Posts Tagged ‘CSX’
Hey Now! Squared
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First… the bad news: That brewery along these railroad tracks, which I’ve been haunting since moving to Pittsburgh from NYC, has closed its doors.
It seems that me showing up once every couple of weeks to photograph CSX trains, while drinking the two beers they sold me, wasn’t enough to keep them open. That’s why these shots are from ‘above’ instead of the usual ‘down there.’ The good news is that the brewery immediately changed hands and a new operator for the space is currently moving into the property. Whew!
Your humble narrator was ensconced upon an elevated causeway which forms a bridge over the rail tracks, a trestle structure designed with heavy trucking in mind. This entire area used to be part of a rail yard operated by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR.
The building that the brewery, and this very ramp upon which I was standing is based within, used to serve as an intermodal facility where cargo could be unloaded from rail cars, warehoused, and then loaded onto trucks for local delivery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s empty offices and residences, mainly, these days. It’s owned and operated by one of the big real estate players from South Brooklyn who have had their hooks in the Bush Terminal along the Gowanus for a long time. Same set of problems here, as they have created there.
The riverfront trail is nearby, along with with Colors Park, but observationally the retail levels of this property are disastrously underutilized, and I barely see anyone coming or going from this structure who isn’t a security guard or maintenance worker. There’s an office of some kind in there, as you’ll notice ‘professional looking’ people exiting the place while wearing lanyards with ID’s on them at about five in the afternoon. Other than that – it’s usually quiet as a tomb. Perfect for me, but not so much for all 3 of their retail tenants.
I’ve been struck, incidentally, after watching a series of documentaries about Pittsburgh which were crafted back in the 1980’s and 90’s by a fellow who works for the local PBS station (WQED) named Rick Sebak.
It’s startling to see ‘that’ Pittsburgh, before the suburban diaspora really kicked in, when the Downtown section was pulsing with life and the ‘Station Square’ area surrounding this ‘Highline’ building was absolutely popping with both daytime and nightlife activity.
These days, it feels like there was a plague…
oh… wait…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #5381 was hauling some sort of mineral – which looks like coal – but I’m assuming that one there so let’s use ‘mineral.’
That isn’t some sort of political statement, by the way. I’ve caught crap from the local boomers, on social media, about this verbal stand of mine, but they’re the same people who use the word ‘Democrat’ like it’s an accusation.
It may walk like one, and quack like one, but I’ve learned over the years not to pronounce something as being a duck if I don’t know for sure that it is indeed a Duck. Looks like coal, probably coal, I don’t know for sure.
Pronouncing something as being ‘something’ without any sort of proof or knowledge of the subject you’re commenting upon may be enough to get you elected to the Senate as a Republican, but otherwise that’s just how you end up with egg on your face. (that’s a political statement)
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One walked back over to Station Square for a ride back to HQ on the T, and son of gun if Norfolk Southern didn’t make an appearance too.
This was a red letter day for rail, in the end. Admittedly – not a great POV for Norfolk Southern #9813 up there, as it rode along their elevated trackage on a berm set against the foothills of Mount Washington, but beggars and choosers – huh?
The Sebak documentaries are charming, folksy, and betray a real love and appreciation for Pittsburgh and its unique cultures. If you can find them without paying PBS… well… why don’t you just donate to PBS instead?
What struck me while watching these Sebak films is the visualization of the depopulation of the central node of Pittsburgh’s business districts. In the 1980’s, films of ‘Downtown’ reveal a thriving metropolis with thousands of people walking the streets and interacting with retail level shops.
Modern Pittsburgh’s Downtown ain’t like that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Several times on this short walk, I asked myself ‘where is everyone?’
Not in the sort of areas I’d normally inhabit, where the answer usually is ‘no, and why in the name of hell are you here at a sewer plant or waste transfer station?’ No, I’m talking mid afternoon on a weekday, in the business, political, and administrative center of an American City.
The difficult part about capturing this sequence of photos involved getting the camera’s focus to land on the train, rather than on the web of wires and tree branches surrounding it. Other than that, I was just sitting on a station bench, waiting for a T light rail ride back to HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Tomorrow, we’ll start a much longer walk – an actual adventure of a scuttle, if you’d indulge me. I had a great time at least.
At last… the long threatened return to Skunk Hollow! The things I saw… wonders… wonders…
Back tomorrow – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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Pinion point, Pittsburgh
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the south shore of the Monongahela River, beneath Pittsburgh’s ‘Fort Pitt Bridge,’ you’ll notice two locomotives transiting through the shot above, in the lower section of the photo above.
A CSX unit is moving eastwards directly on the shoreline, and up on a raised berm on the hill, a Norfolk Southern unit was heading west. Neat, and this one got a ‘hey now.’
