Posts Tagged ‘Norfolk Southern’
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
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Gap Trail: Homestead to South Side, part 2
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured above is a bend in the Monongahela River, found just north west of Homestead during a recent walk, here in the Pittsburgh ‘zone.’ That span in the distance is the Glenwood Bridge, a vehicle bridge which carries Route 885 between the neighborhoods of Homestead/Hays and Squirrel Hill.
The vegetation along the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail thinned out just a bit here, allowing me a chance to wave the camera around.
I had a distinct sensation of being watched, but couldn’t discern where my observer might be. Figured it was probably a security camera or something.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Norfolk Southern’s #7002 was just sitting there, all inert. Luckily, a window in the verge presented, which allowed for a somewhat clean shot. As mentioned yesterday, this particular scuttle didn’t get terribly interesting for me until the very end, which you’ll see in a couple of days.
A certain amount of my concentration was focused on the actual action of walking. Despite it having been a year since the ankle situation started, I’m still rebuilding the atrophied musculature. You don’t really think about walking, instead you just ‘do it,’ like breathing. When you’re forced to relearn the procedure, it makes one quite aware of how you ‘carry yourself.’
I’ve noticed that my left foot tends to turn outwards by 10-20 degrees during strides, a left over from the ‘protecting the ankle’ period, and I’m trying to consciously fix the gait issue while I’m walking…
…and taking pictures… while listening to Christopher Lee’s unabridged performance of ‘Dracula.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the 1894 vintage Beck’s Run Pumphouse, if you’re curious. A bit of signage adorns the fence – here’s a zoom in on it, if you want the official story from PGH2O – Pittsburgh’s version of the NYC DEP – which handles sanitary and drinking water for the majority of the area.
A bend in the river, this is where the Monongahela begins moving in a mostly western direction towards its admixture point with the Allegheny River, where the two waterbodies form into the headwaters of the Ohio River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An office complex of some kind faces out onto the trail. I’m led to believe that there’s ‘Gub’mint’ work happening therein, labors of the sort that one does not pry into. Apparently, there’s a fairly significant intelligence community presence in Pittsburgh. The Rand Corporation is based in Oakland, near the Universities, for instance. Naval Intelligence also has offices in the city, or so I’m told. There’s also Department of Energy facilities nearby, one of two which had ‘DOGE’ land on them.
I continued on. This part of the path was familiar to me, having walked it previously sometime in the last three years.
Still kind of boring, but that feeling of being watched just continued.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The King Conan Towboat passed by, on the Monongahela River, handling barges of minerals.
Things get a lot more interesting for one such as myself the closer to the center of things you get. More activity, infrastructure, etc. Points of interest.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s when I noticed where that feeling of being watched came from.
I wanted to scoop that kitten up and ‘put it in my pocket,’ but I’ve got enough problems dealing with Moe the Dog to even think about adding anything else to my list of ‘have-to’s.’.
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.
Done, Dirt Cheap
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Welcome back to Pittsburgh, where a humble narrator recently took a short walk in search of a couple of pints of beer and passing locomotives.
Norfolk Southern’s tracks ride on an elevated berm in this area, carven out of the cliff face of Mount Washington itself. The opening, beneath that trestle it’s riding on, is the transit tunnel normally used for buses and the T light rail. Said tunnel has been undergoing a rehabilitation project for the last few months.
I heard a train coming, and managed to capture a quick peek of #4462 when it appeared in a break through the verge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was about 4-5 in the afternoon as I was moving through this zone, and vehicle traffic was beginning to stack up, in the approaches to various bridges, and tunnels, and the on-ramps to high speed roads.
Me? I was in a mood.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Nothing specific was wrong, in terms of triggers, just woke up unhappy and easily angered by minor stimuli. Like an asshole. I’d been trapped by obligation and climate for nearly a week, and really needed a day off.
This post is being written mid month, incidentally, whereas you’re receiving it at the end of July. I’ve managed to rebuild my ‘lead time’ here at Newtown Pentacle in the last month or so, and hope that I’m able to maintain a two to three week ‘ahead of schedule’ posture moving forward. Hate publishing a post when the ‘the pixels are still wet.’
I always strive for lead time here, but it seldom works out.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The brewery I haunt, in this area, is found alongside a set of CSX’s Pittsburgh Subdivision tracks and it’s one of the choke points for that rail outfit’s operations here. If one of their train sets is coming through the city, heading east or west, it’s quite likely going to be moving past this spot. What? You’ve never gone fishing? You go where the fish are forced to go and drop the hook there.
That structure on the left is part of a concrete company.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #7030 appeared, and I wanted to get a slightly different point of view for this photo than I normally do when at this spot.
It was the only train that appeared while I was there.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The locomotive was heading westwards, likely into Ohio at some point, after passing through McKees Rocks, where the company has one of its corporate outposts. I imagine there’s crew turnover there, but I’m just guessing. This is the POV I normally use when here, as a note.
