The Newtown Pentacle

Thursday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Our Lady of the Pentacle underwent a medical procedure back in October, and thusly has had to go visit the Doctor a few times since for post procedural checkups. This entire scenario of hers takes place at Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side, and I’ve usually got an hour to an hour and a half to kill while she’s in with the Doc.

I parked the Mobile Oppression Platform at a meter spot and took myself a short walk, thereby, while a light snow was falling. I was heading over to, and ultimately hanging out, on an overlook that sits above a set of railroad tracks.

Just yesterday, I described Allegheny Valley Railroad as being like a ‘white whale’ – rarely seen, and never if you’re actually looking for it. Just to make a liar of me…

– photo by Mitch Waxman

It was a pretty busy interval, rail traffic wise. These are Norfolk Southern’s tracks, and a good amount of mid afternoon activity was underway. These rails feed into a set of tracks that lead north easterly along the Allegheny River, and also allow egress onto the Fort Wayne Rail Bridge – which leads to a track that’s set pretty much through the center of the City, and are a primary freight pathway eastwards towards the ocean coast. Amtrak uses those same rails, too.

The air was brutally cold. As mentioned, a light snow was underway, but atmospheric temperatures were in the low 20’s and a stiff wind was blowing. I was wearing my ‘Pittsburgh Winter Coat,’ which is quite warm and mostly water repellant.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Regardless, I still had some time to kill and the trains were rolling by one after the other. I’ve got a whole insulation system I use for this sort of weather condition, with my sweat shirt hood pulled up and over the brim of my baseball cap and the jackets hood up over that. I lose peripheral vision doing this, but it keeps my face and eyeglasses dry and forms a pocket of warm air around my ears and neck.

The spot I was standing on is a small street bridge over these tracks which has recently been closed to vehicle traffic, as it is structurally unsound.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

From behind me, another train heading west appeared. I bathed in the hot diesel fumes it was pushing up above it, which felt like a summer breeze but smelt like the apocalypse.

This is the same set of tracks leading to the trench through Allegheny Commons Park which I had been haunting in early December.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

A triplet of engines set off for points east next, which is right about when Our Lady texted me to say that she was done with the Doctors and required pick up in the Mobile Oppression Platform. I scuttled back towards the MOP’s metered parking spot, which took me back along the fences of Allegheny Commons Park.

I heard the rumble a few seconds before the next train was coming my way, and was able to run over to a somewhat opportune spot in time.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The White Whale was back, heading south eastward along the tracks.

Mind you, if I was specifically trying to get a shot of the AVRR, I’d still be standing there a month later. That’s just the way it goes for a humble narrator.

Back tomorrow.

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