Exploring Connecticut’s Steam Trains
Today we’re going to explore Essex Connecticut and follow the Essex steam train through the fall colors. You would think this is a simple objective. Arrive and follow the train and photograph it along the way. The reality is that this is a moving object and even if you know the good crossings to photograph the train “safely” at, the train quickly passes you by on its way to the next crossing. You on the other hand have to get back in the car and (hopefully) follow the speed limits to leapfrog the next couple of crossings to get ahead of the train… As I found out, this is NOT easy. This is why I enlisted the help of a local expert.
I’ve only visited once in late October, the 23rd to be exact and I was meeting with a local photographer (Mark Spremulli) who has an abiding passion for everything trains. One of this photographer’s favorites is the Essex Steam Railroad. You can click on his name to go to his Facebook photography page or read this article about trains that Mark submitted to learn more about the trains and taking a ride on a train in New England.
We met in the parking lot and we chatted about what we might find this day. He told me the rules, yes, photographing trains has rules. First and foremost, you do not get close to the track. Do not crowd the train just to get that right-in-your-face shot. As dramatic as that shot is, that train is 30 or so tons of steel and they will not be able to stop to avoid hitting you… You WILL lose that battle.
To be honest, that was the one rule that I remember… but all of them are common sense. Mark has more leeway to be around these trains because they know him and they know he follows the rules.
Steam Engine No. 40
Today, engine 40 is lined up to make today’s runs. It makes several runs during the day and they alternate the two steam engines on different days. The No. 40 was originally built by the America Locomotive Company in Schenectady, NY.
The day was a mostly cloudy day but the clouds were thin so it was bright as well. The fall colors were not peak but they were very nice. We headed across the street to get a good angle as it starts its run.
The bells start ringing and the No. 40 makes several long toots of its whistle to clear people back and we could hear the first “chug” as the steam starts driving the pistons that turn the wheels.
Soon she slowly comes into view and she is belching white smoke from her chimney stack. The track curves right past us and Mark reminds me again to not get TOO close to the tracks. It’s a good thing because I really did want that nose-on shot. 🙂
Round the Next Bend
Mark and I spent the rest of the afternoon getting to spots he knew about from a long experience of chasing this train. and just so you know Mark is working on hosting an Essex Steam Train Fall Foliage Workshop in October. You can follow him on his Facebook page to find out what the dates will be.
The train doesn’t get turned around so the trip back to the station means the engine will be in reverse. The giveaway is that the steam trails from the stack in front of the train and not back over it. I don’t care for these images as much and prefer the images of them coming down the track at me.
There are crossings all along Route 154 running along the Connecticut River. The hard part is that it takes practice in getting to these spots and finding a safe place to park, set up your tripod, and wait for the train. Then you rush to pack up and get well ahead of the train (obeying the post speed limits of course) and what I found is that you can’t do more than two crossing events in a run with the train coming down the tracks at you. So to do this right, it’s an all-day event.
My Favorite Crossing Images
The first crossing that we caught it at was the Chester Crossing which is a flat stretch where the train comes out of the trees. There is a good reason the trains are very careful at crossings without gates. If you notice I am not getting a direct nose-on shot. I am about 20′ away from the tracks. But it still allows a “near” head-on POV.
As I stood there we saw a truck stop on the crossing BUT not back before the crossing but ON the tracks. The Driver was probably familiar with the train and he stopped to look at the train! Ok, Mark’s rules make sense for the terminally dumb. I did not photograph this idiot but if he didn’t move I was prepared to.
Another stop we made which I’m not sure exactly where we were might have been Deep River crossing. Here the train comes down and around a gentle decline to pass by where we were set up for the train.
You can see more images of my Essex Steam Train images in my Online Fine Art Gallery here.
The Dirty Background Story
He took me on a tour and we explored the shed where they work on the trains. This is where the magic happens to keep these trains running. It’s not like in the 1800s where there were all sorts of craftsmen to maintain these machines. Today the skills young people acquire are more for social media, marketing, and tech skills, rather than manufacturing skills.
One of their current acquisitions is a new (yes, you read that correctly), a newly built steam train that came over from Russia. and Mark and I looked around the engine compartment and the first thing I noticed is how grimy and dirty it is… The coal dust gets everywhere.
Soon it’s time to leave and I say goodbye to Mark and as I start to drive away I see the train leaving the station. I thought I could get one last shot of the day all on my own. I pulled up to the Hadlyme crossing and parked and waited. I read the informational signs and waited… I walked down the track a short distance and nothing… Either I had missed the train or it stopped and returned to the station before this point.
So I closed out this train trip with an adventure of chasing the steam engine in which I failed but do we ever really fail..?
Gillette Castle
While I was waiting for the train I walked across the road at the Hadlyme stop and to look around and in the distance, I could see an unusual building. I took a few pictures with a long lens.
Off in the distance, I could see the Gilette “castle” home in Gillette Castle State Park. The Gillette Castle sits above the Connecticut River. This was the end of a long day, so that is a story for another day. Lisa did an article listing the castles in Connecticut. You can read about it here, and like this one, we will have to visit most of them in the future.
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
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Hi Jeff. We are getting to the Berkshire’s on October 5th for a week. Will the slow burn you mentioned effect this area for color. We will also be making trips to Vermont and New Hampshire. Thanks for all you do.
Hi Jeff. We are getting to the Berkshire’s on October 5th for a week. Will the slow burn you mentioned effect this area for color. We will also be making trips to Vermont and New Hampshire. Thanks for all you do.