Tim Stockwell
Terminal Tuesday
Most years, my wife and I travel up to Potsdam, NY to visit her family over Memorial Day Weekend. We've established a pattern where we'll take Thursday and Friday off, travel up on Thursday, and head home on Monday. The last few years, my wife has graciously been fine with me utilizing most of Friday as a railroad photography day. The Friday before Memorial Day 2020 turned out to be hands-down the most successful outing I've ever had in "The North Country": A blue dome, the NYOG running with VTR GP18 #801 between Norfolk and Norwood, CSX running Q620, Q621, and a weed-sprayer train all in daylight, and my first time catching the Massena Terminal. It was such a great day, I was inspired to do a "theme week" here on Flickr about it--a rarity for me due to work and parenting.
Fast forward to Memorial Day Weekend 2021, and it was clear when I woke up on Friday that I wasn't going to have a repeat--at least as far as the weather went. Furthermore, I had a plan that--if it went well, it could have opened up some more doors, but if it didn't go well I'd basically fall flat on my face. Well, the latter is what happened. I've been hoping to make a more personal connection with the NYOG guys since I've really become intrigued by that railroad, especially its history stretching multiple railroads and operators such as the Rutland, the Norwood & St. Lawerence, and the St. Lawrence & Raquette River. So--though with the clouds I didn't have much of an interest in shooting the NYOG to start the day since I cleaned up under sun last year--I still began my day by heading up to the engine house at Norfolk with a print and a dozen donuts in my hands. After parking in my usual spot at the end of the public road across from the engine house, I approached one of the guys, handed over the donuts and the print, and explained I was a photographer who only came up a few times a year and just wanted to finally introduce myself. The guy thanked me, turned to walk away, and I asked if they knew their plan for the day. "I can't tell you that, unfortunately," was the response. To say I was very embarrassed would be an understatement, lol. I went back to my car, then promptly left for the Massena Terminal which I had a cloudy-day angle or two I had been wanting to get.
The shot you see here was one of those goals, so I was at least able to check that box. Here, Massena Terminal MP15 #14 leads its train across the Massena Canal, just about to cross the last public road before entering Alcoa. I stress again that you can only do this angle from this side of the bridge on a cloudy day, so this is pretty much the best anyone can do here.
Getting this shot--followed by nice waves by the always-friendly Massena Terminal crew (maybe I delivered donuts to the wrong place...)--I felt satisfied. Unfortunately, the rest of the day only went downhill from there. I stupidly chased Q621 south from Norwood to DeKalb Junction (nothing special, especially not under clouds), then went on a wild goose chase trying to track the NYOG back down. Trying to find them between Norwood and Ogdensburg is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, with no EOT to hear over the scanner and no roads closely paralleling the tracks. I checked many crossings, stopped and listened for horns, etc. Nothing. Finally, I got back to Norfolk just in time to see the 801 solo trundling the last stretch of trackage to the engine house, and a check of the interchange at Norwood after that revealed that they must have made a round trip--with the 801 no less--between Norwood and Ogdensburg. All in all, it was one of those days that makes you consider "retiring" from the hobby, or at least stepping away from it for a while...
Massena Terminal Railroad
May 28, 2021
Terminal Tuesday
Most years, my wife and I travel up to Potsdam, NY to visit her family over Memorial Day Weekend. We've established a pattern where we'll take Thursday and Friday off, travel up on Thursday, and head home on Monday. The last few years, my wife has graciously been fine with me utilizing most of Friday as a railroad photography day. The Friday before Memorial Day 2020 turned out to be hands-down the most successful outing I've ever had in "The North Country": A blue dome, the NYOG running with VTR GP18 #801 between Norfolk and Norwood, CSX running Q620, Q621, and a weed-sprayer train all in daylight, and my first time catching the Massena Terminal. It was such a great day, I was inspired to do a "theme week" here on Flickr about it--a rarity for me due to work and parenting.
Fast forward to Memorial Day Weekend 2021, and it was clear when I woke up on Friday that I wasn't going to have a repeat--at least as far as the weather went. Furthermore, I had a plan that--if it went well, it could have opened up some more doors, but if it didn't go well I'd basically fall flat on my face. Well, the latter is what happened. I've been hoping to make a more personal connection with the NYOG guys since I've really become intrigued by that railroad, especially its history stretching multiple railroads and operators such as the Rutland, the Norwood & St. Lawerence, and the St. Lawrence & Raquette River. So--though with the clouds I didn't have much of an interest in shooting the NYOG to start the day since I cleaned up under sun last year--I still began my day by heading up to the engine house at Norfolk with a print and a dozen donuts in my hands. After parking in my usual spot at the end of the public road across from the engine house, I approached one of the guys, handed over the donuts and the print, and explained I was a photographer who only came up a few times a year and just wanted to finally introduce myself. The guy thanked me, turned to walk away, and I asked if they knew their plan for the day. "I can't tell you that, unfortunately," was the response. To say I was very embarrassed would be an understatement, lol. I went back to my car, then promptly left for the Massena Terminal which I had a cloudy-day angle or two I had been wanting to get.
The shot you see here was one of those goals, so I was at least able to check that box. Here, Massena Terminal MP15 #14 leads its train across the Massena Canal, just about to cross the last public road before entering Alcoa. I stress again that you can only do this angle from this side of the bridge on a cloudy day, so this is pretty much the best anyone can do here.
Getting this shot--followed by nice waves by the always-friendly Massena Terminal crew (maybe I delivered donuts to the wrong place...)--I felt satisfied. Unfortunately, the rest of the day only went downhill from there. I stupidly chased Q621 south from Norwood to DeKalb Junction (nothing special, especially not under clouds), then went on a wild goose chase trying to track the NYOG back down. Trying to find them between Norwood and Ogdensburg is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, with no EOT to hear over the scanner and no roads closely paralleling the tracks. I checked many crossings, stopped and listened for horns, etc. Nothing. Finally, I got back to Norfolk just in time to see the 801 solo trundling the last stretch of trackage to the engine house, and a check of the interchange at Norwood after that revealed that they must have made a round trip--with the 801 no less--between Norwood and Ogdensburg. All in all, it was one of those days that makes you consider "retiring" from the hobby, or at least stepping away from it for a while...
Massena Terminal Railroad
May 28, 2021