C&O New River Gorge Twilight in the Wilderness 2024 Calendar
For the first time in many years, the C&O Historical Society offers a COLOR calendar showcasing the vivid, final years of the C&O Railway in the New River Gorge.
In its third year of publication, our popular calendar, “Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Through the New River Gorge” turns toward a later era with “Twilight in the Wilderness.” For 2024, we have considered images from 1970-1987 when the C&O retained much of its mid-century appearance, iconically captured by photographers before and after World War II, but during this period would be immortalized one last time by color photographers before the curtain fell on the old railroad. Pinpointing this historic intersection at the descent of the Chesapeake & Ohio’s last end gives us the opportunity to showcase the grandeur of these final years within this publication.
In this final era, the C&O Railway's appearance and operation was still reminiscent of an older world, even though the railroad was beginning to transform into today’s modern operation.
ALL COLOR for the first time in years, this calendar is 28 total pages with 80-lb Gloss for each month with a 100-lb Gloss cover, a special dedication, saddle stitched with one hole drilled for hanging.
Describing the 1910 funeral of Edward VII of England in The Guns of August, historian and author Barbara W. Tuchman concluded one of the most vivid opening paragraphs of any historical work with, "The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history’s clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again." These words capture the British Empire in the glimmer of twilight following hundreds of years dominating much of the globe, just prior to the destruction brought on by World War I. In this context, we nod to Tuchman’s analogy as we represent the vivid, final years of a corporate entity under the name Chesapeake & Ohio that began its march into the history books in 1868.
