Steam to Goodspeed! Valley Railroad Consolidation #97 drifts along a stretch of track that the railroaders call "Broadway", as she approaches her ultimate destination, Goodspeed Station in Haddam. Those that are familiar with this line know that you don't normally see Valley Steamers running this far north. The regular steam run goes no farther than Chester. Today however, old 97 is hauling a special charter, which took several bus-loads of folks from Haddam down to Deep River for a ride on the line's riverboat, the Becky Thatcher. For most of the day, instability clouds blunted my efforts to get decent pictures of this special trip, but as she ran the last mile of the return trip, the sun suddenly broke through for about 10 seconds, and fortunately, I was there to capitalize!
Landscape photography is difficult due to the challenge of combining good light and good scenery. Good railroad photography enters another level of complexity since it requires the first two while there is a train in view.
