Posts Tagged ‘CSX’
Plaustrum tonitrui
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This scuttle began on the top of that elevation pictured above, proceeded down Brosville Street in the South Side Slopes neighborhood to the Church Route Steps, and then my stinking carcass could be observed wiggling about on the level streets of the South Side Flats area, by any who cared to notice.
The goal for the day involved purposefully ‘leaning into it’ and propelling myself through space as quickly as possible, in an attempt to begin training my still gamey ankle back to a proper ‘average’ walking speed. I’ll be doing this all winter, I imagine.
Shall I burst back into the vernal season as a speedster then, clad in scarlet and adorned with flashes of lightning? No. That’s a comic book character called the Flash, and not the living embodiment of the phrase ‘remains of the day’ that your humble narrator has devolved into.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Spotted this cool car on my way through. One thought to himself that ‘this has to be the most masculine vehicle I’ve ever seen.’
Since I was in the ‘flats’ neighborhood, I decided to have a pint of beer for lunch at the Sly Fox Brewery, and also see if I couldn’t manage to capture a few train shots while I was there.
Hey, calorically and cholesterolically speaking, beer is a better choice than a burger. It’s hydrating too, and there’s also a toilet in that brewery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I didn’t have to wait long, and CSX #2218 appeared, heading ‘towards Ohio’ from unknown points to the southeast. This particular locomotive has been mentioned before here, in ‘Road Slug, baby, Road Slug.’
I should mention that the ‘baby’ thing is part of a long running joke between Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself. It got started one night on a Working Harbor trip in NY Harbor back in the 2010’s, when she pointed out a passing vessel and asked if it was a dinner boat. I said ‘you definitely don’t want to eat there.’ ‘Sludge Boat, baby, Sludge Boat.’ It’s been a running joke ever since.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This post represents about a half hour’s worth of sitting around for the train shots in today’s post. As you may have discerned, I’m particularly fond of this location, and admittedly have been overshooting along these tracks in th least few months, but man – it’s practically a sure thing. Also, there’s beer and a toilet!
I had nothing like this at Newtown Creek. If I wanted a rail shot of anything other than a LIRR or Subway train, I had to go hang out under the Pulaski or Greenpoint Avenue Bridges, sometimes for hours. There was no pint of beer, and the toilet was… well, the toilet was actually everywhere. Everything under these bridges smelled like a mix of wet garbage, auto exhaust, and hot asphalt.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a point of view available above, on a long trestle built for trucks which overflies the tracks. In between train appearances I used the elevator (!) to head up top for a shot or three of these neato concrete trucks moving around the Bryan Materials Group campus.
If I wanted shots of concrete trucks back at Newtown Creek, that was pretty available and easy to get, but you also had to figure in being a bit sly about when and where you’d gather them lest you draw the attention of a certain self organizing group of Sicilian entrepreneurs down upon yourself.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After returning my pint glass, having only imbibed one ‘lunch beer,’ CSX #7258 next hurtled through the pass.
It’s a ‘GE CM44AC’ model locomotive. I always remind myself about safety when doing rail shots, as even a small mistake could be catastrophic. Famously, this is the sort of thing which I think ‘AI’ is pretty good at describing, so Google’s computer mind was queried and the response to ‘describe the physics involved if a GE_AC44C6M locomotive collided with a stationary human being, while at top speed’ follows:
A GE AC44C6M locomotive, which has a top speed of approximately 75 mph (121 km/h), possesses an enormous amount of kinetic energy and momentum due to its massive weight (around 140 metric tons or 312,000 lbs). A collision with a stationary human at this speed is a highly inelastic collision governed by Newton’s laws of motion and the conservation of momentum.
The Dynamics of the Collision
- Initial Contact: The collision occurs over a very short duration. The force exerted is immense due to the rapid change in the human’s velocity, from zero to some high velocity in a fraction of a second.
- Momentum Transfer: The human’s momentum changes dramatically, accelerating rapidly to a speed close to that of the train (though the human will likely be impacted and thrown, not “stick” to the front). The locomotive’s velocity, and thus its momentum, changes by a negligible amount because its mass is orders of magnitude larger.