This is the latest in a series of astoundingly short walks which endemic ice and snow conditions have boxed me into. Essentially, all within reach of mass transit, so I didn’t have to dig the car out of the driveway again.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’d be heading along one of the waterfront trails for the remainder of this walk, through an area referred to colloquially as ‘the bath tub.’ It got that nickname due to its certain tendency to flood during the spring melts, which raises the water level of the Monongahela.
I’ve got a weird relationship with driving, I’d mention. Love having the freedom it offers, but hate having to ‘mind the car’ and detest having to loop back to wherever I parked it on a walk.
Serendipity is mentioned a lot around here, as a descriptor for those random concurrencies which sometimes assemble before the camera while scuttling. Having the car along with me tends to cancel out any chance of such random events occurring, as I have to mind the vehicle rather than my surroundings. Also, you can’t ‘see’ anything from a car as you’re moving too quickly.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve got a lot of rules. No conscious trespass for instance. I operate within the sure knowledge (and experience) that eventually I’ll be invited in, and like a vampire, I need that invite to properly ‘do my thing.’
This part of the waterfront trail has recently undergone a cycle of repairs, and it was blocked off by construction equipment for most of the first year I’ve was out here in Pittsburgh, and just as it opened to the public – that’s when I shattered my ankle.
Back on all of my feet now, and I’m glad to have this pathway available, especially so on rainy days when you’re pretty much walking under the elevated ramps of an interstate and using it as a concrete umbrella..
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in the first post of this series, this was during the initial ‘melt days’ after several weeks of sub freezing temperatures. Everything was dripping and oozing with some sort of latent horror. I had worn the leather fedora as a prophylactic for this day, anticipating that ice and snow might be crashing down on me from on high. It ain’t a hard hat, but it does offer a half inch of thick cow hide as a buffer twixt the outside world and ‘me gulliver.’
Yes, ‘A Clockwork Orange’s’ made up ‘future slang’ is a core part of my brain. Hear me, my dear droogie?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A series of interesting compositions are available under the on-ramp of the Fort Pitt bridge, for the itineraries of visiting photographers to the Paris of Appalachia. Lots of interesting massing shapes, all crushing up against other, while transferring massive amounts of weight and ‘load’ just all over the place. I spent a little time down here, and resolved to add this spot to my growing list of ‘come back with a tripod’ for night time or low light shots in the future.
There’s multiple ‘to-do’ lists at this stage.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Wasn’t walking on the highway, despite appearances. The trail threads along in parallel to the ‘parkway east,’ aka I-376.
Back tomorrow with boids.
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Hungry Frustrarian Empire
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once again, your humble narrator finds himself locked firmly in your past, as the very moment these words are being typed it is currently the 24th of February as far as these words go, but the photos were shot back on Friday the 13th of the same month.
You’re seeing this mid March, if I’ve got my scheduling correct. These shots represent the part of February when you wondered if it would ever stop snowing, and pondered if the Fimbulvetr was finally underway. The cool thing is that as you’re reading this, we both know how things turned out.
It’s been really, really difficult to find a walking path not blocked by ice and snow. Mentioned many times, Pittsburgh ‘shit the bed’ on snow removal. Not just the city, but the private entities hereabouts too.
Disappointing. Fixable, but I don’t want to fix things anymore.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The original plan was to ride the T light rail to the very ‘developed’ Monongahela Waterfront nearby the Station Square Stop. I’d ride the incline up to the top of Mt. Washington, I thought, but the Incline was out of service.
Ok! ‘Plan B’ took the form of me walking in the street, along a de facto highway, because some bunch of goofballs decided to pile snow on the sidewalks, forming eight foot high mounds. This pathway delivered me to a parking lot, which was expertly plowed, shoveled, and treated for ice. The parking lot leads to an entrance to one of the river trails.
It just ‘has to’ have a path, I thought, given that the trail abuts one of the Crown Jewels hereabouts – Riverhounds Soccer Stadium. I mean…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The good news is that I saw a Towboat towing something. It was navigating easterly along the Monongahela River. Yay!
I cannot express how bored I’ve recently been. As mentioned above, we’re still deep in the wintertime here in Pittsburgh, at the time of this writing at the end of February. No Bueno, indeed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was the condition of the trail, the one I was hoping would be cleared, incidentally.
These shots were gathered on the first actual ‘melt’ day, with temperatures above freezing, that had occurred in about a two to three week interval, since a big snow maker had dumped 18 or so inches across the region. It shut down a lot of options for me.
I was stuck sloshing through this, which kind of ‘pissed off’ my bad ankle a bit. Wasn’t awful, but the organelle definitely made its displeasures known.
Fixable. This snow business is fixable. Easily so, and everybody who participated in fixing the problem would get to see themselves on the tv.
Fixable…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oddly, given the condition of the trail, an enormous multi acre for pay parking lot was neatly cleared of snow and ice. I walked around there for a bit, and luckily spotted CSX #3155 as it tried to sneak past me while passing under the Fort Pitt Bridge. Imagine…
The trail on the other side of the parking lot was clad in deep snow similarly to the section detailed in the previous shot. Flarn!