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.
Locomoting back in Pittsburgh
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After getting back home from ‘home,’ your humble narrator settled back into his normal pattern of life. Yeah, I took a few days off from everything to rest up, before jumping back on my bandwagon. My ankle was pretty swollen for a couple of days due to all the walking back in NYC.
I’ve unfortunately got a bunch of doctor oriented stuff which needs accomplishing during the month of July, and so does Our Lady of the Pentacle. On my side of things, I had to postpone various tests and other ‘Doctor’s Orders’ because of my ankle situation, so I’m trying to pack all of that in during July – partly in the name of just getting it off my menu. This post is being written during the first week of July, incidentally.
Our Lady had to visit a doctor for a routine examination, and while she was being poked and prodded by the blue pajamas and white coat crowd, I headed over to Allegheny Commons Park where a locomotive trench carries Norfolk Southern traffic through the park.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is an ‘autumn shot,’ incidentally, captured during high summer. I got the autumn shot the year before last. The Ginkgo Trees lining the tracks drop their leaves – which then turn yellow as they decay. That gives you a black locomotive moving through a golden yellow path – very Pittsburgh, huh?
After the train passed out of view, I decided to walk a couple of blocks over to another ‘POV’ which I’ve exploited in the past.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just as I hoped, those Norfolk Southern engines had soon coupled up with a train’s worth of cargo cars, and were just starting to proceed forward as I got there. These tracks, in the direction the train was heading, lead to either a spur that goes to the Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge over the Allegheny River and then through the Amtrak station downtown on their way east, or they can also lead to a different line that sits on the northern shore of the Allegheny River and more or less follows Route 28 in a roughly northeasterly direction. Exciting, no?
Yes railfans, I’m going to drive out to Conway Yard sometime this summer, probably in August.. Additionally, it’s likely I’m going to visit Altoona and the Horseshoe Curve in August as well. Word has it that Altoona has finally finished repairing its incline, after all.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The train, led by #6317 – an EMD SD40E model locomotive engine – or so I’m told – started moving towards the Allegheny River. I cracked out a few shots of the thing, and then followed it, as least as far back as where I had parked the car.
I encountered and starting chatting with a very cool lady who had emigrated from Jamaica to Pittsburgh via Brooklyn at this particular juncture. When she heard I was from Brooklyn, and specifically Canarsie/Flatbush, she was ebullient. We talked about Flatbush Avenue, and meat patties, and scotch bonnet peppers. That’s when my phone rang and it was Our Lady, who was nearly done with her appointment. I bid my new friend good fortune and moved on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On my way back to the Mobile Oppression Platform, a Toyota, I cracked out a couple of shots of the train moving through the trench. It was a mixed up bunch of cargo cars.
I made my way to the car, after stopping off at the ‘Porta-Potty’ for a tinkle. It’s so nice living somewhere where you’re not just expected to piss in the street like a dog.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s remnants of what looks like a masonry bridge over the tracks which still exist here. Boy, that must’ve been some point of view from that one, huh? Wonder when it was condemned and closed?
Back tomorrow with more from Pittsburgh.
“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.
Good gander
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with observations and photos from a scuttle along the Ohio River, here in Pittsburgh. Along the waterfront trail, I encountered this jerk. All Canada Geese are jerks.
One decided to sit and cool his heels for a few minutes, and take a good look around. A series of broken cement plinths line the shore here, and there was a guy about 200 feet away that was fishing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Across the water from my location is Brunot’s Island, which is off limits to the normal humans who don’t work for a power company which maintains a peaker power plant there.
It felt like something was about to happen, and I was keeping an eye on a few different spots in hope of something to focus in on.
A lovely summer like day at any rate, and it was a real pleasure just sitting alongside the Ohio River, tbh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A wider view of my situation. That’s Brunot’s Island on the right, and you can see the peaker plant right at the water. The bridge in the distance (specifically the Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge) is a rail bridge, which is used by the Norfolk Southern railroading outfit.
That bridge was one of the things I was watching, an effort which sort of paid off.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A train appeared, and started transiting over the span. In the foreground was a tugboat with a peculiar barge attached to it. More on that later.
Wonders, I tell you… wonders.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Upon reaching the other side of the river, Norfolk Southern’s tracks branch out both east and west after passing through a wye. There’s a pretty large NS yards both north and south of here which I haven’t visited yet, but are on my list.
I’ve only been consciously shooting trains for a little bit, as in ‘I’m going out in pursuit of getting shots of trains,’ but one thing I’ve learned is to look for the choke points where all the trackways converge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As to why the barge that the tugboat was towing was ‘peculiar,’ it’s because it was a landing craft. It seems that the power company which controls access to Brunot’s Island maintains this system for vehicular access to the landform in lieu of building a bridge. Seems financially untenable, until you consider what building a vehicle bridge would cost.
Back next week with more – 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 