Rain, mist & fog. Not the best atmosphere for photography, well, unless you want the photos to have atmosphere. So I decided to head out despite the light drizzle falling amongst the low hanging clouds. My aim was Mill Cove in Ledyard to hopefully catch Providence & Worcester train NR-2 on their way south. Time would tell if I’d be able to catch the train or not.
I got out a touch late this morning, but was still hoping I’d catch NR-2, so the scanner was monitoring the frequencies. As I passed the Sub Base on Route 12 I got my confirmation – NR-2 was now south of MP12 and 15 minutes from the base. That would give me enough time to get to the park, take a quick walk in the rain, and be in position for the train’s arrival.
About 10 minutes later, I heard horns to the north as NR-2 sounded for the Dow Chemical crossings. That was my cue to head to my spot. This time I decided to stay about midway down Mill Cove instead of going all the way to the south end. The first shot I took just screamed black & white to me, so of course I obliged and processed the shot of NR-2 approaching milepost 4 as a B&W.
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Next up was a standard shot of mine – the Harvard Boat House, but this time gently shrouded in fog and mist
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As the train stretched out on the causeway, I barely got the entire train in the frame without swapping lenses
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A quick zoom back in of the lead power
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And a bit wider of the train heading for the south end of the cove
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Back to the rear end of the train for a tight shot of the trailing power
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Then I decided to stop down a bit, and slow down the shutter speed for a quick and dirty pan shot of the trailing locomotive passing by
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Next stop was the Thames River drawbridge. As I was approaching the south end of Fairview, I got ahead of NR-2. At the same time, they were contacting the Amtrak Shore Line dispatcher about when they could head west. He said they’d have to wait for a westbound Acela, then they could head west.
As I pulled into the parking lot south of the drawbridge, I was contemplating how long I’d wait for the Acela to show up – there was nothing from the Midway detector to the east of me, so there was no way of knowing how close they were. Just then the dispatcher called NR-2 to tell them the Acela was running late, and he’d get them out now at least as far as Old Saybrook, where presumably the Acela would pass them.
So I got out of the car as the train was squealing their way around the west leg of the Groton wye. Moments later the train made their way onto the Thames River drawbridge
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And then they passed by a barge in the channel under the drawbridge working on the new tower
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Backing out a bit, I got a shot of the trailing power heading for the drawbridge
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And one final shot of the trailing power heading over the work barge
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As the train headed off of the drawbridge, I wiped the mist off of the camera gear, packed it away, and headed back to the office for the remainder of the day.
Thanks for looking!
Tom
