No, I’m not going to bore you with a treatise on what I think of the Thames River. Instead, I’m taking it quite literal today – actual reflections in the water. Along with the second day of crappy weather came next to no wind. And when there’s no wind, there’s no waves on the water. And where there’s no waves, there’s reflections. So I took advantage of that this morning.
I headed for my usual haunt of Mill Cove & Erickson Park in Ledyard this morning. Again, I got to the park as NR-2 was reporting that they were south of MP11 and about 20 minutes out of the Sub Base. So I got my normal walk in and once I heard NR-2 in the distance, I headed for my spot at the south end of the cove.
I got there just as NR-2 was hitting the crossing at Red Top with their horns. Like I mentioned in the intro – the waters around here were quite calm, and gave some decent reflections. First shot was of the train rounding the bend at the top of the cove with some remaining fall color in the background.
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Next up a wider shot of the train stretching out on the causeway
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And as the crew gave a friendly toot of the horn, I swapped lenses to the wide angle and got a shot, with an even nicer reflection, at the south end of the cove
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And one final shot here of the trailing power at the south end, but this time a horizontal framing
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Then it was back to the car. With the calm river, I figured a shot near the drawbridge would work out. As I pulled into the parking lot, I wasn’t disappointed. I got a couple shots of just the bridge. The first one is more of the two new towers and crane, all reflecting in the river
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And a horizontal shot of the bridge with its reflection
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A look to the west told me the Saga Sky was still there, but nearly unloaded. So I got a broadside shot of her at the State Pier
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And a different framing, including some of the foliage, as well as an old decrepit dock
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Next stop was the overlook to the south, directly across from the Saga Sky. As I got there, a boat came speeding down the channel.
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And I got a shot of her speeding past the bow of the Saga Sky
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I figured a shot of the ships cranes unloading a few bundles of lumber was in order
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And not long after that, a rumble to the north caught my ears. Amtrak train 171 was rattling across the drawbridge
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As soon as 171 cleared the block, the Amtrak Shore Line dispatcher got on the radio to NR-2 to give them the green light to move west. Apparently 2159 was running 15 minutes late, so the dispatcher felt that he could get NR-2 out in that window. A few moments later, NR-2 came climbing onto the bridge from the west leg of the Groton wye
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And a shot of the lead power crossing the drawbridge. This time, I went for a vertical framing to get some of the reflected towers in the frame.
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And finally a tighter shot of the trailing power passing by the new west tower of the drawbridge
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As NR-2 was heading for terra firma on the New London side of the river, I climbed back in the car, stowed my gear, and headed back to the office for the remainder of this shortened workday.
Everyone have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!
Thanks for looking!
Tom
