played Silent Night on bells for about ten minutes, in the 60s and 70s . We always used to wind it up on Christmas eve with the light lights off just before Midnight !! The TV was rubbish in the 60s and there was on electric in the early 70s due to the coal miners being on strike !

[@joebales4378]

Just now found this. I love it. Brings back so many wonderful memories from that era. I grew up on Bear Creek in Atkins, Va., just a few miles down Hwy. 11 from Rural Retreat. We had to cross that same railway line to get to Hwy. 11. Thank you soooo much for giving me a smile today. I now live in Kentucky and I miss the old days growing up there in the mountains of Va. Happy New Year to you all!!!

[@joebales4378]

Actually, this is Brenda Bales Farmer commenting. Joe wasn't even born when this happened. He came as a surprise when mom and dad had him in 1963. They were four older kids,......a lot older. I was almost 16. and the youngest.

[@drewschappell23]

My mother and farther were both born in Rural Retreat. I spent my summers there on my grand father's farm. Loved the area and listened to the trains come thru. That was in 1953

[@drewschappell23]

The above name shows Drew Schappell that is my grand son My name is Robert Bales I currently live in PA

[@j.christopherlindsey8933]

I'm much younger, but my father has told me stories of going to the old freight depot here in Marion with his father (grandpa went to go socialize) and seeing the big Mallets and other articulateds pass through town. My grandmother also told me stories of riding the Virginia Creeper to go see family.

[@WARDRAILROAD5]

Thats fantastic! 611 should remake the shot

[@jtq69]

Every Christmas Eve without fail I play this and every time without fail it gets me in the throat and my eyes swim. Beautiful.

[@binderfan436]

The nation lost part of its soul when steam went away.

[@johnuhelski8613]

This recording is the work of as master . It holds up as good today as it did 60 years ago. I have photographed # 611 here in the 80's and the place is magical. God Bless Mr. Link .

[@NSHorseheadSD70]

This is one of the best railroad recordings I think I've ever heard. The quality is absolutely amazing.

[@Cbazz]

This is now a Christmas tradition for me Every Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Around 11:55pm I put this on to hear it I've done this since 2016 & I will let kids listen to this too (if I have any) Thanks for uploading this

[@maxm2317]

It’s now Christmas 2019, and it’s been 62 years since both the recording and the photo were made.

[@4L39Larry]

Classic trains just published an article on this. I did not experience N&W steam, except for Link records in my late teens. It was easier to find this on KZbin than to find old disks.

[@jasonsandberg8703]

Totally agree. My fam listens to this every Holiday season! It mixes art, trains, Holiday, history and family all at once!

[@2102FAN]

So much emotion in this recording. Favorite Link recording by far!

[@lisamarieva3514]

I live in nearby Wythe County, the depot at Rural Retreat is still there and looking quite well. A farmer's market operates there.

[@Train_Tok_Man]

Rural Retreat is in Wythe County.

[@gregh9975]

Even for those who were not around in 1957 ( I was 8) this is a wonderful step back in time. Grab a mug of hot cocoa, sit back in an easy chair on a quiet winter evening (Christmas Eve !) , and experience a real treat. Headphones are a plus.

[@mancatsmom]

Looks like a movie set. Love it!

[@JoeRailfan]

I discovered a scene in the 1980s British documentary about O. Winston Link, "Trains That Passed In The Night", in which Link talks about the making of this sound recording. (The video is on KZbin; this portion starts at 28:49 ). According to the entry in his own notebook, it was made on December 27, not Christmas Eve (which hardly matters). He does say that the train let off a couple of passengers at Rural Retreat as I had guessed. I listen to this beautiful audio Christmas card every year around the holidays.

[@BrandonMuir-c1r]

There is also an interview on KZbin with the woman who was playing the music for this recording.

[@SirWinstonBeech]

I was 24 days old, but nowhere near Rural Retreat. I was in Indianapolis. The last NYC Niagara dropped its fires in nearby Beech Grove about a year and a half earlier. My parents moved to Cincinnati in early 1958, so it's possible I crossed paths with a J or a Y6 in Cincinnati. I've been told they ran them on the branchline which ran very close to where we lived - in the rented house the first year and again the house we bought. But it's before my memory. I have no memory of a first encounter with trains. Model trains were always there - parents had them before I was born (HO scale) and I seem to just have trains in my DNA.

[@lindacaldwell2992]

My husband's grandfather loved to ride the Pelican.

[@S_Cooper0404]

It's still standing and they are planning to renovate it and make it into a museum!

