Posts Tagged ‘Ohio River’
Kicking dirt at West End Elliot Overlook
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After an interminable interval, Our Lady of the Pentacle had finally boarded a flight, from the UK, and was on her way back home via the Pittsburgh International AirPort.
Me? I had time to kill while anxiously waiting to pick her up from that facility, and had positioned myself in a photogenic spot to pass the time until that joyous moment when a text arrived saying ‘I’ve landed.’
I picked the West End Elliot Overlook Park to go kick dirt, partially because it’s about a five minute drive to a highway onramp which would then send me hurtling in the direction of Our Lady in the automobile.
About a 25 minute drive at this time of day, more or less, from this spot to the airport. Perfect.
The tripod was set up, my lens cleaned of dust, and I got busy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This little outing of mine occurred just before sunset, and the Overlook is a great place to shoot ‘urban landscape’ for both sunrise and sunset. A city park, there’s a parking lot with a port-a-potty installed in it, and there’s always some people there. Some picnic people were observed, a few pot smokers, others sipping hooch from a bottle hidden in a paper bag. Lots of dog walkers, too. Nice quiet and cool spot, this.
There was maritime traffic down on the ‘Mon,’ with a Towboat towing an enormous raft of what looked like twenty empty barges under the Fort Pitt Bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Ronald D. Koontz Towboat. Marinetraffic.com offers this page about the vessel, which hides what you’d like to see behind a paywall that renders the formerly great functionality of their site moot. Cory Doctorow has coined the term ‘enshittification’ to describe what’s going on with the internet these days, and I’m in agreement.
The future has turned out to really suck, hasn’t it?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself’s emanations faded, I was keeping myself busy. Panoramas, long exposures, the whole quiver.
If you’d like to see a full sized version of the panorama image above, click here for its Flickr page and zoom in. Go to town. Carnival!
The two bridges in the shot are the Fort Duquesne Bridge over the Allegheny River on the left, and the Fort Pitt Bridge over the Monongahela River on the right.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I kept checking my phone for the anxiously awaited text that Our Lady had landed at the airport. In the meantime, I kept shooting.
It’s been a long time since I did any ‘night stuff.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s West End Bridge over the Ohio River, which is frequently mentioned here. I’ll often walk over that span on one of my scuttles, after taking the T light Rail to Pittsburgh’s North Side from HQ.
Back tomorrow with more.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Cooling my heels, waiting for a train
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While crossing the West End Bridge, here in Pittsburgh, your humble narrator was keeping his eye on a static CSX train set. It was being held in place by signals, which – as I’ve learned – means that somewhere down the line another train is coming, and its scheduling is tighter than the one being held so they clear the path. Knowing this, I took up station at an opportune POV, and waited for the action to occur.
This spot overlooks the headwaters of the Ohio River, formed by the mixture of the Allegheny River (to the north or left of the city, in the shot above) and the Monongahela River (on the south or right side).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The big arch bridge in the middle of the shot is the Fort Pitt Bridge, and it… it… wait…
HEY NOW!
There it is, the west bound CSX train set, it just appeared around that bend, snaking around the other train which had been held static by signals.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Ever been inside the operators cabin of a locomotive? I have.
It’s surprisingly comfortable in there, but the person driving the train isn’t looking out the front window, that’s somebody else’s job. Remember that, if you’re trying to outrace a train at a crossing. I looked around for a set of numbers, related to the number of deaths in Allegheny County which involve getting shmushed by a train, but the government types apparently hold that information fairly close to their vest.
From Google’s AI:
Several factors contribute to fatal train accidents in Allegheny County, including both human error and infrastructure issues
- Human error is a significant factor, potentially involving negligence on the part of train operators (such as fatigue, distraction, speeding, or failing to sound the horn), or pedestrians and drivers exhibiting recklessness or failing to adhere to safety precautions around railroad tracks.
- Track malfunctions, including defects like broken switches, misaligned tracks, or issues with rail integrity, can also lead to fatal incidents.
- Mechanical failures related to train equipment, such as faulty brakes or other essential components, can also contribute to accidents and derailments.
- Signal malfunctions at crossings, such as non-functional gates or lights, increase the risk of collisions between trains and vehicles or pedestrians.
While train accidents are less frequent than other types of accidents, their consequences can be particularly devastating due to the immense force involved.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Happy day!
#3171 was at the front, leading the way and all that. It was hauling a mixed up combination of cars – cargo boxes mainly, but there were a few tanker cars in there as well.
Did you know that the age of containerization and cargo boxes got its modern start on Staten Island, and at Port Elizabeth-Newark?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Both trains were moving at this point, and your humble narrator thereby felt satisfied and happy with himself for a moment. It was time to get moving again, however. I headed towards the Monongahela Shoreline, and the set of steps which would offer egress from West End Bridge.
