Scuttling on the North Side of Pittsburgh
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the northern bank of the Allegheny River, here in Pittsburgh, there’s an area called the ‘North Side.’ There’s lots of individual neighborhoods found within the region, but this section of the greater metro area used to be an independent municipality called “Allegheny City” which Pittsburgh annexed at the start of the 20th century. Further up the river is where the Heinz Factory was, and the ‘zone’ I was in for this post was the one that touches the ‘Mexican War Streets.’ The spot which I was specifically in has the National Aviary as its landmark, with said institution sitting in the middle of the very nice Allegheny Commons Park.
I’ve mentioned the many, many diagnostic medical tests which a humble narrator has endured in recent months. Our Lady of the Pentacle has also been getting probed and pinched and irradiated, and on a recent morning while she was enjoying just such a procedure, I needed somewhere to take Moe the Dog. We ended up in this park, which is somewhat nearby the hospital, while waiting for Our Lady to be done. I made a mental note to come back on foot without Moe, and that’s why I was there on this particular day. Scouting!
You’re all caught up now.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve been looking for a spot to observe these rail tracks, cut into a trench through the park, for a while. While Moe was chasing down a squirrel, the little dog led me right here. There’s a swell ‘autumn’ shot to be gathered here, with the black Norfolk Southern locomotives moving through the trench. The trees planted along the fence are Gingkos, I’m told, whose leaves turn a bright golden yellow during fall. You’ve got your black train and your gold leaves – which are not just Steelers colors but in fact are the heraldic colors of Pittsburgh.
On this particular afternoon, a humble narrator wasn’t trying to get all ‘artsy fartsy,’ instead I was walking quickly and observing the state of the neighborhood ‘milieu.’ North Side has an insalubrious ‘reputation’ according to the ‘born n bred’ Pittsburghers, but to my eyes… Heck. East New York and Far Rockaway are my delimiters for danger, so my perception of things is a bit different than that of the locals, I think, due to the experience of having lived in “Home Sweet Hell” my whole life.
Walk around Industrial Maspeth at night during a pandemic, I’d offer, if you want actual scary.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The purpose of this adventure was to get some exercise and fix a geospatial awareness of those rail tracks in the old noggin, and to also work out how to get to this area using the T light rail rather than driving here. This section of Pittsburgh reminds me of several spots in Brooklyn and Queens, especially their scarcity of street parking.
One leaned into it and started heading southwards.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This may look pretty desolate, but the land under these expressway ramps is a parking lot about two blocks away from the sports ball stadium which the Pirates baseball team plays in. On game days, this lot would be brimming with tail gate BBQ’s and hundreds if not thousands of people and their vehicles.
The rest of my day’s plan involved the other side of Pittsburgh, and I’d need to cross two rivers on foot to get there.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m told that the modernist building in the shot above is the HQ of the ALCOA aluminum outfit. That river is the Allegheny, with downtown Pittsburgh looming up behind and to the south of it.
It was a warm but lovely day in Pittsburgh, with a decent breeze and temperatures in the middle 80’s. It was fairly humid, however.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are three fairly identical bridges found here, called the ‘Three Sisters.’ The one pictured above is the Rachel Carson Bridge, named for the author of the seminal environmentalist book “Silent Spring.”
Back next week with more from the Paris of Appalachia.
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Restive placeholding
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It had become furiously hot here in Pittsburgh for the better part of a week, with temperatures in the high 90’s. This is pretty unusual for this region. Humidity is the culprit behind summertime shvitzing hereabouts, not high temperatures. Pittsburgh’s ‘normal’ highs in the summer are in the middle 80’s, with night time atmospherics typically dropping into the 70’s or even the 60’s. The climate is modulated by the river valley topography, and the vast amount of urban forest. There’s mature trees everywhere around here, and even across the street from HQ here in Dormont you’ll find a forested gorge with flowing water. We regularly see all kinds of critters – hawks, ground hogs, deer.
Oh, Appalachia.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As part of our ‘let’s make the puppy tired’ agenda, Moe the dog has led Our Lady of the pentacle and myself to many places where a long linear walk is possible in recent weeks. Grandview Avenue up on Mt. Washington is where we were, and I took a minute to wave the camera around for a handheld panorama. Check out the original giant image here.
Since our last check in with Moe, when he bit me in the crotch, he’s chilled out a bit. Miles and miles of walking are needed to deplete his batteries, however, but… this is me, so hold my beer. The latest wrinkle and phase Moe is in is him needing to poop at 4 in the morning, so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m constantly remarking to myself on the qualitative differences in civil infrastructure encountered here in Pittsburgh, and how they contrast with what you’d see back in Queens. The picture above is from Patomac Avenue in Dormont, where Newtown Pentacle HQ is now found.
Back tomorrow with something else, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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CSX parade
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #62 was the first locomotive to pass by the Sly Fox Brewery, here in Pittsburgh, as a humble narrator ‘rehydrated’ himself with several pints of beer after a long walk on a hot day. As a note, regarding anything I’m passing along about these trains in todays post – make/model etc. – is based on a ‘scratch the surface’ level of google search. I freely admit that this subject is one that I’m absolutely not an expert on. I like taking pictures of, and having a general knowledge of, locomotive stuff but that’s it. If something is incorrect here, please share the skinny in the comment section.
