From way back on Aug 2nd – PW and Amtrak

Yeah, it’s been a little while since the last update.  Actually, pretty close to a month!  As usual, things are just downright hectic at home and at work.  But I have been making a little time for shooting here and there.  Over the next week or so, I’ll be playing catch-up and posting stuff in dribs and drabs.  Here’s the first one from back on August 2nd, where I was able to catch Providence & Worcester train NR-2 and Amtrak Northeast Regional train 190 meeting at Niantic.

The 2nd of August was a cloudy day, so instead of the usual shots, I decided to try out a new spot near the Niantic River drawbridge.  Since it faces pretty much due east, it was a cloudy day only shot – if I headed there on a sunny morning, I’d be shooting into the rising sun (sometimes that’s not a bad thing, though).  So after hearing NR2 coming south through Ledyard, I made my way west to Niantic.

While waiting there for NR2 to make their way onto the Shore Line in Groton, I scouted around.  The shot is essentially from the Route 156 bridge, which parallels the rails near the Niantic River.  I found one angle that I really liked which would give me a nice view in both directions.  Next was the waiting part.

The wait wasn’t all that long as NR2 made their way onto Amtrak rails, and got clearance through New London.  Soon after that I could hear them blowing for Miner’s Lane to the east in Waterford.  So I got into position.  But as I did that, I could hear workers to the west around Crescent announcing “hot rail eastbound” – that meant Amtrak 190 was in the picture too!

Well, the timing worked out rather well – just as 190 was coming into view, I heard some workers around NAN announcing “hot rail westbound – here comes the P&W.”  The meet worked out to some extent – a second or so later on 190 would have been nice, but things worked out.

After that I packed up and headed back to the office for the rest of the day.  Yeah, they’re OK shots, but I like the spot, so I’ll be refining the angle over time.  Might try it on a sunny morning, just for ha-has…

Stay tuned for more updates!  They will include PW, NECR, CSX, NJT, NS & CSX, from CT, NJ & NY.

Thanks for looking!
Tom