Fifteen barges? C’mon…
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described last week, a humble narrator was recently engaged in a longish walk around the center of Pittsburgh on a pleasant spring afternoon.
My footsteps carried me over towards the West End Bridge (spanning the headwaters of the Ohio River) in pursuance of accessing one of the many waterfront trails found here, in the Paris of Appalachia. The particular trail I was heading towards leads back to a light rail station which would be my day’s penultimate destination, on the way back to HQ some five miles distant. It was late in the afternoon – rush hour time.
Choosing this path ended up being a fortuitous decision, and for the next hour or so Pittsburgh offered quite a show for the wandering photographer to record.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Midway across the bridge, a towing vessel was noticed approaching the span. The boat was handling what seemed like an impossible number of minerals barges. The Towboat was heading eastwards along the Ohio River, towards the confluence of Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers which mingle and form up the Ohio.
One got into position, chose an appropriate lens from my ‘bag of primes,’ and worked out the correct suite of settings for the camera.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Fifteen barges of what looked like coal were being towed directly beneath the West End Bridge where I was standing. The towboat is called ‘Miss Ivy Brynne,’ which was built in 1974 and offers its crew some 3,800 HP worth of motive force to work with. The boat is currently flagged out of Belle Vernon, PA.
Read more about Miss Ivy Brynne here, at tugboatinformation.com.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the Towboat moved along, so did I, trying to find different perspectives. There must be a speed restriction under the West End Bridge, as the boat was moving at a snails pace.
My guess is that its ultimate destination was going to be one of the two U.S. Steel plants found up river along the Monongahela – either Clairton, or the Mon Valley Works. Given that it was traveling west along the Ohio River, it must have negotiated the lock and dam systems operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers found downriver.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A lens swap occurred, as my footsteps carried the camera away from the middle of the West End Bridge. I needed a bit more ‘reach,’ so the 85mm was affixed to the camera.
Right about here is when the towboat’s wheelhouse ‘gunned’ its engines and the vessel began picking up speed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shot above was captured just as a humble narrator got to the southern extant of the West End Bridge, while also passing over a towing company’s docks that were hosting several other mineral barges.
This was just the start of a heavy industrial show, one which I was privileged to witness on the back end of my scuttle.
Back tomorrow with more.
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The Newtown Pentacle 
Very cool!
Valerie D
June 3, 2024 at 2:22 pm
I am continuing to appreciate yellow in bridge color.
Jaye Haviland
June 5, 2024 at 11:17 am
It’s specifically a PPG paints color called ‘Aztec Gold’ that they use.
Mitch Waxman
June 5, 2024 at 11:41 am