Supposedly, this is a ‘GE AC44CW’ model 4,400 HP locomotive, built in 1995. It was hauling a staggeringly heterogeneous load – tankers, cargo boxes, etc. That was the first one.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Next up was CSX #5426, a ‘GE ES44DC’ which was loosed upon the nation’s rail system in 2007. It was also hauling a mixed up collection of various forms of cargo boxes. Both of these trains were heading towards the Ohio River side of the city.
Right about this point, I headed into the brewery and ordered a second beer and a cheeseburger. I had earned that burger, dammit.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From the opposite direction, heading away from the Ohio River in the direction of McKeesport, CSX #7247 hurtled past the lens. I’m led to believe that this model is a ‘rebuilt GE CM44AC’ but I have no real idea what that means.
It was also hauling a conglomeration of random cargo cars.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Next up, and heading for the Ohio, was CSX #5209. This train is the same model GE ES44DC as CSX #62 in the first shot, and I’m told it has been hurtling around North America since 2005.
Burger quaffed, second drink guzzled, I headed back inside the brewery to purchase more fortification, as well as a tall glass of ice water. It’s critical to mix some water in when you’re drinking beer. It’s nice to catch a buzz, I always say, but being drunk is a miserable experience. At least it is for me.
A fumbling idiot with no dexterity, absolutely zero emotional or behavioral barriers, fairly useless.
That description is applicable to me when I’m still sober, by the way. Drunk me… that can be chilling.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Heading the other direction, away from the Ohio, CSX #5101 showed up next. It’s a GE AC44CW, same model as #62, and I have no idea when it started juggernauting around America’s rail system. Other than that it was built sometime between 1993 and 2004, when General Electric was still producing this model of locomotive.
I should mention that I had some company, two young guys whom I had struck up a conversation with on my way into town on the T. They were talking trains, and when they said ‘heritage unit,’ I realized they were railfanning, I turned them on to my ultimate destination at the brewery and they met me there. Turns out the two guys I was hanging out with were employed in one way or another as Railroaders. One of them was a sales agent who booked space on a competing company’s trains, and the other worked as a freight train conductor for that same entity.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
By the time that CSX #7238 appeared, I had basically spent as much time at the brewery as I had done walking around. The bar was closing up, and we were bid a fond adieu about 9:30 pm.
That’s a ‘GE U30C’ model train, and nearly as old as I am having come out of the factory in 1969. It was doing mineral hauling, with cars that were emblazoned with the logo of ‘coke express.’ That means that they had been working on delivering the stuff to a steel mill further up the Monongahela River, and were heading back to the Ohio side empty.
I took the ‘T’ back home, and Our Lady of the Pentacle was floored when she saw that my normally grim visage had been replaced, as I crossed the threshold by a hideous imposture of a smile upon my face.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Objects in motion…
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s Pittsburgh’s ‘T’ light rail coming off of the Panhandle Bridge, and hurtling towards the Station Square stop on the south side of the Monongahela River. Hurtling is probably overstating it, but there you are. One had used the service to go to that self same stop after a bit of a hullabaloo, ridden the Monongahela Incline to Grandview Avenue atop Mount Washington, and was proceeding on foot down the north face of the landform in a manner diagonal. It was hot in Pittsburgh, with rising humidity, but a pleasant breeze.
A humble narrator was shvitzing heavily due to the ambient dew point and temperature. That’s the suss.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The PJ McArdle roadway, as this ‘truss pontem’ on the north face of Mt. Washington is called, is where one scuttled. This is the “upper” section being explored in these posts, if you want to see the “lower” section – or any of the times that this structure has been discussed – click here.
One had a whole other plan for the rest of the day as it led into evening, of course. Remember that bar I had found, the one with the nearby rail road tracks? Yessir, that’s where I was going.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the same bridge pictured above, which the T is seen riding on in the first shot of today’s post, and is offered for completeness’s sake. “Up, down, all around,” that’s my motto. One navigated his scuttling towards the ‘rails to trails’ pathway.
As mentioned in prior posts, this was a fairly warm day in Pittsburgh. I hadn’t drank anything at all (water, Gatorade, etc.) since leaving HQ about 4-5 hours previously, and one was a bit parched by this point. That’s another big difference between NYC and Pittsburgh – no bodegas to stop into and grab either the Gatorade or bottle of cold water from.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I cannot walk past that rusty earth mover above without taking a shot of it, can’t tell you why. My plan was to spend an actual evening at the brewery, including having dinner there. On my way into Pittsburgh from Dormont, a couple of younger guys on the T were talking and passing a phone back and forth looking at pictures. I overheard one of them said ‘heritage unit,’ and I couldn’t help but but in and ask if they were railfanning.
Somewhat sheepishly they said no, and then ‘kind of.’ I told them where I’d be in the evening and invited them to join in, and eventually they met up with me at the Sly Fox Brewery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This spot is gentrification, Pittsburgh style. The centerpiece of this spot is a building which used to be the world’s largest terminal warehouse or something like that. A NYC real estate developer bought it and refashioned it as ‘The Highline,’ which is branded with a silhouette of the pre Hudson Yards NYC skyline. Odd choice, that.
