Posts Tagged ‘Freight Train’
How many axles, now?
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last test which I subjected my newly solid ankle to was walking down a street covered in pavers. Many refer to this sort of street cover as ‘cobble stones,’ but that’s anachronistic and incorrect – they’re called Belgian Blocks by the traffic engineers. Suffice to say that they’re also challenging to walk on for someone regaining his feet after a long medical recovery period.
This scuttle ended up being just shy of about 7,000 steps, according to the somewhat inaccurate reporting offered by my phone. I’m happy to report that I wasn’t suffering in the manner that I was after attempting a similar path just a couple of weeks previously. Progress, lords and ladies, progress. That huge brick structure is the former terminal warehouse building which houses the brewery nearby the CSX tracks, so after a trip to the loo, logic dictates that I soon had a beer in hand and was waiting outside for the signal arms along the CSX Pittsburgh subdivision to start chiming. I didn’t have to wait long.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #3235 appeared first, hauling what looked like empty coal ‘bucket’ cars. These trains were heading ‘away from Ohio’ and ‘deep into Pennsylvania in the direction of West Virginia and Maryland.’ I’m still learning all of this train stuff, I’d remind. 3235 is an ‘GE ES44AC-H’ model locomotive, part of General Electric’s Evolution series of products.
I had ordered a pint of Stout, and it was delicious. After #3235 passed, I went into the brewery, ordered a sequel, and then paid my tab. Two are enough for me these days, I’m a lightweight these days, after not drinking a drop of alcohol during the entire ankle recovery. Last thing I needed was to add alcohol into that mix of pain killers and fog.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Regarding the title of this post, as mentioned yesterday I’ve recently added a new gizmo to my camera bag, a radio scanner which allows me to listen to the transmissions between train operators and their towers. One of the things which pops up, amongst all the squelching, is the automatic defect detector equipment which counts the number of axles that the engine is pulling or pushing. If the number suddenly changes, the operator knows there’s a problem, possibly a derailment. The train pictured above reported 318 axles at work shortly before arrival.
The 318 axle train was CSX #3184, pulling a train composed of container cars – some automotive, some cargo boxes. #3184 is a GE B23-7 model locomotive and it’s almost as old as I am.
Me? I was pleased with my day. Pain was at a minimum, I kept moving (one of my credos), and at the end of the day the memory card on my camera was nicely packed with all the images you’ve seen this week.
Back next week, hopefully, with something different at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Placeholder, too
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Still under the weather, your humble narrator is, but new material will be occurring again here tomorrow and beyond. I’m still struggling with getting the schedule back to normal on this publication, but it’s a one man show and what with a) the ankle, b) the flu, c) the weather – it’s been a bit difficult to get ahead of the deadlines. Normally, I’m operating at least a week or two away from what’s going live here, but these days it seems like the pixels are still wet when published.
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, a train’s a-coming…
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So, this is how I wrapped up the first scuttle of the post broken ankle period, back at the brewery alongside CSX’s tracks in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats neighborhood. I don’t have to wait long before the signal arms began chiming and CSX #7589 appeared.
My plan didn’t involve much more than grabbing a quick beer and then summoning a car to drive me back home. According to the not entirely accurate ‘health’ app on my phone, I had taken 7,742 steps since leaving the PT appointment, and then boarding a T light rail, which brought me to this area.
Not bad, really, and with all things considered.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The combination of the PT appointment and the walk had inflamed the ankle and the thing had swole up a bit. That’s normal, the surgeon tells me, and I can expect to be dealing with swelling after exercise for at least the next year. When the cab dropped me off at HQ, your humble narrator was absolutely spent. I oozed into my reclining La-Z-Boy style chair and just sat there moaning for about thirty minutes.
Eventually, I managed to unpeel the shoes off of my feet. When sleepy time arrived, I hit the pillows and was out for nine straight hours. Surprisingly, the next day I was pretty ok. Sore, but ok. Progress!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s going to take me a bit of time to get back to normal, that’s for sure. Rebuilding muscle and stretching out all of the internal rubber bands in the foot and ankle is not going to be fun, but pain is the oldest and best friend I have, after all. I can always count on pain, who never turns its back on me. Pain also doesn’t betray or gaslight, it’s loyal.
Pain is family.
Back next week with more tales from a broken and enfeebled man, and his busted ankle, 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.
Diesel power, yo
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, the end of my ‘Saturday session,’ which saw the camera being brandished about for the first time in three months, arrived as CSX #5401 clattered into view. Man, oh man, have I missed this.
