P&W and Amtrak in the snow

OK, finally uploaded a few days worth of stuff from the past few weeks.  Here we’re going back to January 28th and one of our many snowstorms (yay!).  I was able to catch Providence & Worcester train NR-2, an eastbound Amtrak Acela, and an Amtrak Northeast Regional.  The P&W was in Groton and New London, the Acela in Groton, and the Regional in New London.

Since I drove in with the truck, I figured I’d take advantage of a small hole in my schedule, and the 4 wheel drive, to get some snow shots.  So I got out at the usual time, and set my sights on Mill Cove.  Well, as I got close to Military Highway in Groton, my plans changed – NR-2 reported to the Worcester dispatcher that they were south of MP5.  Oh, well, so I moved my sights to the USS Nautilus Overlook park.

I got there about 30 seconds before the train, and picked my spot.  I got 3 shots of the short train rolling past the Nautilus.

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As I was getting the last shot, I thought to myself that I could probably beat them down to the bottom of Fairview and get a shot there.  So I briskly walked back to the truck (OK, it was more of a slow jog) with the camera in hand.  Well, I neglected to remember that there was a nice layer of ice below the 2″ of snow, and as I attempted to round the corner behind the truck to get to the door, my feet kept going straight.  As I made my way to the ground, I lost my grip on the camera, and with a loud crack it hit the snow-covered ground.  Damn – it was fully caked with snow.  I guess Fairview was out of the question, and boy did my hip and knee hurt…

After picking myself up, and quickly dusting off the camera, I got in the cab and cleaned it up as best I could.  Luckily they were working in Fairview, picking up a couple cars for Fortune Plastics.  That gave me time to get the camera cleaned up and ready to roll.  So I figured a shot of the train pulling across the bridge in the snow was in order.  But instead of my usual shots from the south of the bridge, I opted for the Streeter boat launch between the drawbridge & the Gold Star Bridge. There I got a quick shot of a passing Acela.

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Then a couple shots of the bridge itself in the snow.

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And something odd caught my eye – a Derail marker in the water near the boat launch…

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With that, and the fact that NR-2 was still shuffling cars around in Fairview, I figured I had enough time to get over to New London and get a couple shots of the train pulling through town.  So across the bridge I was currently under I went.

Oh, speaking of the Gold Star Bridge – if you’re ever sitting under a bridge on a snowy day, when you hear the plows roll by overhead, move.  Let’s just say that I didn’t…more snow on the camera…

Now over in New London, I make my way onto Bank Street, and head for the parking lot by the waterfront.  As I pull up to the crossing, the gates go down – an eastbound Northeast Regional was pulling in for a stop at the station.  So I grabbed the camera, and got a couple shots of the train pulling off of the Shaw’s Cove swing bridge.

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After the train passed, I pulled into the parking lot and parked the truck.  Grabbing my gear, I headed for the crossing.  I wanted to get to the other side and get a tele shot of the train pulling through the station.  Well, no such luck today.  As I got out of the truck, the gates once again went down.  So I stayed on the east side of the tracks, and got a shot of them rolling by

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As they rolled past, I headed back to the truck and made my way back to the office.  Not exactly what I had planned, but still the shots came out OK.

Thanks for looking!
Tom