Gloomy, gloomy skies.  Seems like that past few weeks have seen nothing but clouds, rain & storms.  Well, this morning was no different – overcast, but no rain.  But with a small hole in my schedule I decided to head out to see what I could see on a walk.  As it turned out, it was more than just clouds.

I figured my best bet would be Erickson Park along Mill Cove in Ledyard, so I set out heading north out of the office.  Along the way, Providence & Worcester train NR-2 reported to the Worcester dispatcher that they were south of MP13.  Looks like the timing would work out just fine.

About 15 minutes later, NR-2 again reported that they were south of MP7 – a few miles north of me.  So I figured it was time to figure out where I was going to shoot from.  With the look of things, I thought my best bet would be the south end of the cove.  So I made my way back to the car and headed down to the other end of Mill Cove.

A few minutes later, NR-2 came into view, and I rattled off a series of standard shots.

Then I grabbed the 20D for some wide shots.  I really liked the way the clouds looked, so I took two back to back shots and made one color and the other black & white

And finally a vertical of the train heading for the bridge, with a family of geese in the foreground.

Not bad for a cloudy day.  Now, the questions is could I make it to Fairview before they came into view.

Well, I got there just as they were entering the yard limits, and I got a couple shots of them at the south end of the yard

So far, so good.  Next up is the Thames River draw.

As I pulled out of the parking spot at Fairview, NR-2 was talking with the Amtrak New London dispatcher, requesting clearance to head west.  After clearing up a speed restriction, the dispatcher gave them the green signal to head west.  That meant I wouldn’t have to wait to get them crossing the bridge.

A few moments after getting to the parking area south of the bridge, NR-2 began heading across the Thames River.

OK, three for three on my spots.  Next up was the Garbo Lobster parking lot directly across from the Shaw’s Cove swing bridge.

A few moments after getting there, NR-2 was sounding for the Governor Winthrop St. crossing.  So I got a shot of them appearing between two ferries – a kind of “Where’s Waldo” shot.

Then one shot of them rolling along the Waterfront Park in New London

As I was getting that shot, something to the north caught my eye – it looked to be a US Navy Police boat heading south.  Would the timing work to catch it and NR-2 in the same frame?  Yep.

And after they passed, I got one final shot of NR-2 stretched out over Shaw’s Cove

Then the phrase “FULL CF” flashed in the viewfinder.  Perfect timing – filled up the card just as NR-2 slipped out of view.  So it was back to the car, and back to the office for the rest of the day.

Thanks for looking!
Tom