Archive for the ‘Pittsburgh’ Category
Rinse and repeat
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yet another doctor’s appointment, and post surgical checkup, was endured by Our Lady of the Pentacle at Allegheny General Hospital. Thus – her loyal husband, your humble narrator, and journeyman chauffeur – had some time to kill. The Mobile Oppression Platform was piloted over to an opportune parking spot nearby Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Commons Park West Park after dropping her off. I went to a spot where a four tracked trench exists, one which allows rail egress through the city which avoids ‘at grade’ road crossings. One exploited this location previously, as displayed in a post from last week.
That’s Norfolk Southern’s locomotive engine #4705 pictured above. I’m told it was built in 1980 as a ‘EMD GP50’ model, but Norfolk Southern rebuilt the thing, refashioning it into a ‘EMD GP33ECO’ model at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Pennsylvania’s Altoona. It complies with EPA’s ‘Tier 3’ pollution standards, in its modern configuration.
4705 has got 3,000 HP going on, under its hood, which provides some 64,200 lbs of tractive power. It was quite loud, as its engine sounds were bouncing around, on and off of those masonry walls.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was a delay at the Doctor, so Our Lady was stuck in the hospital for an hour or so later than we anticipated. Luckily, there’s a pizza shop nearby which is operated by a fellow named Anthony Badamo who learned his trade in GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN. After capturing these shots, I drove over to the North Side Badamo’s location (he has another one in Dormont, nearby HQ) and quaffed a couple of properly made slices of pizza. You people back in NYC have no idea how bad most Pittsburgh pizza actually is.
There’s an abrogation of all that’s holy called ‘Ohio Style’ which one of my neighbors back in Dormont is a devotee of. Avoid it. At all costs, avoid it. ‘Philadelphia style’ is also nasty, and makes the Mama Celeste frozen supermarket stuff seem palatable, but Y’know… Philly… everything about America’s consolation prize – Philly – just sucks. You’ve also got a few joints here that offer up the tomato and meat casserole which Chicago people will tell you is pizza.
It’s not pizza, it’s just a mess.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The block which the Badamo’s pizzeria is found on is also one where a lot of the North Side’s homeless street people spend their days, and a humble narrator standing alongside the car while eating out of the pizza box started attracting their attentions upon me.
The first guy who beggared me got a slice of pizza, as he told me he was hungry and a slice was only a couple/three bucks, and I don’t like the idea that anyone is hungry when a bit of my pocket change can fix that for at least a little while. I’ve been buying bagels for bums my whole life. My one condition is that they eat the food in front of me, so I know they won’t turn around and trade it for other ‘substances’ with one of their crew.
His opportunist compatriots, however, then began sizing me up and figuring out how much they could get if they were to boil me down for base elements, so I hopped in the car and drove to another spot closer to the hospital to finish lunch. Being charitable is one thing, being predated by addict scumbags is another.
While I was waiting for Our Lady nearby the hospital, a helicoptor ambulance appeared. It seems that the Allegheny North people have a helipad that I didn’t know about, so see – you actually do learn something new every day.
Back tomorrow.
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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.
Foyleeages
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m always entertained at the way that the colloquial phrase “Fall Foliage,” gets mangled by the proletariat in the manner of it being describable as a tongue twister. Our Lady’s recovery from a medical situation had finally progressed to the point that we decided it would OK to go out of doors to somewhere pleasant, bringing along Moe the Dog, to take a short walk together amongst the ‘foyleeajes.’ We thereby drove about a half hour north of HQ, to the intersection of the Panhandle and Montour trails in the McDonald section of Pittsburg.
This particular trail location was described in posts from back in May of this year – here, and here. Back then, the folyages were spring time green, and I had been on my own. Moe had probably just been born into the dog shelter and pet fostering system, which ultimately brought him to us. Personally, I’m pretty much the same icehole.