As I’ve explained many times – I’m not a railfan in the traditional sense. My nerdy obsessions generally lean towards science fiction and comic books – superheroes and such. I just find rail shots to be a bit challenging from a ‘technical’ photography POV.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Giant thing with lots of discrete detail that’s moving at a high rate of speed, and enters the frame with very little warning? Yeah! Trains are up there with ‘dogs playing’ as far as being a difficult subject to capture with a high failure rate for the shots.
#5401 is a GE Evolution Series locomotive, I’m told. It was hauling a terribly heterogenous series of rail cars – automotive, tankers, shipping containers, etc., and heading more or less southeast.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After this big boy passed me by, I decided to head back to HQ for a sit down, and called a cab. I had left the car at home, thinking that I might want to grab a beer at the nearby brewery before deciding against that plan.
Back tomorrow, 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.
Here’s the scoop
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Written from a wheel chair – So… last week, your humble narrator was locking down the house in preparation of going to bed. Our Lady, and Moe the Dog, had already retreated from consciousness but I’m a night owl and had been watching some meaningless television show before surrendering to biology. Little did I know that my particular biological function would soon become quite the topic of conversation moving forward.
While watching said televisual presentation, I realized that I had left my phone on the office desk found downstairs. Cursing, as I had already locked the door leading down to ‘the engine room,’ your humble narrator stepped onto one of two short flights of steps leading downstairs, separated by a landing.
My left foot lowered onto the second to last of the lower steps, which ended up being a pretty important moment, lifestyle wise.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My ankle rolled, and then I went tumbling forward in space. For a split second, I saw the top of my knee and the sole of my foot at the same time, as I pitched forward. I fell into a roll, at which point I saw my left foot turned opposite the direction it was pointing at just a second or two previously, and a loud cracking/popping sound was heard.
I landed on my side, rolling with the momentum. A loud ‘gahhh’ sound erupted from your humble narrator, and pain blossomed. Now, I’ve been hurt a lot over the years, and even had a heart attack once.
Nothing in my experience, however, has been as painful as – or compares – to this moment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Instantly, shock set in. Perspiration coated the skin, my breathing assumed a quick and staccato rythym, and I reached down to grasp at my left ankle and foot. Upon doing so, the foot made a grinding/clicking sound. Agony ensued, and I sat there for a moment holding my ankle – which was also making a similar but separate grinding and clicking sound. That’s when I noticed that the ankle bone, which has historically occupied the interior side of my calf, was bulging out from the front of the shin.
It took about two or three minutes to gather myself and soon I was shouting upstairs at Our Lady for help. She arrived quickly, and upon assessing my appearance asked if we needed to call 911. My answer was yes, and after placing the call so she gathered up some personal items I’d need for a trip to an emergency department at some nearby hospital. Wallet, etc.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An ambulance arrived, and then two EMS medics entered the house. They instantly assessed my situation as serious and stoutly carried me onto a stretcher, and into their Ambulance. On the way, a hypodermic of Morphine was injected into my arm, and a field dressing splint installed onto my ankle. My foot hung loosely during this, in the manner of a sock filled with a ham sandwich, and the splint ameliorated the painful side to side shaking of the thing as the Ambulance sped to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital, and I was transferred via back board to a hospital bed within. I was soon in a ‘room’ in the Emergency ward, and an X-Ray technician appeared with a portable examination unit. Things get hazy around here, due to all the medical grade drugs in me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A diagnosis was soon pronounced, and the injury was described as being a Trimalleolar fracture with dislocation. The ankle bones which protrude into the skin on both sides of the joint were now free floating, and a third bone in the foot was also fractured. The foot itself was dislocated from the joining with the leg bones of the calf. Surgery would provide the only fix, but that wouldn’t happen until the next day.
This is when they switched me off of Morphine and over to medical Fentanyl to control the pain. Before this journey through the operating room and back to HQ would be completed – Dilaudid, Ketamine, and eventually OxyContin were added to my list of drugs I’ve taken but never wanted to experience.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Surgery took around three hours, I’m told, but it’s all a haze. Recovery will take – at a minimum – six months, but it could stretch out as long as two years depending on circumstances. Obviously, I won’t be taking any walks – short or long – for a long time. What about this here Newtown Pentacle, then?
My plan for the interim is to link back into the extensive archives of past posts published here. The conceit I’m planning in terms of choosing these posts will be calendrical in nature. Three past posts chosen from a given day/month which match up with whatever the new post’s publication date is.
Thereby you’ll be seeing a lot of Newtown Creek, Queens, and NY Harbor stuff here again. I’m going to try and maintain my regular publishing schedule this way while I get back onto my foot, and I hope y’all will stay with me through this trial – something which I have no choice but to endure. I’ll try for five days a week, but cannot make any promises at the moment.
Back tomorrow – hopefully.
“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 