Well, a gap in my schedule this morning let me get out for a bit into the hot & hazy morning. In the short time I was out, I caught a pair of Amtraks (one regional and one Acela), New England Central train NERWNE and Providence & Worcester train NR-2. Not a bad start to the week, despite the humid skies. And for the P&W, I was actually lucky with the sun – instead of the clouds screwing with me, they actually allowed the sun to shine on NR-2 just as they came to the spot I wanted to bag them.
The morning started out like usual – heading out of the parking lot with the scanner whirring away, monitoring Amtrak, P&W and NECR frequencies. As I was heading north on Thames Street, I could hear Amtrak train 190 pulling into the station. I figured it was worth a quick stop to get them crossing the Thames River.
A few seconds after I got to the parking lot, 190 left the station, and eventually crossed the river. The first shot I got was a tight telephoto of the train crossing the new span, still sporting a US flag.
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And a wider shot of the entire new structure.
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Once they hit the Groton side, I was back on my usual trip north to Mill Cove.
As I approached the Sub Base, I heard a chirp on the marker channel. Hmmm, there’s a train in the area – but is it the P&W or NECR? I hadn’t heard anything on the P&W yet, so that pretty much ruled them out. That left the blue & gold. But where were they?
I pulled into Mill Cove to see NECR train NERWNE rolling south along the western shore of the Thames. So I got a quick shot of the train before they rolled out of sight.
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With no word about NR-2s whereabouts, I decided to continue north as nothing struck my eye at the cove. I figured my best bet would the the tidal pool near MP7 in northern Ledyard.
I pulled into the parking area with a still silent radio. So I figured I was ahead of NR-2, and it was safe to grab my gear and head down by the river.
As I was walking down the hillside, the scanner woke up with Rod’s voice – it sounded like NR-2 was still switching up in Norwich. Perfect!
I got to the tidal pool and was greeted by a glass like surface! So I made my way along the shore to a position where I could get a good shot of the head end crossing over the inlet. Not long after that NR-2 reported that they were south of MP12 and 15 minutes from the Sub Base. That put them about 5-7 minutes from me.
While waiting, a boat came by me, so of course I grabbed a shot.
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About 5 minutes later, I could hear horns to the north as NR-2 pulled through the crossings at the old Norwich Hospital site. A minute or so later, a rumbling slowly grew louder, and NR-2 pulled onto the causeway.
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Then the shot I wanted – a vertical of the head end pulling over the inlet. But just as they approached the bridge, the sun came shining through!
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With the sun still shining, I got a shot of the tail end at the same spot
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As the train rolled out of sight, I made my way back to the car. Could I get ahead of them at Fairview? It was worth a try…
While waiting at the traffic light at the main gate of the Sub Base, NR-2 came blasting through the Nautilus site. Yep, I could more than likely get ahead of them at the south end of the yard.
I pulled into the parking area, got out and made my way to the track level to get a shot of NR-2 coming my way
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And a going away shot
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On my way south of the drawbridge, NR-2 was talking to the Amtrak New London dispatcher (not sure when or why they changed the desk name – recently it was the Shore Line dispatcher), and he was having them wait for 2 Acelas before heading west. 2150 was approaching Shaw’s Cove at that time, and 2159 was somewhere east of the Midway detector. I figured I had time to catch 2150 crossing the Thames, and then I had to head to work.
A few minutes later, 2150 came across the new drawbridge.
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A wider view
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And one final shot of the head end heading for the Groton side, with the Amtrak Catenary Maintenance Car sitting on the east side of the bridge.
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At that point I called it a day and headed back to the office.
Thanks for looking!
Tom
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