The start of January 2013 brought some cold temperatures to Connecticut, and it also brought some vacation time to me. On the third day of the new year – a day that started out with the mercury diving to about 5°F – I decided to head out for some train shooting. And me being the glutton for punishment, I figured my first shot should involve a good 10 minute walk along the Thames River. What the hell, I was on vacation…
For my first frigid shot of the morning, I headed for Stoddard Cove in Ledyard, but that wasn’t the shot I was looking for. Instead, I just used Stoddard as a parking spot, and hiked about a half mile north to the shores of Poquetanuck Cove, which spans the Ledyard/Preston town line. With camera gear in hand, and gloves on the hands, I made my way north along the edge of the Thames River. Once at the cove, I took advantage of the low tide, and went with a little wider angle of the train approaching, instead of my usual head-on view – and there was no way in hell I was trying that one, with the rocks I usually perch myself on being covered in snow and ice. So now it was time to wait.
About 15 minutes later, I could hear horns to the north and east – Providence & Worcester train NR-2 was making their way through downtown Norwich. Shouldn’t be more than 20 minutes before they get to me.
After a short wait, a low rumble came across the Thames Valley, and NR-2 came into view. I grabbed a series of shots – from their approach, to them travelling along the causeway in the cold morning sunlight, then into the shadows of the south end of the causeway.
With that in the bag, I made the hike out then met up with Vinny at Jordan Cove on Amtrak’s Shore Line in Waterford. After catching an Acela and a couple regionals, we headed out, and I called it a day at that point. Not a bad start to the new year.
Thanks for looking!
Tom
