P&W NR-2, Amtrak 171 and a few ships in the mist

Today I got out a bit later than normal, so time was a bit short. But despite the chronological limitations, things ended up falling into place very nicely. Three ships, two trains and a bridge in a short time span. And to top it off, some serious fog was hanging around. Not a problem at all…it gave everything a nice mood.

As I headed north, I figured NR-2 would be close by, so I was hoping I could get up to the USS Nautilus overlook park in town before NR-2s arrival. As I pulled onto Fairview Ave. the scanner came alive with Rod’s voice reporting to the Worcester dispatcher that they were south of MP5. Yep, I should get there just ahead of the train.

A couple minutes later as I pulled within view of the Nautilus, I could see that the crossing gates at the Sub Force Museum were starting to drop – perfect timing! So a quick parking of the car, and a sprint to the fenceline was in order. I got there just as NR-2 started sounding its horn for the crossing. A moment later, they went rolling past the calm waters on the east side of the tracks.

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Then as the general freight passed by, another set of power came into view, sandwiched between those cars and a string of about 20 hoppers for Tilcon in Groton.

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Turns out they’d be cutting those cars off in Fairview and heading directly west to Old Saybrook. Anyways, after that shot, I waited to make sure there wasn’t another set of power on the tail end. As soon as I saw the last car with nothing behind it, I hopped back in the car and sprinted ahead of the train. I pulled into the turnaround at the south end of Fairview to set up the next shot – a longer telephoto shot of the train cutting through the fog

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And a quick swap of lenses, I got a shot of the train with a plain stark white background.

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Quite a different feel than other shots from this angle. And of course, an obligatory shot of the mid-train power before they cut off the hoppers

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Next stop was the overlook just south of the Thames River drawbridge. Right as soon as I parked, Amtrak train 171 came rattling across the bridge. I got a quick shot of them passing under the new east tower in the thick fog

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Once the train cleared, the buzzers sounded and the drawbridge began to open. I looked around to see what larger vessels were in the area. Well, with the thick pea soup, I couldn’t see too much, but a faint silhouette to the south caught my eye.

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Ooooo, a ghost ship! OK, not really, it’s a work ship, the Rough Tide, heading north. But right under my nose was something else – the Electric Boat patrol boat was heading north. So I got a shot of it heading towards the drawbridge.

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And a shot of the Rough Tide heading out of the fog bank

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Then one I thought was pretty neat – both the open span and the new east tower faded into the low hanging fog

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And a couple more shots of the Rough Tide

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Then the EB boat was heading back south. So I got a shot of it and the Rough Tide

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And finally the bridge began to close. Chatter on the scanner suggested that NR-2 would be the first train west once the bridge was closed. With that only a couple minutes off, I figured I had time to catch it. But as the bridge was finalizing the closing procedure, a tugboat slipped below the span

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Finally, the sound of a GE prime mover and flanges squealing against the rail head cut through the fog – NR-2 was on the move. I grabbed a trio of shots of the train making its way across the foggy Thames

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And as the train slipped into the thick pea soup, I packed up and headed back to the office. Not such a bad morning, despite the low hanging clouds.

Thanks for looking!
Tom