I had to come into work late today (daughters had their 6 month dentist appointment, and it’s usually a two person job), so I wasn’t able to head out for my normal walk in Ledyard. But on my way into work from the appointment in Colchester, I was listening to the scanner, thinking I may be able to catch NR-2 somewhere. Well, as I was passing through Salem, CT I got my answer, and it didn’t look that promising…at the time, at least.
Driving down Route 85 in Salem, the scanner was whirring away silently on the dash, monitoring the NECR and P&W frequencies. As I passed Salem Four Corners, the P&W frequency woke up. NR-2 was reporting that they were south of MP5. Damn, I guess I was going to miss them. Oh, well…so I continued south. When I was at about Salem Gardens, the frequency woke up again, but this time I could hear the head end – and I was a good 15 miles away! Either way, they were reporting that they were inside of the Fairview yard limits. Well, if Amtrak was going to get them out onto the Corridor quick, I’d definitely miss them. To try and figure that out, I dialed in the Amtrak frequencies into the scanner and listened. Not long after that the Amtrak Shore Line dispatcher gave me the answer I was looking for – she was holding NR-2 in Groton because they’d follow 171, and they were just crossing the Mystic River. Some quick calculations and I figured I might be able to beat both 171 and NR-2 to Shaw’s Cove. So I high tailed it for downtown New London.
I got to the waterfront park in New London just as 171 was pulling into the station. I quickly gathered my gear and headed down the walkway to the east of the tracks. I got a shot of 171 heading for the swing bridge.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:5186]
As 171 was crossing the bridge, I could hear NR-2 in the distance sounding for Governor Winthrop Blvd. – wouldn’t be long now. A couple minutes later, a GE B40-8 rounded the bend at the Amtrak station heading for me
[cpg_imagefixthumb:5185]
Down at the end of the walkway was a couple guys fishing. Of course, I decided to incorporate one of them into a couple shots.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:5184] [cpg_imagefixthumb:5183]
Then a going away telephoto shot of the entire train heading for Saybrook
[cpg_imagefixthumb:5182]
Not a bad few minutes out of the way. Back to the car, packed up and headed across the river.
But I wasn’t done yet – as I was crossing the river, something caught my eye – workers on the top of the new Thames River drawbridge tower, and the crane was also lowering a plate of steel into position. So I got off at Thames Street and snapped a few shots of the workers guiding the steel into place.
[cpg_imagefixthumb:5181] [cpg_imagefixthumb:5180] [cpg_imagefixthumb:5179]
Not too bad. After that, the camera hit the bag, and I hit the road down to the office for the remainder of my shortened workday.
Thanks for looking!
Tom
