The Newtown Pentacle

Monday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

After ascending a set of City Steps back in Dormont and neighboring Beechview (as described last week), your humble narrator boarded a T light rail bound for Pittsburgh’s Allentown, whereupon one set out on foot heading down the very steep Arlington Avenue. My horrible path diverged at Hartford Street, where the ‘German Square’ City Steps soon suffered my odious presence while I scuttled down their course.

I like loneliness. The humans are always disappointing, fractious, and weak in body and mind. I avoid checking notifications on my phone these days, as it’s always something horrible. Better to be alone, and commune with a favorite audiobook. I was listening to Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle.’

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The City Steps open up to vistas at street intersections. The particular one above is at ‘Fritz Street,’ and then another set of steps continue downwards, after a quick walk from one corner to the next. This area is called the ‘South Side Slopes’ and by the standards of this surrounding neighborhood, Fritz Street is like a superhighway with its travel lanes and parking.

It must be so challenging to live here.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

These steps come close to flat land at a set of Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, where a series of pedestrian bridges span and provide for egress over the trackage.

I had a feeling that I was about to see a train (seeing the signal lights change was kind of a giveaway) and I changed the camera lens over to something that could shoot through the chain link fence – my trusty 85mm f2 prime lens.

The little scanner radio I carry around with me was activated, and overheard radio chatter suggested that I was correct in my assessment that the signal lamps changing would lead to something interesting happening on the tracks below.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Hey Now!

This Norfolk Southern train set was moving ‘away from Ohio,’ although it’s likely that it’s more likely moving from the Conway Yard in PA.

Unlike CSX, which I show y’all all the time, Norfolk Southern isn’t forced into routing trains through a single street grade choke point. They’ve got options, and just off the top of my head there’s at least three other ways for them to travel through, just in the central area of Pittsburgh.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Norfolk Southern’s #4235 locomotive was apparently built in 1997, and originally called NS #9038. In August of 2019, the GE AC44C6M unit was rebuilt and renamed as #4235. At least, that’s what the internet tells me.

Again, not a railfan, I just like taking pictures of trains. If I get something wrong, in an extremely topical search, please let me know. I always take corrections and then embed them into the posts retroactively. Only way to really learn stuff is to be wrong about something.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

There’s nothing quite as ugly a sensation as getting blasted with a train’s exhaust when you’re literally standing 10-15 feet over the exhaust ports. Volcanic heat suddenly blossoms, the air is stained with diesel exhaust, it’s a real joy, that. Hey now?

Locomotive NS #4821 was providing ‘DP’ service to the main engine, adding motive power to a long chain of cargo boxes and containers.

Back tomorrow.

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