Archive for September 4th, 2024
Two Potato
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After CSX #148 hurtled past my lens, which is pictured above and was described yesterday, the CSX Subdivision’s signal lights indicated that the transportation company wasn’t quite done with showing off on this particular afternoon. Well… it was a humble narrator’s birthday, after all.
It was also the anniversary of the Pittsburgh incident of 1968, a fictional account of which was packaged up by local film makers for national distribution. Coincidentally, I share a Birthday with the original Kosciuszko Bridge, over Newtown Creek back in NYC. Like me, that bridge has left the city and the creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You don’t normally see two trains facing in the same direction hereabouts, so that drew my attention when they appeared. The tracks to the right are generally hosting traffic heading west or ‘away.’ The train on that side was static, whereas the second train was soon hurtling forward on the left side track. Fun!
If you click through to the larger incarnations of the photo, hosted at Flickr, you’ll notice a great deal of heat distortion captured in the image. It was in the high 80’s, but luckily it was only a bit humid at this particular moment. If you don’t like the weather in Pittsburgh, just wait an hour and it’ll change into something different.
Ya got yaself whatch youse might call’s one a dem ‘volatile atmospheres’ here, sparky. What you gonna do?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #7006 broke out of formation on the left hand track and started pulsing its way towards your humble narrator. I’m told it’s a Rebuilt GE CM44AC model locomotive that’s been hurtling around North America since 1996, and is one of 593 such locomotives operated by the company.
As a note: I’m still fairly bewildered by all of this train stuff. The specificity, the overlapping ownerships, the nitty gritty of model types and years of – it’s all so very confusing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While the train was advancing, your humble narrator kept on moving from one patch of shadow to another hoping for an angle of view advantage. The trail is graded to rail standard and is thereby easy walking, but it has a very slight rise in altitude when you’re standing ‘here’ vs. ‘there.’ Splitting hairs, really.
There was also a tree line to contend with, one which occluded the Fort Pitt Bridge above and the Pittsburgh skyline behind it. I finally settled on this spot as the train neared.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The second train on the right hand track was still static after #7006 passed by, pulling what looked like a collection of automotive carrier cars and random cargo or tanker cars. Scuttling soon resumed, but every few minutes a point was made of checking over my shoulder to see if anything was happening with that other train.
That second train was being held in place by signal lights, luckily they’re ones which you can plainly read from the neighboring trail.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While walking along, I noticed a towboat on the Monongahela River heading towards the Ohio River. See – the photo above proves it.
Back tomorrow with more.
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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.
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