Virginia Creeper Trail

[citation needed] Travelling from Abingdon, the trail goes through Watauga, Alvarado, Damascus, Straight Branch, Taylors Valley, Creek Junction, Green Cove and Whitetop.

The Virginia Creeper Trail sustained severe damage from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 which led to its partial closure.

In 1919, the Norfolk & Western railroad, which had partially funded the building of the line, took control of it and dubbed it its Abingdon Branch.

Finally, circumstances in 1977 induced the ICC to approve abandonment, as train service was forced to cease when hard rains flooded and damaged most of the line, which was left unrepaired.

In contrast to his large number of night shots, using black-and-white film and synchronized flashbulb arrays, he photographed the Abingdon Branch during the day, in color.

Many of his world-famous images are now housed in the former Norfolk and Western passenger station in Roanoke, Virginia: now the O. Winston Link Museum.