Well, I had to come into work late today – the kids had a dentist appointment – so there was no time for my usual walk. Plus it was raining this morning – not exactly ideal walking conditions. But on my way over after the appointment (the girls did great – no cavities!) I did have the scanner on, just in case something was moving around, and if any angles struck me while driving in. Well as luck would have it, Providence & Worcester train NR-2 was on their way south through Norwich as I was heading through Ledyard. So I figured a quick stop at the little tidal pool would be in order. It would only add about 5 minutes to my commute.
Pulling off the road, the first thing that came to mind was the rain. There weren’t any leaves on the trees, so they wouldn’t afford me any protection from the weather, and I’d look pretty silly (more than normal) standing in the middle of the woods with a big blue umbrella. Then I looked down in the back seat and saw my poncho – great, I do have it! So out of the mesh bag it came, and I donned it as the rain started to pick up. While grabbing my lenses and camera, I heard in the distance NR-2 sounding for the former Norwich Hospital crossings to the north in Preston. That only gave me a couple minutes before the tain was on top of me. A quick walk down the hillside, and over to the water’s edge got me in position as the train was pulling past Stoddard Hill just to the north. I grabbed a shot of the train rolling past the pool – the smooth water replaced by ripples created from the falling rain drops.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:2877]
As clicked the last frame and put the camera down under my poncho, Rod gave a nice wave out the window as they passed by. Next I headed trackside, and as the train passed, I switched to the telephoto. I figured I’d get a going away shot of the entire train. Here’s what I got – the whole train passing by the MP7 marker.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:2876]
And that was it. Next stop would be the office, 8 or so miles to the south.
Thanks for looking!
Tom
