Posts Tagged ‘CSX’
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.
Skedaddling through the sky
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A wide angle 16mm prime lens had been affixed to my camera while walking over the Birmingham Bridge, which spans the Monongahela River here in Pittsburgh, and an attempt was made to tap into the lens’ potential.
You have to be mindful, with a lens like this, of weird optical distortions.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s one of them now.
It really matters where the ‘what’ you focus on is ‘in’ the frame with this lens, due to severe barrel distortion. A hemispheric knob of glass forms the lens’ objective, rather than a flat element on the face of the thing.
I wasn’t listening to anything interesting on this walk, preferring to stay cognizant of my surroundings while moving through an area of urban density.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One last shot with the wide angle lens, as I crossed over the bridge and got to the south side of the river. I sat down again, and refitted a zoom lens to the camera. Options.
I looked down and saw a set of rail tracks, thinking to myself that it would be super cool if a train came through just then.
Then I heard a train’s horn…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX was rolling through, hauling a line of mineral cars. Y’know what? It was ‘super cool.’
Sorry, but I’m going to have to say this bit again…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It looks like coal, or maybe ‘coke,’ which is cooked coal. I don’t know for sure, and long practice has taught me not to make assumptions about the things I see and photograph. I can say pretty categorically that it’s ‘minerals’ in those train cars.
This is a practice which I learned to follow on the fabulous Newtown Creek, which is that ‘unless you know for a fact what ‘something’ is, don’t try to ‘sound smart’ and guess.’ The hardest thing in the world for someone like me is to just utter the phrase ‘I don’t know.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a quick stop off at a Saloon for a rehydrating pint of Guinness, accompanied by a quick sit down and conversation with some amiable company, one set off for the final destination of the evening – a restaurant and pub which specialized in British food, of the specifically Scottish variety. Our Lady of the Pentacle is from England, so… homeland chow for her.
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! Friday Edition.
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
HEY NOW! I had arrived at the Sly Fox Brewery outfit’s ‘Highline’ location, and started a tab. I’ve seen these tracks referred to as either the ‘Pittsburgh Subdivision’ or as the ‘Keystone Subdivision.’
Just as I was sitting down outside the brewery, with a lovely pint of stout, CSX #2656 thundered through while heading in a westerly direction.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now! Emanating from the west, #7411 hurtled past next. It was quite a busy afternoon, I should mention, for the employees of CSX. I was only there for about two hours, but the hits kept on coming.
I’m going out of my way not to look up the make and models of these trains, as a small section of my soul seems to die everytime I do.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now! Next up was CSX #7391. Really, it was a very busy afternoon for the CSX folks.
As I’ve been learning about rail here in Pittsburgh, one of the things I’ve gleaned is that ‘getting the shot’ is all about finding where the railroad choke points which they have to pass through are. It’s just like fishing.
Luckily, this particular choke point is found alongside a decent bar with outdoor seating.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
#7391 is either brand new or it’s just been repainted. That’s one of the highest quality ‘finishes’ I’ve ever seen on a freight train. Shiny and all specular, with actual reflectivity. Wow.
I went inside to the bar and paid my tab, then headed back outside to start my journey back to HQ in Dormont.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now! The signal arms began to chime again just as I walked back outside, and this time it was CSX #7563 that was flowing towards me.
This train’s finishes were in the sort of corroded and scratched up condition which most freight trains usually are observed in.
All beat up, and quite a counterpoint to #7391.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It had been a nice day, really.
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.
New tires? Well, sheiste…
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My car is still kind of new, and the warranty agreement with Toyota is obliged by bringing the thing into the ‘stealership’ about every 5,000 miles, to have the tires rotated and all of the vital juices and jellies in the engine and power train examined, or changed out, or replaced.
Imagine my surprise when the mechanics told me that I needed new tires, on a factory new car which I took delivery of in October of 2022 and that only has 25k miles on it. It was undeniable, they showed me the tread depth with a special PA. approved tool, and then they did the penny test as well. They told me about a sale they were having in October, but one of my tires began losing about 5 PSI of pressure every day, so I had to get the process going a lot quicker than I would have liked.
The penny thing is kind of interesting to me – from a folk knowledge POV. You take a penny coin, turn it upside down, and then insert it into one of your tire treads. If the tread isn’t touching Lincoln’s head, then you need new tires.
That’s how and why I found myself back in Homestead, in a Costco parking lot, with a couple of hours to kill while the Costco mechanics set the MOP (Mobile Oppression Platform) up with a new set of shoes. Luckily, I’m remarkably self entertaining and ‘kicking dirt’ is a specialty.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The tire guy was actually stunned that I’d gotten about 25,000 miles out of ‘OEM’ (Original Equipment Manufacturer) supplied tires, and he said that normally he sees new car owners by 15k.
It was implied that the same tire molds were used for the supplied tires as the commercial model, but different materials were used to manufacture the things which aren’t as robust as the commercially available and consumer facing products. The OEM tires are sold to the manufacturer at a loss, with the inherent gamble that the end customer is likely to just buy a set of the exact same tires as replacements. Grrr.
This banged me out for just under a thousand bucks, in the end.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Time to kill, nowhere to go, God’s lonely man… all that.
I headed towards the walkway leading to the off ramp of the Homestead Gray’s Bridge, connecting Homestead across the Monongahela River with Squirrel Hill, and other residential neighborhoods on the other side. It is set fairly high up, the bridge, and provides interesting views.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This POV looks roughly south, towards the community of Homestead.
I’m told things get pretty wild up in those hills at night, but until I’ve witnessed something personally it’s just heresay. Especially so, now. Don’t believe anything that you don’t personally observe, these days. All is false, lies, and deceptions. Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain.
Luckily, there are multiple lines of railroad tracks which are leave behinds from the age of steel found here. Lots and lots of railroad tracks, in fact.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #6025 appeared. It was heading southeast.
Vehicle traffic was unusually heavy on the bridge, due to a cataclysmic fire in Squirrel Hill that decimated a high occupancy apartment building found fairly close to the entrance of the interstate. That exit was closed, and detours were sending all of that traffic towards Homestead. Yikes.
I decided on Costco for the tire replacement, incidentally, for a combination of their warrantees and price on the job. It was also convenient, which is always a factor that I ‘price in.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On my looping path back to the tire center at Costco, I spotted a Norfolk Southern locomotive just sitting there, idling. The pickup sitting next to the train indicates that there was likely a crew change or something ‘official’ going on.
No trip to Costco is complete without a foot long hot dog, so I scratched that off the list while waiting for the text that my car was ready.
I ended up buying Michelin Cross Climate 2’s. All season tires, warranteed to 40,000 miles, and their unique tread pattern qualifies the things to be embossed with a snow tire seal. Haven’t taken much of a hit on mileage yet, so seemingly a ‘win.’
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 