The Newtown Pentacle

Friday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

A ‘photo safari’ event at Pittsburgh’s Carrie Furnace had drawn me in, and several posts this week have shown you – lords and ladies – what I witnessed at this nationally recognized historic site.

As described, I had worked opposite to the main body of my fellow photography enthusiasts, which allowed for not having to deal with a crowd. A full circuit of the ruins of this steel mill soon found me at the edge of the property and gazing at a locomotive engine (pictured above and below) which once belonged to U.S. Steel.

It sits nearby a mechanism which the industrial giant utilized to transport coal from the rail cars to the mill’s power plant and furnaces.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

There’s a nearby bridge, abandoned, which I suspect once connected this rail track to the south side of the Monongahela River. The burning thermonuclear eye of god itself had risen to its noon day heights, emanating waves of heat and strong light which inspired the 3rd and 4th century A.D. Romans to begin worshipping a deity called ‘Sol Invictus’ or the ‘Unconquered Sun.’ Monotheistic, Sol Invictus allowed for an easy transition to Christianity for the Roman government by the time Constantine wore the purple. The feast of the unconquered sun, for instance, was celebrated on December 25th.

For some reason, Carrie Furnace makes me think a lot about Rome.

There was no reason to use a tripod in such circumstance, so I switched the camera’s operational settings back to handheld mode.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

There’s that ‘establishing shot’ mentioned yesterday, wherein nearly the entire surviving complex at Carrie Furnace can be observed.

I was walking on a berm found at the edge of the property which once carried the rail tracks which led away from the position of that locomotive engine in the first two shots of today’s post.

The grounds of the place are a sort of poisoned meadow. I’m sure that digging down just a few feet into the loam would bring up soils laced with heavy metals and coal/arsenic pollutants.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Yet another freight train, this time Norfolk Southern’s #4491, raced past in the direction of a bridge which connects to the community of Homestead, found on the southern bank of the Monongahela River. Like the CSX units observed earlier in the day, I’m fairly sure this one was returning from a delivery to the still active Edgar Thompson Steel Mill, about a mile or so up the river.

This shot is extremely cropped in, as I wasn’t armed with a super zoom on the camera – in terms of lenses.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I began a second circle of the place, seeking out spots which I hadn’t captured shots of yet, and zooming in on details. A humble narrator was growing fatigued by this point, which is a disturbing sensation for me that has been increasing in frequency as age’s degradations set in, diminishing the physical plant. Like a leaf, you… as the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner opines.

I take some satisfaction out of the fact that I’m in quite a bit better condition than my Dad was at my age. Saying that, the old man worked with his hands his entire life and had a list of injuries that would cover both sides of a piece of paper were they to be listed out. I’ve spent most of my working life behind a desk, in contrast.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Just last week, one had to endure a dental procedure wherein the Periodontist commented that I had a horizontal crack on one of my front teeth. I confessed knowledge of the flaw, and told her the story of a bar fight on Manhattan’s west side wherein I caught a kick to the mouth and described the style of boot which had caused the injury.

That’s really what the difference between me and the old man is, though. He got hurt a lot while trying to feed a family, whereas I have gotten hurt a lot in pursuance of fun.

One more post from Carrie is coming your way on Monday, from inside a space that I got to visit for the first time on this outing.

Back next week.

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“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.