The Newtown Pentacle

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Posts Tagged ‘Manchester

A North Sided Hey Now!

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Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

After passing through the California Kirkbride neighborhood and visting the Sunday Street City Steps, one made his way towards a rail yard. This one belongs to Norfolk Southern, and I’m told that it’s called the ‘Island Avenue Yard.’

Historicpittsburgh.org offers this text describing the place as ‘one of the primary junctions of the Norfolk Southern Railroad. It connects lines west into Ohio, south into West Virginia and Maryland, north into Erie, and east towards Philadelphia and New York.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

From ‘up top’ on that vehicular bridge spanning the tracks which is pictured above, I spotted what looked like a great POV for photographing passing trains ‘down here’ and then made my way over to this spot. I had to crash through some brush and agglutinated litter, but I managed to get to that fenceline just in time.

Hey Now!

– photo by Mitch Waxman

I’d end up seeing Norfolk Southern #7001 a couple of times over the next hour or so. I tried looking up its ‘specs,’ but it seems that 7001 has been rebuilt – at least once – and it used to part of an entirely different locomotive outfit and everything was super confusing. It made my neck hurt, so – thereby – look, it’s a train!

A fun conversation was struck up with some local who was walking an absolutely gorgeous pit bull. The local was tickled pink that I was taking shots of trains, and shared some neighborhood stories with me.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

NS #7001 was moving on, and then so did I. It’s a ‘walk,’ not a ‘stand’ after all.

I soon wandered into another neighborhood, called Manchester.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

My path involved getting over to the T light rail, a vector which carried me along a series of industrial streets with the occasional residential block mixed amongst them. Ultimately, this area sort of ‘cul de sacs’ nearby Allegheny Commons Park and the West End Bridge.

The park is where that rail trench that I often point the camera at is found.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Son of a gun if I didn’t run into #7001 there again, but this time around they had shed themselves of the cargo which they were formerly hauling. Just the locomotive.

I’ve been noticing, particularly in the last few weeks, that the rail guys are closely visually examining the tracks as the locomotive chugs along, as in the shot above. Any of you rail fan types have an inkling of what they’re likely up to? I’m kind of curious.

Back tomorrow with more.


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Written by Mitch Waxman

April 29, 2026 at 11:00 am