[@drby0788]

We all wanna be there. Standing on that platform..maybe smoking a lucky.. might even be reading the newspaper..listening to the church bells, waiting for the train. Just seemed like all was right with the world then. One thing is for sure, that town would be dead quiet aroud that time. Making the train going through stand out even more. No freeways either. Whenever im at my dads in Lancaster, Oh its so quiet at night. I imagine stuff like this whenevrr im out there smoking in the middle of the night. Just picturing life during these times. Before the dark times

[@ljp611]

The Rural Retreat depot is still standing and is presently receiving repairs.

[@Beangoeszoom]

Its been exactly 54 years! Merry christmas!

[@TheCjc1969]

Like most geniuses only appreciated when they are gone, Every photo is worth a thousand words but some of his would take ten thousand. A true master

[@1markpower]

Man was such a good photographer

[@Permaglo]

Thanks for posting this! I used to live in Rural Retreat and took piano lessons from Mrs. Dodson.

[@alexandermitchell5645]

Point of order: Although this recording is presented all the time online and elsewhere as "Christmas Eve 1957," the reality is that the recording Link and his assistant made that Christmas Eve night was deemed technically flawed. Link then asked the church organist to repeat the performance three nights later on Dec. 27th, 1957. Link released an edited version of this clip on one of his LP recordings; this is the full digitally remastered original. Link also took other photos at Rural Retreat on the night of the 26th; these were seldom published.

[@Titanicboy12345]

I live close to rural retreat just in Wytheville

[@lirrfan3879]

I listen to this every Christmas Eve. Warms my heart and soul every time. Beautiful recording.

[@davidcorbett62]

To me, who is not from the US this represents a long ago era, of days gone by and a much simpler but better time. I was 1 then so grew up in my early years listening to steam trains in the distance. But the whistle of that engine is so haunting so atmospheric and so nostalgic it moves your soul

[@jeromeandrews4926]

At the end, when the bells stop chiming, you can still hear the train far off in the distance. That shows you how loud and powerful these machines were back then.

[@27839]

Sound carries farther in cold mountain air. I've heard trains seven miles away that sounded like they were right behind me. And ones fifty yards away that I couldn't hear at all.

[@HarryTruman1946]

Merry Christmas 2024!

[@TNtrainboy15]

Incredible!! 5*!!! Almost brings tears to my eyes..

[@Scorp111786]

Christmas Eve, 1957 and being serenaded by thee Queen 😍

[@lightbulbproductions502]

Beautiful recording it is an audio to a simpler time in train history I can only imagine how nice the feeling would be sleeping while hearing these beasts roll by especially on Christmas Eve thank you Winston link for this.

[@coleencarter8776]

so haunting and moving

[@RufusT9]

Merry Christmas to everyone. here's hoping the depot is still standing, in its original place, perhaps with some christmas lights on it.

[@Deputybull]

The Depot has been beautifully restored, it has Christmas lights too.

[@michaelmulgrew4994]

Train got derailed

[@alisonquarles7842]

My great grandfather was station master in Rural Retreat. I imagine he had retired by 1957.

[@PennRailVideos]

This is amazing. Very festive.

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

Thank you. I like this recording. It's amazing to hear this 60 years later. I found this through Facebook. I'm going to share this with my family and friends. How wonderful this is. I'm a little bit emotional just hearing this. Thank you to whoever posted this!

[@maxm2317]

Absolutely beautiful sound and photograph!

[@railsandracing]

Merry Christmas 2018!

[@railsandracing]

It's that time again. Merry Christmas 2019!

[@brucefetter]

that is really amazing! thanks for sharing.

[@2102FAN]

54 years ago tonight!

[@Cbazz]

Daulph Kline Now 59

[@deloreanman14]

55 years ago tonight.

[@RufusT9]

not disagreeing with you. But I believe what's written explains the photo as being the westbound shot. I included the westbound shot because it's far more dramatic than the other eastbound shot (in my opinion). Thanks for your comment and it's great to associate more names with the recording.

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

they gotta recreate this photo and audio with N&W 611 someday

[@tigerwareagle1485]

60 year old footage! Merry Christmas!

[@jaymorgenthal9479]

i’m reading the article on page 14 of the winter 2020 issue of Classic Trains about this recording

[@jayk3025]

Just read it today. Amazing recording.

[@TheBerkshire759]

still good listening!

[@karenbathory9648]

Loved this!!!!

[@PRL2204]

i have this on a 33 1/3 rpm record i got from an auction!!!

[@Richard.Allsop]

So evocative! A paean to a vanished age.