Moe the Dog seemingly enjoyed a very nice time. Moe got to mortally wound a vole, as part of his never ending quest to annihilate all mammals smaller than himself, then menaced another dog, and os now capable of pulling me forward – via the leash – at great rates of speed that I’m uncomfortable moving at. He’s also discovered ‘dog anchor mode,’ wherein he suddenly stops moving and solidly locks onto the planet. The vole thing happened during one of these sudden stops.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s ‘leaf season’ hereabouts, when the autumnal ‘burning hills of Pennsylvania’ asserts itself. Lots of orange and yellow colors are painting the hills of Appalachia, and it’s not just a hundred shades of green for a change.
Really nice experience, this. Moe the Dog ate about four pounds of those autumn leaves, then accosted a passing stranger and forced the poor guy to accept his puppy love attack. The guy didn’t mind, and Moe – thankfully – didn’t bite him in the crotch. Our Lady was beaming, taking the sun, and esthetically enjoying the setting.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I guess we were wandering about in this area for a couple of hours, but after an interval we had other places to go, and more prosaic things to accomplish. Our Lady enjoyed herself, after enduring a three week long hermitage. It was a good walk, with ideal climate. We stuffed Moe the Dog into the Mobile Oppression Platform for the ride back home. Moe fell asleep while standing in the back seat.
All was right in the world, at least for a few hours on an autumnal afternoon in Western Pennsylvania. This was the 7th of October, mind you, and it wasn’t until we got home that we saw the news from overseas about Israel. I think lots of things about that, but it’s not my wheel house and will be staying out of conversation about it, except to offer my actual reaction – ‘oh my god, all those ordinary people on all sides of this… who have been caught in the middle of all this hell… uggh.’
Back next week with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“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.
Whoopity Doo!
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the North Side of Pittsburgh, one will the presence of a medium sized city park called the ‘Allegheny Commons Park West.’
The National Aviary is contained therein, and the surrounding streets have an unusual number of schools and cultural institutions. I’m told this can be a bit of a rough area at night, but you hear that about a lot of neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.
During one of the post surgical checkups that Our Lady of the Pentacle had to endure, post facto of the procedure she was the subject of, I had a couple of hours to kill. I’ve been hungry for the shot of a Norfolk Southern train set moving through this rail trench, cut into the park, for a while now, and since I had some time to kill… I parked the Mobile Oppression Platform in nearby metered spot and then waited…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s NS’s #8041 in the shot above, which was built at the start of this century by General Electric and is a ES44AC model locomotive. Apparently, this sort of rig has lower emissions than earlier models, complying with the EPA’s ‘Tier 2’ standard. The AC stands for alternating current, and the tracks which it’s hurtling upon are part of the rail company’s “Pittsburgh Line.” The train is ‘coming into’ Pittsburgh, rather than leaving it.
As a note – I’m planning on returning to this spot when the autumnal leaves have fully turned. The trees are of the Ginkgo speciation, and their leaves turn bright yellow gold. Given that Pittsburgh’s official colors are black and gold, that’ll make for a nice ‘PGH’ shot – or so I reckon.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One has since returned to this spot, during other medical appointments, and I can report that this is a fairly reliable POV as far as train spotting goes. My cold weather plans for further explorations over the next few months involve following this set of tracks all the way up the Ohio River and to the Norfolk Southern Conway Yard. I haven’t scouted that one yet, but will be doing so soon enough.
Pittsburgh is so damn cool, and visually pleasing.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“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.
Them’s boats on that river
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
West End Bridge’s pedestrian pathway here in Pittsburgh had pulled my attentions upon itself, and mainly so for several exciting points of view which are found on its south eastern terminus. The bridge’s history was summarized in a prior post, here at Newtown Pentacle. A humble narrator plans on returning here, in the early morning hours, sometime soon for a sunrise session.
Additionally, one encountered a set of ‘Bernie Holes’ cut into the fencing where the bridge overflies the CSX Pittsburgh subdivision tracks. Nothing like a Bernie hole.
