All wet at Carrie Furnace
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Carrie Furnace and the ‘Rivers Of Steel’ outfit, which and whom I’ve mentioned before, were offering a ‘photo safari’ event at sunset on a recent evening and a humble narrator could not resist the opportunity to be there. For a brief history of, and shots of what I saw the first time I visited the site (in the early afternoon) check out: part one, part two, part three, part four.
I had been looking forward to this one, and telling people that because of my interest in the experience I was expecting a ‘Blizznado’ or some other crazy meteorological event to cancel it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Four easy words to learn and repeat are: Mitch is always right.
A thunderstorm front was offered for consideration by the TV weather people, one which was scheduled to hit Pittsburgh at exactly the interval of time which the photo safari was scheduled for.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just before the rain hit, a CSX train set hurtling across a trackway on the other side of Carrie Furnace’s fencelines.
It wasn’t a lightning maker, this storm, instead it was cold front pushing through after a week long siege of high 80’s temperatures coupled with extremely high humidity. Sigh… you work with what you’ve got.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just after the Carrie people gave us the safety talk and a set of rules for being on their property, the sky opened up and it began to rain cats and dogs. That would describe the experience for about the next two hours.
A humble narrator is an old hand at getting caught out in the weather, and my fancy little umbrella was thereby deployed. One made it a point of spotting and seeking out ‘rain shadows’ offered by the ruins.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The weather situation was something I was aware of before I arrived, and I had thought out what I’d be focusing on accordingly.
That’s a ‘Torpedo Car’ which the Carrie people have on display, and the flooding around it was actually a blessing. I used the tripod and set the camera to no higher than knee level for this one. Low and slow.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The storm intensified, and the rain was absolutely cascading out of the atmosphere. I had a full kit with me, and a couple of new toys were in my bag which I didn’t get to use because of the precipitation. Notably a very bright strip of LED lights which are powered by a USB connection, and a power bank battery unit for them to connect to. I didn’t trust either of them to withstand a soaking rain so I kept them in my bag.
Over the next few days, I’ll show you how another one of my new toys performed. Back tomorrow.
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The Newtown Pentacle 
BAH!! Come back to Newtown! THIS is where it’s at, not Pittsburgh!
John Steed
August 16, 2023 at 8:52 pm
[…] All wet at Carrie Furnace […]
All wet at Carrie Furnace – Urban Fishing Pole Cigars
August 17, 2023 at 11:03 am
Oh—and P.S: Screw the Penguins!!
Jim Garrity
August 17, 2023 at 5:43 pm
Great pics. The ambiance of massive decay.
dbarms8878
September 29, 2023 at 8:23 pm