Two trains on the way in – 3/14/07

Well, I had to head into work late this morning because the kids were sick. Once everyone was situated at home, I headed out the door. Having a route to work that encounters three railroads does have it’s advantages. Today, I’d get to shoot two of those roads on the way into work.

On my way down Route 87 into Franklin, I heard what sounded like New England Central train 610 working somewhere around the Franklin/Norwich area. And as I got closer to the Cargill/Kofkoff feed mills in Franklin, the signal became clearer and clearer. But at the same time, the Providence & Worcester frequency came alive with the dispatcher acknowledging that P&W train NR-2 was through the Jewett City detector with no defects. Hmmmm, that meant they were about 30 minutes from the shoreline. Could I get both trains? I figured I’d give it a a try.

So I headed down Murphy Road for my first stop – the classic shot of 610 working with the mill’s silos in the background. Luckily, it was a bit cloudy at this time, as I was shooting directly into the sun.

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And I grabbed a couple of the conductor riding the cut of cars:

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Since they were just starting to switch, I figured that it was time to head out to try to catch NR-2 somewhere south of Norwich. I had originally considered trying to beat them to Norwich Harbor, and bag ’em as they’re coming out of the Norwich Tunnel, but with the morning traffic and all the lights in downtown Norwich, it would be next to impossible. So I headed down my normal route of I-395 south.

Since it was a bit cloudy, and a slight haze in the air, any across the river shots wouldn’t work either – too much dense air to cut through. So my only options were my normal haunts along the eastern shore of the Thames River – from Poquetanuck Cove down to Fairview. Since I had just shot Poquetanuck Cove earlier this week, I thought I’d try somewhere I haven’t been in a while – Stoddard Hill. So I got off of I-395 at Route 2A, but as I was hitting the ramp, the scanner came alive again – NR-2 was reporting that they were clear of MP12 and about 15 minutes out of the Sub Base. That meant they were only 2 or 3 miles north of Stoddard Hill – no way I could get there in time. Plan B…Red Top in Ledyard.

I got to Red Top well in advance of the train, so I scouted around for some new angles. Not much with the sun where it was. And since it was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds, I opted for a tried and true angle – a head on. A few minutes later, I heard them approaching, and saw the headlights peek above the crest of the grade, just south of the signal at Hurlbutt Rd. As the train got into the sun, I grabbed this shot:

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Then backed away as it approached the Red Top sign:

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And then I swung around to get a shot of the entire 4 car, 2 locomotive train crossing the causeway along Mill Cove:

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Then they were out of sight. Looking at my watch, I was only a few minutes behind schedule – not a bad way to start the short workday.

Thanks for looking & enjoy!
Tom