Posts Tagged ‘CSX’
A Hey Now! Triad
Thursday sep 24
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a medium length walk, one ended up at a familiar spot in the South Side Flats section of Pittsburgh.
What’s now called ‘Burgher’s Brewery,’ formerly the ‘Sly Fox Brewery,’ sits alongside a set of CSX railroad tracks that are fairly busy. Upon my arrival at the brewery, and after a visit to the lavatory, I purchased a pint of ale and got busy.
First up was CSX #1897, which was painted up in ‘heritage’ colors.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
American Railroads offered a quite confusing business map when they were the dominant form of investable industry in this country, and it gets more so when you enter and exit the post Conrail era. The current nationwide companies consolidated, with other survivors of the industry’s early 1970’s apocalypse and nationalization, out of Conrail.
Outfits like Norfolk Southern and CSX were formed from the smoking rubble of the bankrupted freight rail system, dominated by Pennsylvania Railroad and their arch rivals New York Central in the northeast.
This is too long a tale to tell, so I’ll direct you towards Wikipedia for what Conrail was and how all of the modern freight rail companies ‘fell’ out of it.
To understand the ‘world which was,’ let’s just analogize that in the late 19th and early 20th – you didn’t gamble on bitcoin or tech stocks which were promising breakthrough AI services – you bought into railroad stock, and then got out as soon as it paid a return. Rail was pretty much the ‘high tech sector’ back then, but was far more volatile. Let that sink in.
All of the modern freight carriers run ‘heritage units,’ with specialized paint jobs, which signify railroad routes and companies which they have consolidated into the modern operation. Rail fans love this stuff.
‘Monon Railroad’ was one of the many smaller outfits that were combined into CSX. Hear about 1897 direct from the horse’s mouth.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I usually don’t keep shooting after the ‘head of the snake’ has passed out of frame, but there were several ‘DPU’ locomotives in line behind 1897 and a couple of them were interesting to me.
Y’know, even if I was shooting video here, there’s no way I’d be able to convey the absolute landslide of reflected noise which a group of locomotives makes when passing through a narrow brick lined slot like this. Were I able to record it, I wouldn’t be able to play it back at the same volume without the benefit of some movie theater’s sound system – and even then… LOUD.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another interesting locomotive was in line, this one painted up with the branding and color way of the ‘Maryland Midland’ outfit.
Hmm. That’s a new one.
I headed inside the brewery and ordered a ‘reload’ for my ale, and also paid my tab. As mentioned often, two drinks is plenty for me these days.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I started walking towards the Station Square Light Rail station shortly after CSX #5236 up there passed me by. I followed one of the trails, after returning my glass to the bartender. Yep, inspected the porcelain again, then set off. I managed to meet up with the group of people I wanted to see, and got a free hot dog out of it too.
At the end of the game, after arriving back at HQ, I had walked something like nine miles all told. ‘Not every walk has to be the Bataan Death March’ is – as you might recall – a new motto of mine.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While plying the trail towards the T light rail station, yet another CSX train rolled past me. All told, I felt pretty satisfied with the outing’s effort.
My day didn’t suck.
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.
CSX Trains and Hey Now! Vibes
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few shots from the end of a short but cool walk in Pittsburgh, and pictured above is the ‘Uptown’ or ‘The Bluff’ zone along the Monongahela River. Picture’s POV is from the pedestrian walkways of the South Tenth Street Bridge.
I decided to head over to the brewery nearby the CSX tracks that I frequent, in the ‘South Side Flats’ section. Hadn’t had a drink in a couple of weeks, and a cold beer sounded fantastic.
About 15 minutes worth of scuttling, and I arrived. Headed inside, inspected the porcelain, purchased my drink, headed for the door leading to the outdoor seating… and just as I was walking outside…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
CSX #1852, all spiffed up with a July 4th paint job, hurtled through the pass. Funnily enough, the night before this was shot, I had been chatting with a railfan buddy of mine back in NYC, saying ‘I really don’t care about all that July 4 stuff they’re doing, if I were to get a shot or not, I don’t care.’ I also extended that statement to cover the Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ event too. Pfft.
Of course, I got shots of everything, including Big Boy, which will be published fairly soon. Newtown Pentacle Time Warp reminder again, I’m way ahead of the schedule here – for once. This post is being written during the second week of July, for instance.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
CSX #7505 came through next, heading westerly just like 1852 was. Empty mineral cars behind it.
Finished that first beer right about here, went inside and received a reload. Headed back out to where I was sitting, and…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
Oddly enough, the sequentially numbered ‘next’ train coming through was CSX #7506, heading easterly.
Finished my second beer, and then paid my tab. Began getting ready to head for the T light rail, and catch a ride back to HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now!
CSX #3610 was the next one through, which I captured from an elevation. This is from pretty much directly over the spot that I normally shoot from, below at ground level. The train? Heading easterly.
Short walk, and a pretty cool day for a humble narrator.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I keep on saying it to myself – ‘everytime you leave the house with the camera it doesn’t have to be a marathon, icehole.’
Just out of curiosity – if you’re having a mental chat with yourself, talking out loud to that person in the bathroom mirror for instance, how do you address the part of yourself you’re trying to speak to?
Hey ‘Jerkwater,’ ‘Sir,’ ‘youse,’ or do you talk to yourself formally, with a ‘Mister’ or ‘Frau’? I’ll usually unleash a chord of blue language at my doppelgänger, but that’s ok as luckily the other guy – the one in the mirror – finds my invective as funny as I do.
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.