- Energy Dissipation: The human body is not designed to withstand such massive forces and rapid acceleration. The applied forces are far beyond the structural integrity of the human skeleton and tissues. The energy is dissipated through the catastrophic failure of the body’s structure, including bone crushing and severe tissue damage.
- Outcome: The human is violently struck, resulting in instantaneous fatality with near-zero chance of survival. The body would likely be thrown a significant distance or, depending on the exact point of impact and design of the locomotive’s front (e.g., the snow plow or ‘cowcatcher’), may be caught and dragged or run over by the train cars.
The scale difference between the train and a person is so extreme that the collision is comparable to an ant being stepped on by an elephant—both are immensely larger than the ant, and the outcome for the ant is the same regardless of the exact mass difference. The locomotive continues with essentially no change in speed, while the human is subjected to fatal forces.
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Remains of a scuttle
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After traipsing all over Pittsburgh during a longish scuttle, your humble narrator found himself heading into more familiar territory along the Monongahela River. Another not so friendly to pedestrians route was chosen, this one paralleling a series of high speed roads which operate in a trench. Pictured above, in the distance, is a traffic machine called the ‘Fort Pitt Bridge.’
Every GPS navigation package you can think of directs all the traffic in Pittsburgh going to and from the South Hills region onto the Fort Pitt Bridge and tunnel. There are two other perfectly acceptable highway paths you can take out of the central section of Pittsburgh towards the South Hills, which deposit you in more or less the same area on the other side of Mount Washington, I’d mention. Saying that, all of the ‘maps’ apps just love sending traffic to that very congested bridge and tunnel.
The Fort Pitt bridge offers what I consider to be one of the worst traffic interchanges in the entire country. It’s an ‘X,’ and the thousands of cars and trucks an hour which cross it and enter that tunnel having to negotiate a diagonal merge in a surprisingly short interval.
As I’ve intoned earlier, the driving culture of Pittsburgh is absolute brutality, so this ain’t pretty.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Moving easterly, the mirror face of the PPG Plaza building caught my eye as it threw reflection of the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself around. Disdain for the memory of architect Philip Johnson blossomed in my mind.
The plan for the rest of the day involved heading over to familiar territory at the Sly Fox Brewery where I’d hopefully get to see a train go by.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Smithfield Street Bridge is a wonderful touchstone. The original bridge here was designed by John Roebling, and when it needed an upgrade they hired Gustav Lindenthal to do it. The bridge’s piers are original to the Roebling version, and the tension spring upper steel is Lindenthal’s.
Roebling, of course, designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge. Lindenthal is the mastermind behind the Queensboro Bridge. I quickened my stride.
I was heading for the brewery, after all, and was fairly thirsty by this point. I also needed to make ‘wee-wee.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A pint of lager in hand, and after a trip to the loo, one settled in and waited for the signal chimes to start ringing at Sly Fox Brewery. It took maybe twenty minutes of waiting before CSX #4749 exploded into view.
HEY NOW!
It’s a 2003 vintage ‘EMD SD70MAC.’ A 16 cylinder engine in the locomotive produces some 4,000 HP of thrust, and it is said to offer a top speed of 70 mph.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It had been a nice, long walk. Lots of ups and downs, long distances, and mostly flat. What was desired was attained, which was to do some shooting while subjecting my gamey ankle to a longish walk.
As you’re reading this, remember that exactly one year ago today I was still confined to a wheelchair, and experiencing ghastly amounts of pain. The injury was more than just orthopedic, as lots of soft tissue damage had occurred too. Suffice to say that I learned about a new one during this experience – pressure blisters. Felt like a burn, but under the cast.
I just can’t stop remembering that right about now. Trauma, yo.
Adding in that I was all doped up on opioid pain killers, this situation wasn’t at all pretty. All I could do, besides watching a Turk soap opera about the Ottomans, was dream about recovery, and getting back to doing…
…This…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the saying goes: Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans, right?
