9/11 – A morning with my daughter and K667

On the morning of September 11th, I asked my daughters if they’d like to come out with me to shoot an ethanol train (OK, I didn’t say “ethanol” since they’re 5 and 7, and have no idea what ethanol is).  The older one said “naw, I want to stay with mommy,” but the little one had an enthusiastic “yes!” as her answer.  So Callie asked Katina if she could use her camera while we went out, which Katina gladly gave her permission.  With cameras in hand, we headed out in search of an empty ethanol train.

I figured that New London would be our best bet as a starting point, seeing that the P&W leg of the empty train – symboled K667 – was already on its way, and might even be close to New London.  By the time we got there (and stopped for a quick bagel at Dunkin’ Donuts in Norwich), K667 was already shoving into the NECR yard, and we met up with friend and fellow photographer Bob LaMay.

As K667 was shoving into the yard, a US Navy submarine was heading south in the Thames, which required a bridge opening.  That opening stopped an eastbound Acela on the approach to the bridge.  Having seen that, Callie wanted to get a shot of the train.

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After that, we made our way down the road to Winthrop Cove, where the train was sitting on the trestle.  Not long after that, the NECR hooked onto the other end, and pulled the train out, making the PW power visible on the trestle

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They followed the train into the yard to pick up 40 loaded ethanol cars – turning into K666.  As they passed by, Dave the engineer waved to Callie, but being Ms. Shy, she didn’t return the wave – only a shy little smile.

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One final shot in New London with the Thames River lift bridge towers in the background

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Next up was to figure out where the best spot would be to catch the NECR train next.

Since they were already on the move out of New London, we figured a straight shot up to Norwich would be our best bet.  So I figured a try at the spot I shot from the day before would be a good idea.

After waiting a while there – and Callie throwing a good hundred sticks & rocks into the water (she was done shooting pictures by then) – the train showed up, and I got a few shots of them passing by.

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From there, we headed straight up to Murphy Road in Franklin – on the way down I had noticed there were no cars on the Yantic runaround there, so a nice long shot with the old Cargill silos in the background would work nicely.

As we pulled in, another car joined us and it wasn’t Bob.  But it was another familiar face – Rod Aubin.  We chatted a while, and were soon joined by a couple other photographers – Tom Mik and Rich Barnett.

After some more chatting, the train finally showed up, and I got a couple shots of them heading north.

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At that point we were getting hungry, so we bid Rod, Tom & Rich goodbye and headed home for lunch with Jill and Katina.

Thanks for looking!
Tom