Hands were thrown up in disgust, I fell to my knees and decried cruel fate. Imagine that… it was cold and snowy out in early February… and since I was largely unlucky in my pursuits – no incline, no sidewalk, no access – I could blame it on… Friday the 13th!
Dun dun dunnnnn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I back tracked through the well shoveled parking lot, walked across the blocked sidewalk street, and then just boarded a T back to Dormont. Real short walk, this one, maybe three miles all told. At least the camera got up off its butt, and did something. Hmmphf.
Back tomorrow.
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Operation De temps à autre
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While walking across the Monongahela River, onboard the Smithfield Street Bridge here in Pittsburgh, one became enamored by the reflectivity of the ‘rotting’ ice flows along its southern bank. Add in some light rail crossing over the river on the Panhandle Bridge? Nepenthe.
One was awaiting the arrival of ‘proper rail,’ but I’ll take what I can get.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That large brick building in the background, behind the Panhandle and Liberty Bridges, is the location of that brewery which I’m always shooting CSX trains from. I’d be heading that way, but this wasn’t a ‘have a beer’ day, it was a ‘short walk’ day.
All told, probably about 4-6 miles by the time I got back to HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My dreams came true, and ‘Hey Now’ was exhaled from that noisy hole on my sensory and gustation stalk, which the humans might call a ‘head,’ an entry point to the within that I normally pour coffee, or stuff hamburgers or candy into.
CSX was on the scene, navigating along their ‘Pittsburgh Subdivision’ tracks. Well, it’s not really ‘navigation’… it’s more ‘operation.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The cool thing about this ‘zone’ is that you can hear the train coming, long before it comes into view. There’s a few ‘grade crossings’ along these tracks which necessitates the crew blowing their train horn, and that begins the better part of a mile away in either direction. When the locomotive gets close, alarmed signal arms at the grade crossings are triggered, so flashing lights and ringing bells join the party.
It’s great… for me, at least.
Hey now!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After this capture, one found his way down and over to that brewery, but as mentioned, didn’t partake. I was being greedy, and wanted to catch another rail shot while I was in the area.
Hey Now!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After #3155 passed by, my toes were pointed in the direction of transit and back home. I couldn’t really feel the toes, but there you are.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
Polar Xpress?
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, after a recent social engagement your humble narrator decided it would be a good idea to take a walk during a ‘Snow Squall’ here in Pittsburgh, just to see what that’s like.
Verdict: It sucked.
Cold, windy, wet. My grandmother always said ‘you’re put on this earth to suffer,’ but she had a Slavic mentality. I had arrived nearby the Sly Fox Brewery which is often mentioned here, and took up position to wait for a train to pass through. I allocated no more than a half hour of ‘hanging around’ time before I’d move on and start heading back to HQ.
Lucky…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First CSX traffic moving through the pass was a work truck, riding on one of those cool rigs which allow them to follow the rails. Always a good sign when you see these guys driving by, as the odds increase dramatically that something big will be approaching soon.
My ‘minimum kit’ bag does not include the ‘railfan’ scanner radio which allows me to spy on the RR company’s radio traffic. Everything in the minimum setup is about weight, and reducing ‘the carry’ as much as is possible out of the bag. My normal camera bag, a 32 litre knap sack, weighs about thirty pounds when fully loaded. This ‘minimum kit’ bag weighs about five pounds, with most of that due to a 24-105 zoom lens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #5462 made all my suffering go away when it appeared. It was still snowing, but it wasn’t the ‘white out’ photo condition I was hoping for.
Nevertheless, here’s a Sunday afternoon ‘Snow Squall freight train photo’ for you, lords and ladies. Choo-Choo.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I wasn’t planning on hanging around the brewery, or to even order myself a drink on this occasion. Wasn’t that kind of day. Heck, I’d just had brunch with friends about 90 minutes previously.
As soon as # 5462 passed through, I headed up and onto a causeway that eventually meets back up with and t level with Carson Street, where where this scuttle had began a couple of miles behind.
One of the more ‘freeing’ things about being able to properly walk again also revolves around not spending an absolute fortune on cabs. I’d head over to the light rail station and catch a mass transit ride back to HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One last shot from up top, and then the camera and bag straps received a quick policing. The ‘warm’ coat I was wearing, as opposed to the normal filthy black raincoat, is kind of ‘bubbly.’ It’s a lot like wearing a bed’s comforter, with a good inch to an inch and a half of insulation. It does make me feel like the cartoon character which the Michelin tire company uses as their mascot. Clumsy, but warm.
A quick few blocks of walking occurred next, and then I was at the Station Square stop on the T light rail waiting for my ride.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long and soon I was walking through the front door of HQ, where Moe the Dog was surprisingly happy to see me. My dog can be kind of a jerk, but it’s swell when he’s in a good mood.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 