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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Roadslug, baby, roadslug
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now! This CSX train, #2218 specifically, bears a painted cognomen on its side that reads ‘Roadslug.’ I had to check with my ‘rail rabbi’ back in NYC to find out what that meant. His response follows:
“Sweet. Road slug is a locomotive without a prime mover. (No diesel engine to generate power) the electric motors on the locomotive revive power from the “mother.” The other locomotive attached to it. CSX road slugs have a cab for control and the fuel tank is piped to provide extra fuel for the mother unit.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The railfan rabbi continues:
“2218 used to be a GP35 class unit before it was de-engined. It was a cost effective way in the 1990’s to re-use outdated locomotives without needing to buy new locomotives.”
Now… my ‘rail rabbi’ pal… he just has this information floating in his head. That’s what a railfan is, and it’s the reason why I keep on pointing out that I’m not (as I don’t have anywhere this amount of knowledge on the subject) and ultimately – I just like taking pictures of trains.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There were only the two locomotive units on this one. They headed off, ‘towards Ohio’ and I finished my ‘luncheon beer’ at the Sly Fox Brewery. After returning my glass, and then ‘inspecting the porcelain’ again, I adjusted the camera straps and bag, and set off for the last leg of my scuttle.
The ankle was in fine fettle once again, after the 30 minute sit down. Yes, that’s how long it takes me to drink a pint. I’m a nurser.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Along the path, a T light rail was observed exiting the Panhandle Bridge after crossing the river, heading out in the direction of its terminal stop in the South Hills section. Soon, I’d be on a similar train set and heading back to HQ, where Our Lady of the Pentacle and Moe the Dog awaited my return.
I had quite a job ahead of me at home, roasting a pork loin for dinner.
The effort would yield lunch the next day, and a couple of days after that too. I actually had to give some of it away to a neighbor. Meat, in particular, has grown so expensive over the last ten months or so that I’m eschewing ‘cuts or chops’ in favor of large portioned items which are a couple of bucks less per pound.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Smithfield Street bridge was crossed. One last look back at the Monongahela River shoreline and the bike/ped trails which line it.
The last embers of this effort glowed dimly as I made my way to the T’s First Avenue Station on the so called ‘Golden Triangle.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While waiting for my ride back to HQ, couldn’t help but pop out a few shots of the Pittsburgh bound T rail sets crossing the river on the Panhandle Bridge.
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!, times three
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the end of a medium length scuttle down through and around Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes neighborhood, detailed in prior posts, your humble narrator now found himself in a quite familiar setting: drinking a pint of beer while at Pittsburgh’s Sly Fox brewery, and photographing passing CSX freight trains.
First up was CSX #3284. Heading northwesterly, towards Ohio, and away from the steel plants found along the Monongahela River, West Virginia, and or Maryland.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was a Saturday afternoon, which made it kind of surprising just how much rail traffic there was during my relatively short visit. I’ve started working out the timing of their operations, and have observed that there seems to be a long interval in the late morning and early afternoon when nothing is rolling through. After about 3 p.m., CSX seems to get a lot busier. I’m seldom if ever here in the early part of the day, so…
After the train passed through, I marched into the brewery, put my glass on the counter and said ‘reload.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In addition to the bartender, CSX seems to heard me say ‘reload.’
Next up was #430, which was heading in a southeasterly direction (away from Ohio). One of the things I like so much about this spot is there are two grade crossings with signal arms here. I get plenty of notice that something is going to be coming through, and an idea of what direction it’s coming from, based on which one of the signal arms triggers first.
They do blow the train’s horns while approaching, but that sort of sound isn’t necessarily ‘directional,’ due to it bouncing around off of buildings and the geology, if you know what I mean.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It had been a pleasant early autumn day in Pittsburgh, weather wise. I was quaffing Helles branded draft Lager at the brewery. Intervals between train sets were about 15-30 minutes on this particular day.
After #430 passed through, I headed inside, demanded another ‘reload,’ and also paid my tab.
Big difference between ‘having a drink’ and ‘getting drunk’ for me is volume related, and these days alcohol in excess just makes me want to go take a nap. I always figure that I’m ‘paying rent’ for the train photo opportunity and am obliged to buy a drink in return for the seating, but this spot is ‘a public park area with a brewery’ rather than the other way around. I usually don’t mention the pints of water I’m also drinking, but there you go.
