09/08/2026
I had full intentions of coming home today, working on my yard and getting a couple of projects done. Then, on my way home, I got word that the Battenkill had to run today.
I wasn’t going to go. I hemmed and hawed about it at home for way too long, trying to convince myself that I should stay there and get my own work done. But I knew if I didn’t go, I’d regret it.
So I headed for Eagle Bridge, hoping I could catch them before they left.
Apparently I hemmed and hawed a little too long. They were already gone.
So the chase was on.
I finally caught up with them in Cambridge — too late to get the station shot I was hoping for, but just in time to find them and spend the rest of the day chasing.
And what an absolutely perfect day for a Monday it turned out to be. High 70s, no humidity, brilliant blue skies filled with those big white puffy clouds, and mile after mile of barns, fields and countryside making for some pretty epic scenery for a train chase. There were even horses along the way.
And then, just to top it all off, I spotted Buttercup — the one engine that can somehow make this girl smile even on her lowest day. 💛
Tomorrow marks the day we found out that we had lost Chip. I had been hoping the BK would run tomorrow so I could spend the day chasing them in his honor. Man, did he love the Battenkill. I miss that friendship so dearly. I miss having my friend who could convince me to get out of the house, drive me around, and spend the day chasing trains with me.
Today reminded me just how much I miss that… but somehow, for a few hours, it also gave a little piece of it back to me.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt that much pure joy. Just chasing a train through the countryside on a beautiful late-summer day, trying to figure out what I wanted to capture at each crossing and enjoying every damn minute of it.
Maybe it wasn’t the day I had planned to honor you, but we all know that railroads make their own schedules.
So today may not be tomorrow, but today I honor you, my friend. I know you would have loved this chase.
I miss our adventures. I miss our friendship. I miss you.
Thanks for the chase, Chip. ❤️🚂