NECR & P&W in the dark

Had to run out and do a couple errands in Willimantic tonight, so I threw the camera bag and Lumedyne bag in the car on the way out of the house.  You never know what you’ll run into in Willimantic.

As I headed for the Lebanon/Willimantic town line, and got into scanner range, I started to pick up a marker chirp.  Cool, that meant someone was in the area.  But was it the P&W or NECR?  Both jobs are typically in town around this time.  To be safe, I headed for Pleasant Street near the Frog Bridge to see if I could catch anything – both trains would pass by the Frog Bridge at some point.

Well, by the time I got there, the two trains – yep, both P&W NR-4 and NECR NEWPA were in town – had laid out their game plan, and it sounded like I’d be able to catch them both.  So I parked south of the Frog Bridge and set up my gear.

By the time I got out and walked up the sidewalk a ways, the NECR job pulled into view.  But by the time I got everything set up and the Lumedyne attached to the camera, I could only get a going away shot of WPA.

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Just then, NR-4s headlights came around the corner to the south.  But the NECR was pulling a good sized train.  The question now was this – Would the markers pass by in time for NR-4 to come into view?

Yep, with about 5 or 6 car lengths to spare, the NERWPA’s markers passed by, and gave NR-4 plenty of room in front of me.  So of course I popped off a shot as they rolled past.

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With NR-4 having to make a quick drop off in the yard before heading back south to get their cars, I figured I’d head up to the Frog Bridge to try a shot with it in the frame.  Only I was too lazy to bring the stand that lifted the flash well above my head, opting instead to hold it out at arm’s length.  Yeah, that wasn’t very smart of me…  But I still got the shot, despite the fact that the flash was too close to me and the Scotchlite really glows.

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Oh, well, I’ll make sure I’m not so lazy next time.  As the pair of GEs slipped back into the darkness, I walked back to the car and headed to my errands.  Luckily Stop & Shop is open until midnight…

Thanks for looking!
Tom