Starting out a new month with the waters around the Thames receding from our recent bout with lots and lots of water – and a little luck as things panned out. Actually, I wasn’t exactly expecting to get out & shoot after hearing Amtrak had shut down all service between New Haven and Boston today because of the flooding. But as it turned out, the affected track was in Kingston, RI, and NR-2 was the only thing running on the Shore Line around Groton, other than Amtrak hyrails and FRA inspectors. And with that, I was able to get NR-2 at a record half dozen different spots! Well, a couple of them were kinda mashed together, but…well, read on and you’ll see. And there’s a completely new angle stuck in there too just to really mix things up. Trust me, it’s no April Fool’s joke…
Today started out with a pretty heavy overcast as the storms of the past few days moved out to to the northeast. The weather geeks were calling for gradual clearing, but that wasn’t happening this morning. So I was on the fence as to whether or not I’d head out. Then over the scanner I heard NR-2 getting some more track from the Worcester dispatcher – something like milepost 7 down to 3, and that they were somewhere above Norwich. That cemented my decision – out the door I went! But to where?
I figured the timing would work out the best if I headed for milepost 7 in Ledyard. Then from there, I’d play it by ear as to where I’d shoot. Once I got there, parked and hiked down the hillside I saw NR-2s headlights to the north approaching the Mohegan Pequot bridge. A few moments later, I got a long shot of them crossing from Preston into Ledyard
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113241]There’s one…next up was them rolling past Stoddard Cove
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113240]There’s two…OK, that’s a bit of a stretch, but, I’m counting it!
Next up is a series of shots near MP7 – I was halfway up the hillside just south of MP7, and snapped these shots, including a little off-balance crop that I kinda like…
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113239] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113238] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113237] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113236] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113235] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113234] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113233]OK, that’s three. Now where?
Then I remember that over the scanner earlier, NR2 got a 10MPH temporary speed restriction at a location near Dow Chemical. That meant with the size of his train, I could easily beat him down to Mill Cove, three miles to the south. So with a hike up the hill (and a couple seconds to catch my breath – I’m finding out I’m way out of shape), I was off to Mill.
I got there just as NR2 was approaching Red Top to the north. I got a trio of shots there as they progressed along Mill Cove
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113232] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113231] [cpg_imagefixthumb:113230]OK, that’s four spots. What would my next target be?
With NR-2 still crawling along, and me finally catching my breath, I was thinking about possibly the USS Nautilus overlook. But on my way there, I reconsidered – as I was sitting at the stoplight at the entrance to the Sub Force Museum, I figured I had time to get a shot from the outside display of a few midget submarines as NR-2 passed by. So I set up there, and moments later, NR-2 appeared.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113229]The fifth spot isn’t too bad – there’s more angles to explore, so watch for more from here…
Anyways, since things were going along so well, I figured I’d get them at one more spot – but again the question of where cropped up. Then it dawned on me – Amtrak wasn’t running any trains except the P&W, so why not get something on the Shore Line? I thought my best bet would be Shaw’s Cove in New London.
Well, that was almost the wrong decision. With the lack of trains on the corridor, there was no reason for the New London disaptcher to hold NR-2 at Groton. So as soon as they got to the wye, they got their signal to proceed west. And this was just as I was getting on the Gold Star Bridge!
When I got off in New London, and was heading towards downtown, I could see NR-2s headlights heading onto the Thames River lift bridge. This was going to be close…
I got there just as NR-2 was pulling through the station, so I waited and got a shot of them pulling across the swing bridge
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113228]And to wrap things up, one shot of all the GATX cars rolling across the bridge
[cpg_imagefixthumb:113227]And with six spots in the camera, I figured it was time to call it a morning. Not too bad for a little time out and about, eh?
Thanks for looking!
Tom
