Railfanning in New London/Groton Area

I know there's been various topics on this in the past, but I have some unanswered questions, and some of the replies to other threads are a couple of years old now. Most of the questions I have are pertaining to freight railfanning, as I'm already pretty familiar with how Amtrak/SLE timetables in the area, as I usually commute in/out through SLE 2 to 3 out of 5 days a week. I'm a student in the area, and between my school schedule and waiting for the next SLE train west, I have some time gaps I can fill if I don't have work to do. Particularly, this is ~3PM to 7PM on Mondays, ~9:30AM to 11AM on Thursdays, and ~9:30AM to Noon on Fridays. I'm also curious for some viewpoints outside of New London Union and Hamtilton Street; I don't know how safe the area is around State Pier, even though I know there Route 437 goes down there, and seems to give good vantage points from its overpasses over the rails. Any points in Groton are appreciated as well, as that's where I'm actually at.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I would strongly recommend against State Pier; it's a largely empty industrial area where you're likely to attract negative attention of one sort or another.

Bluff Point in Groton is a good area, a state park where you'll get no trouble. Both the small park at the Depot Street entrance (the concrete pad there was the former Midway station), and the path along the tracks heading east have good views. There's an old turntable and remains of the Midway Shops in the woods, too. Most of the rest of Groton has over and underpasses with no good views.

Not sure where you are a student, but if you are able to access the Connecticut College campus there are a couple of good locations behind the Athletic Center, on the downhill side of Route 32. One of the practice fields abuts the NECR and also gives a view across the water to P&W. There are a couple of commercial docks down there that are not part of the college and are accessible on a public street-- Farnsworth, I think. Also, check out the policies for hiking in the Connecticut College Arboretum: there used to be a trail network on Mamacoke Island, which is actually a peninsula with views of both banks of the Thames and the harbor in the distance. I knew the area in pre-9/11 days though, and since this also directly overlooks the pens at USNS New London access may be restricted.

Also, don't forget the Mystic/Noank area. There are several spots along CT 215 that give a good view of the Shore Line tracks, and the Mystic River drawbridge is visible from plenty of locations in downtown Mystic itself.

Finally, if you have access to a car, take a drive over to Stonington Borough. Elm Street in the Borough was dead ended at the tracks to eliminate a crossing, but there is a public footbridge that connects it with the "land" side of Stonington.

I went out to Bluff Point right after posting this thread on that Monday; Now I definitely have to go back to see that old station site near there. And on the Thursday the 27th (yesterday), I spent some time down on the pier that ends near the Shaw Cove Bridge, and caught a surprise GEnesis coming over the bridge right after a delayed Regional.

And in pertinence to that station/ferry/pier area, tomorrow (Friday 28th) my only class lets out at 9:15AM; is it possible to see any NECR around there? I know I'll be able to see P&W NR-2 if I got there timely, albeit I don't know what time they usually come through there. I'm at UCONN Avery Point down in Groton, so it'd probably be 9:30 by the time I got over there. If anyone could let me know if I'd be there in time to see either, I'd appreciate it. If I can't be there in time, I'll just go over to Bluff Point until around noon when NR-2 will return.

When I went on the Block Island ferry 2 years ago
I railfanned at the train station saw acelas and regionals
Didn't see nr2 at all
But I do know that some sle trains to stop at New London
Not sure exactly how many

Had a good meal a few months ago here:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/captain-scotts- ... new-london" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Outdoor dining (picnic table under roofs) next to the tracks (west of the station). We were there during the evening rush and saw Amtrak and SLE.

Captain Scott's has great food, but don't go after 5pm on a nice day. Last night the line to order was about 45 minutes long at 6pm.

...True. But isn't waiting around next to active railroad tracks something we all like doing?

Unfortunately, at this time, there is almost no daytime freight service.
When NECR comes down, which is not every day, it's usually around midnight.
P&W's NR-2 is also a night job, seldom departing New London before Amtrak 67.
VERY RARELY, there is a daytime P&W extra, but very rarely.

Lee Carlson

Not much left in the CV/NECR yard to see. The area where the turntable was is overgrown to the point you cant see anything. Not much else to see down there. There are some homeless people that live down there too in a few places that I avoid when I go in there at night,