For those of you who haven’t been with me from the start, my dearly departed friend Bernard Ente was a devotee of the railroad world, and my mentor at the start of the whole Newtown Creek thing. Bernie would cut fence holes just big enough to stick a lens through at several photogenic spots along Newtown Creek, and all over Western Queens, to facilitate his art. Those of us who were fortunate enough to be in his circle refer to these artifacts of his time with us as ‘Bernie Holes.’ I doubt these are his, of course, but i call them ‘Bernie Holes’ nevertheless.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Bernie also introduced me to the NY Harbor community, where I was infected by a real appreciation of tugboats and the importance of the towing industry. A Towing outfit, here in Pittsburgh, is based out of a spot nearby the West End Bridge. Observationally, they mainly move fuel and mineral barges. There’s another set of these docks further east on the Monongahela River, nearby the Edgar Thomson steel mill.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any mechanism here for interaction between the tug or tow boats and the freight rail which is commonly witnessed as crossing through the city. Personally, I also find it odd that there isn’t a ferry system in Pittsburgh given the dense population centers stacked up on the shorelines of the 3 rivers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After leaving the West End Bridge, one continued along the Monongahela shoreline and the river ‘rail to trail’ pathway. It’s actually a bit scary, getting from ‘A’ to ‘B,’ but I’m not the timid type and would often scuttle along roadways in NYC that were far more dangerous for pedestrians. You ever walk the Astoria Boulevard fenceline of St. Michael’s Cemetery between 49th & 77th streets? Brrr.
That’s the Fort Pitt bridge which that boat is navigating under.
Back tomorrow with something different, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“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.
West End Bridge, over the Ohio River
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a steel tied arch bridge near the center of Pittsburgh, one which spans the very mouth of the Ohio River (formed up by the convergence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers), and it’s called the West End Bridge. West End Bridge’s construction was declared as accomplished in 1932, and the thing was built by Pittsburgh’s own American Bridge Company (steel and span) and the Foundation Company (foundation and masonry piers). West End Bridge was originally just under 2,000 feet long.
After a sprucing up and redesign in the 1990’s, which saw the addition of pedestrian and bike lanes, as well as the removal of several vehicle approach ramps on its northern side, the West End Bridge was and is 1,310 feet long.
There’s 66 feet of clearance over the water, it’s 58 feet wide in totality, and the bridge carries 4 lanes of traffic through a 40 foot space. West End Bridge is a challenging and unforgiving span to drive over, I would mention, given how narrow the travel lanes are. There’s scrapes and automotive paint residue all over the lane facing concrete superstructure of the thing, as it’s really easy to screw up and misjudge where your car is in relation to the structure when driving over it.
Additionally, like many of Pittsburgh’s bridges, you need to be in the correct lane when entering the crossing in order to access the local streets or highway interchanges on the exit side, something which you’re just supposed to know intuitively. Pittsburgh is all about ‘vernacular.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
West End Bridge connects the ‘South Hills’ communities to Pittsburgh’s quite urban North Side areas in the annexed ‘Allegheny City’ area, bypassing the congested triangular downtown area.
When exiting the bridge on the south side, you can continue southeast onto an arterial road called Saw Mill Run Blvd., which leads out into the suburban sprawl of the South Hills, or make turns either east or west to access the local streets along the Monongahela and Ohio rivers.
On the northern side of West End Bridge, one lane leads into Pittsburgh’s North Side areas, specifically the ‘Chateau’ neighborhood, and the Mexican War Streets zone. There’s also an interchange on the north side which offers access to local and state highways which ultimately connect to the interstate roads that snake along the Ohio River, or head easterly towards a different set of suburbs after moving through the City. It’s all quite complicated.
Pictured is the pedestrian path, which was actually offered quite an interesting walk. I was the sole occupant on this pathway, which sort of describes my entire existence when you get down to it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My interest in the thing had become piqued during the many back and forth trips to the Allegheny General Hospital, on the North Side, for Our Lady of the Pentacle’s medical procedures. It provides an interesting point of view for several ‘hard to reach’ – on foot – parts of Pittsburgh. There are other ‘primary’ crossings which receive far more traffic that accomplish the same function – the Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne bridges – but there you are.
For an ‘eye in the sky’ overview of what West End Bridge looks like, and its relationship to the larger city it serves, check out any of the posts offered here from the West End Overlook Park.
Back tomorrow with more.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“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.
The Newtown Pentacle 