It’s quite reminiscent of the Bush Terminal complex in South Brooklyn, but is a little less ‘head up its own ass’ than that NYC EDC clusterfuck in Sunset Park is. The project doesn’t seem to have ‘landed’ well, other than the brewery, and observationally speaking they’ve had trouble attracting commercial tenants. Perhaps, then, it is actually just like the Bush Terminal in Brooklyn.
So, what am I doing, hanging at a gentrifier/yuppie place? Dinner, drinks, and a show. That’s what.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The show got started. I like this spot, in particular, because of the grade crossing, with its obligatory signal bells and barrier arms. You get a few minutes of warning that a train is coming, allowing for the setting up of the camera and positioning of the photographer.
That’s CSX #62 coming into view, my fellow nerds. The first of many, as it turned out.
Tomorrow – an absolute parade of CSX’S Choo-Choo trains on the Pittsburgh Subdivision.
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High to low
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a ride on the T from HQ in Dormont to the center of Pittsburgh, a humble narrator rode the Monongahela Incline up the face of Mount Washington and then proceeded along stately Grandview Avenue. My desire for this walk was to explore the upper reaches of the PJ McArdle roadway, a diagonally placed truss structure which starts at the top of Mt. Washington and leads you back down to ground level about a mile away, horizontally speaking. There’s a pedestrian and bike lane on McArdle, which is mostly ‘protected’ behind a concrete structure. Mostly.
Just before heading onto the thing and descending back down to my usual base level on the street, the ‘Saint Mary of the Mount Church & Saint Adalbert Church’ caught my eye. Don’t know much about it, but it’s a cool looking church, if you ask me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What drew me to this spot on this particular day were the many times I’ve driven up or down this roadway, every one of which saw me eyeing the pedestrian path in a somewhat lascivious manner. The views are quite stellar from this path. This walk was another one of my scouting missions, and I intend on returning here sometime at night, when the trees have enjoyed their autumnal transmogrification. I should be able to get away with doing tripod shots here, but the vibration from passing automotive traffic is probably going to hobble that effort.
That’s downtown Pittsburgh, by the way, at the confluence of the three rivers; Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio. The bridges are: the ‘Fort Duquesne’ in the distance, with ‘Fort Pitt’ poking up through the tree canopy at bottom left. It was a hot but breezy day in Pittsburgh, with climbing levels of humidity.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Grandview Avenue can be analogized for New Yorkers as being a lot like the Brooklyn Promenade. It’s one of the high points in Pittsburgh, and certainly offers the most well known set of views of the place, but I actually prefer the West End Overlook. There’s a huge public space between the two inclines with overlook platforms, which is populated sparsely, in comparison to Brooklyn’s analogous promenade ‘back home.’ Right about where the PJ McArdle Roadway slopes away and down from the top of Mount Washington, a series of buildings are set in along the steep and sharp edge of the landform.
Apartment houses and private homes, what looks to me like it must be an Old Age home, a bunch of bars, restaurants, and a catering hall are amongst what I’ve observed up,here. These buildings all jut out onto structural cantilevers to take advantage of the epic views, which is apparently quite a valuable commodity. I wouldn’t say no to living in that place pictured above, provided that the lottery gods are smiling.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The fence on the left, the one in green made of iron, is in an absolutely terrifying state of repair. What’s so terrifying about it? I looked on the other side of the rusted out fence. There’s about a 30 feet drop on the other side of the rickety thing. That’s a thirty foot drop onto heavily forested land, which would only be the location where you first bounce, and that’s where your tumbling journey down a roughly 1,000 feet/60-70 degree angled descent would start. Wow.
I don’t know if any of you have enjoyed any similar pleasures, but a humble narrator once experienced an icy slide down a forested hill, of about 35 degrees, and nearly cut his neck open on some thorn bearing shrubbery which was uprooted when I body slammed into it. Mount Washington? Brrr…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
By far, the coolest thing you get to see along this stretch of the PJ McArdle Roadway is the trackway for the Monongahela Incline, whose funicular trackway is cantilevered over the prime cantilever which carries the vehicle lanes. There’s a concretized set aside area surrounding the thing, and this is another composition I plan on coming back for at night. All those lights on the track are illuminated! Don’t forget, I was scouting on this one.
A humble narrator is quite aware of how ostentatious he must appear, while photographing. My oft stated policy is to keep moving, lest one draw unwanted attention. In this case, however, I broke my rule and hung around this spot since the funicular service is actually fairly frequent. I know, also, that which goes down must also come up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This view will definitely be revisited as well. I’m wondering what morning looks like right here, but I mean really early in the morning. Might be a cool shot when they’re popping off fireworks at the stadiums, such as when one of the local sports ball teams validate the hope and trust which their fans have offered or when Taylor Swift (of blessed memory) comes back to Pittsburgh.
They really like the sports ball stuff around here, as a note.
Pittsburgh is so damn cool! Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
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The Newtown Pentacle 