Three ‘Hey Now’s!’ and done
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Near the end of a fairly long effort, and your humble narrator got to shout ‘Hey Now!’ Once again when CSX #6919 appeared, heading westerly back towards McKees Rocks where I had spent the first half of the day.
My suffering is now non localized, I’d mention. This time last year, my gamey left ankle would have been demanding attention. Now, it’s just the body wide after effect of six months of sitting followed by a year of rehabilitation all focused on that ankle.
The rest of the physical firmament has turned to jelly, and these longer walks I’m involving myself with are designed to increase endurance time. All of the more discrete musculatures involved with walking, in my back in particular, need to be hardened back up.
The immediate goal is to make walking twenty miles with a thirty pound pack hanging off of me ‘normal’ again. Truth be told, can’t currently pull that off. I’m getting fatigued, and my back cramps up, at ten miles.
Upwards and onwards, however, I’ll get there and be glad I did when I do.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the meantime, it’s just suffering. Push on, don’t give up, just another thousand steps, go. Luckily, the idea of an icy cold beer motivates. I made it to the brewery, inspected the porcelain, and then ordered myself a single ale and took up position outside while quaffing. My feet were sore, from all the flexing and slapping against the pavement.
I didn’t have to wait too long.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now! CSX #3272 thundered past just as I was swallowing the ‘backwash’ gulp at the bottom of my glass. That’s it, I thought, and resolved to start heading back to HQ. Returned the glass within, straightened out my various straps and pouches, checked the various settings on the camera, and headed towards the T light rail.
Turns out I wasn’t quite done yet.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #830 appeared, heading easterly. Y’know, I lost count of all the trains I saw this on this particular walk. Hey Now!
That was literally it, for me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s about a ten minute walk to get over to the Station Square T stop, and I just cannot resist cracking out a shot of the Liberty Bridge overflying that concrete factory down there. Can’t do it.
I seem to recall being a sweaty mess during this part of the day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At Station Square, a Red Line T was boarded.
It’s funny, I’ve heard the locals and even people who work for the service refer to it as ‘The Trolley’ several times. Always bothers me, for some reason.
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.
Hey Now’s! and a raptor
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with a fairly epic scuttle, one which began in McKees Rocks, and after a quick bus ride, continues with Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats neighborhood along the Monongahela River shoreline.
I was standing on the pedestrian walkway incorporated into the Duquesne Incline, which provided for an elevated POV over the scene.
Hey Now! I don’t see CSX doing this sort of thing very often around these parts, they must have been pretty busy on this particular day. Normally, one set of tracks heads east and the other goes west, but on this day – both tracks were focusing locomotive traffic to the east.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #804 was being held in place while the other train rolled through.
Me? I was just ‘waiting for stuff to happen’ while enjoying a rare elevated point of view over the scene.
There’s a very familiar ‘rail trail’ down there which I scuttle along all the time. I’m always told that the South Side is ‘boring,’ but there’s frequent rail traffic on display here all the time!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That first train which passed through, coincidentally, was CSX #833.
Hey Now!
Cannot resist the compositions available along this stretch.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was hunting around a half mile away, nearby the confluence of the three rivers, but I’ve got a zoom lens. That’s a bald eagle, heading towards the left of the shot. The ‘whatzit’ in the lower left is part of Acrisure Stadium, where the Pittsburgh Steelers live.
Serendipity, that’s what that is.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Down on the ground level, and standing on the trail, I got into position just as CSX #804 began to move. Hey Now?
A reminder is offered that the Newtown Pentacle time warp has intensified. If my scheduling is correct, you’re receiving this in the third week of August, whereas the photos were captured at the start of July and these words typed out during the second week of July.
Hope that we all had an ok summer.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX would be a featured player in my late afternoon. That will all be disbursed next week, however.
As a note, the one above isn’t ‘perfect’ but it’s a shot I’m working on getting right. I’m always trying to catch glimpses of the people working inside these giant machines.
Back next week with more from Pittsburgh – 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.
Chartiers Creek and a ‘Hey Now!’
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with an interesting scuttle perpetrated in McKees Rocks, a Borough of Allegheny County found directly across the Ohio River from Pittsburgh’s ‘North Side.’
The blue bridge carries vehicular traffic to and from McKees Rocks’ romantically named ‘Intermodal Way’ to Carson Street, which is the main drag of the Monongahela River shoreline that allows traffic to flow to the east through the ‘South Side,’ where Carson Street eventually devolves into a de facto highway.
Additionally, the Newtown Pentacle time warp is still very much in effect, with these photos having been captured in middle June, and these words being written early in July.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Off in the distance, St. Mary’s RC church, which had served as my landmark from the Wind Gap Bridge and then in the industrial zone found along Thompson Avenue and Furnace Street Extension.
One maneuvered himself to a certain spot, where I could wait for it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Chartiers Creek itself, looking back at the vehicle bridge that I had been standing on in yesterday’s post. After shooting this one I headed over to that certain spot, and checked my camera settings.
It’s a lot like fishing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, I caught a bite!
Hey Now!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s CSX #5419, and it was pulling a long line of tanker cars behind it. There was a secondary ‘DPU’ locomotive in the line, which adds extra horsepower to the equation. The train was traveling easterly.
Yeah, I was in a safe spot and all that. Zoom lens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As you see, I had a few minutes to wait before I could resume my activities. The opportunity was taken to drink a glug of water from that bottle I’ve added to the pack, adjust the various straps attached to the bag and camera, and straighten out my clothing. Got to stay organized.
Back tomorrow with America’s Deadliest Wild Animal.
“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.