I could just sit and wait, but I like access to the bathroom and your humble narrator really enjoys a nice cold pint on a warm day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last up – for me, at least – was CSX #7086. It was headed in the westerly direction, towards Ohio, and it was the last thing I’d end up photographing on this particular day.
After a little while, I summoned a rideshare to pick me up, and carry my carcass back to HQ. That habit is something I’m going to be (and have been since the time of this writing) attenuating.
Made sense in terms of the ankle situation, all these months, but I’m back to riding the T light rail again, and using it as my mass transit springboard into various situations and spots. The T has limited range, however, which is why it’s a ‘springboard.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So, that’s the end of my tale of the walk down the Sterling Street Steps, through the South Side Flats, and then gathering train photos at a familiar brewery. Nice time, for a Saturday in October.
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.
Things a-popping, everywhere’s ya looks
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a long interval of ‘have-to’s,’ your humble narrator finally found a little time for the camera’s exercises. I had the car with me, and drove to where I was going, violating my normal habit of leaving the car at home when out scuttling. Since I was hyper-mobile, I checked in on the Rook Yard of the Wheeling & Lake Erie RR outfit while on my way. They were doing ‘something,’ with that train set moving back and forth while workers adjusted the switches. Everybody has something to do.
Our Lady of the Pentacle was out of town, and Moe the Dog was thereby nervous and ‘faklempt’ without her for better than a week. She’s goodness and light, Out Lady is, and when she’s not here all the dog has to rely on is me.
I’m horrible, an intelligence of malign instincts housed in the decaying cadaver of a man, an outsider and abomination which somehow walks and breathes but never seems to stop talking. Poor Moe had to deal with me, but after a certain interval of service to the pup, one needed to get some exercise and wave the camera around lest madness take over.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I drove down to the Monongahela River shoreline, and the Colors Park, where there’s also a parking lot. After the Mobile Oppression Platform was safely stowed, one gathered his gear together and set out for a scuttle. It was just a few miles this time, and I opted for a familiar section of the Great Allegheny Passage trail to focus in on and where I’d slap the pavement with my feet.
The concrete factory next door to the Sly Fox brewery was unloading a minerals barge and piling the stuff up for processing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Since this was going to be a short walk, it had been decided to try and walk as fast as I’m capable of these days. Cardio, yo.
It was a warm autumn day in Pittsburgh, with clear skies and temperatures in the upper 70’s. Your humble narrator ‘leaned into it.’ No headphones or audiobooks for this walk, which I’d already capstoned as being ‘Liberty Bridge to Fort Pitt Bridge and back.’ There and back again is just under three miles. A short walk, thereby.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back at HQ, Moe had really been working me during Pu Lady’s absence. I’m fond of telling the neighbors that Moe is very much Our Lady’s dog, but that I’m his favorite toy. That played out in an ever tightening circle of annoyance for me, and I desperately needed a break from the inter species dynamic for an afternoon.
Great care was exercised, in terms of moving about the world, given that Our Lady was on another continent and recent experience with the broken ankle revealed that your whole life can be turned upside down unexpectedly. Moe’s life was literally in my hands.
A ‘deadman’s switch’ was instituted with one of my neighbors. If she did not receive a daily text from me, her husband would then be instructed to break into my house after work and save Moe. I told them to just leave my body lying wherever they found it for the coroner to deal with.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now! I was hoping a train or two might appear.
That’s CSX #7225, heading away from Ohio along the outfit’s Pittsburgh Subdivision (aka Keystone Subdivision) tracks along the Monongahela River. Tankers, that what it was hauling. Could have been fuel, or chemicals, can’t tell you what was inside. I also fundamentally do not care.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I still had a few days of solo service to the dog ahead of me. Our Lady is British, and she had headed home to visit her Dad and Brother as well as her passel of old friends. A hellish interval for me.
I hate the loneliness. I’ve become ‘institutionalized.’ Moe the Dog ain’t a great conversationalist.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 