The West End bridge feeds out onto an actual highway, and a de facto highway as well. The latter is a local street, with local street rules, but people drive on it like it’s an interstate. You have to speed when driving here, in order to not be an obstacle for some junior high school drop out driving a pickup at 80mph towards a screeching stop at a red light while not looking up from their phone – if they decide to stop at all.
Going back to the number of people in Allegheny County who get hit by trains… it’s a fairly obtuse number to find. In 2024, there were 10,218 motor vehicle crashes in Allegheny County, which is a fairly easy number to find. So many ways to die…
Here’s a few of the most likely ways to die in Pittsburgh, according to Google’s AI:
1. Drug overdoses
- Accidental overdose deaths remain a significant concern, particularly in the Black community, where the death rate is three times higher than among White residents. This disparity is attributed to factors like reduced access to treatment, naloxone, and other harm reduction resources.
- Fentanyl continues to be the primary drug involved in overdose deaths, although the presence of xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer, is rising and complicates the reversal process with naloxone. The county is actively working to address this issue through expanded access to treatment and awareness campaigns.
- Black residents are dying from overdoses at a rate more than three times that of white residents. The 2023 data show the overdose death rate for Black individuals was 141 deaths per 100,000 (232 deaths) compared to 43 deaths per 100,000 for white individuals (428 deaths), according to Allegheny County.
2. Traffic-related accidents
- Fatal Crashes: While traffic fatalities in Pennsylvania generally declined in 2024, reversing previous trends, there were still numerous deaths in Allegheny County.
- Contributing factors: Speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, and lack of seatbelt use remain major contributors to crashes and fatalities, according to Rosenbaum Injury Law.
- Vulnerable road users: Vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and bicyclists, were involved in a notable number of fatal crashes, though the number of crashes involving them declined from 2023 to 2024.
- Specific Incident: One tragic incident involved a bicyclist who died after colliding with downed power lines in North Park.
3. Other causes
- Explosions: A massive explosion in Crescent Township resulted in the deaths of two individuals and the destruction of a house.
- Child fatality: An 8-year-old child died due to complications from drowning, with the investigation revealing inadequate supervision by a babysitter.
- Child Ingestions: Unintentional drug ingestions, particularly involving opioids, are a growing cause of child fatalities and near fatalities, especially among children under three.
- Air Pollution: Despite improvements in air quality, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution continues to contribute to an estimated 640-1373 deaths annually in Allegheny County between 2020 and 2022.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These stairs suck, I should mention. Painted on top of the runs, rather than having any sort of friction pad, the rises are also uneven between the different sets of stairs which wind down from the bridge.
Also, I’m just plain chickenshit about walking down stairs, post ‘brankle.’ That’s what I call the now partially healed but broken ankle – ‘brankle.’
I visualized it all. Me, stumbling, tumbling, cracking against the steel landing below. My pelvis shoots out and gets crushed by a passing truck, and I’m internally decapitated so I can still see everything that’s happening. My arms break off during the fall and they are carried away by raccoons. The legs get run over repeatedly by a cadre of competitive bicycle racers, then a seagull improbably appears and starts pecking at my generals, and finally a junkie shows up and boils down what’s left of me for the elements, to sell…
PTSD sucks.
Also from Google’s AI:
Pinpointing the exact number of people who died from falling down a flight of stairs in Allegheny County in 2024 is difficult with publicly available information. While there was a report of a man dying after falling down a stairwell in a Downtown Pittsburgh apartment building in June 2025
It is challenging to find specific statistics for the entire county.
Detailed accidental death data, broken down by specific causes like falling down stairs, is usually compiled by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. These reports are often released annually and may not be readily available in daily news reports or generalized accident statistics.
However, several other causes of accidental death in Allegheny County, such as drug overdoses and traffic-related accidents, are more frequently reported.
Back next week with more.
“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.
Crossing Ohio River, via West End Bridge
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, a constitutional scuttle was undertaken, one which found the camera being carried towards and then over the West End Bridge spanning the headwaters of the Ohio River.
H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Lurking Fear’ as read by Wayne June was the audiobook I was listening to. Man, did I get my money’s worth out of that purchase, some twenty years ago, or what? I must have listened to this recording hundreds, it not thousands, of times at this point. Mole hills!
At any rate, I was preparing myself to surmount a set of steps, which I still have a ‘thing’ about in my head. Broke my ankle on a set of steps at home, and have been enjoying the PTSD ever since. Phobic about the rises and runs of stairs, me. It’s getting better, though.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a big development project that’s meant to kick in around here, which is probably why there’s so many empty lots. During football and baseball games, the owners of these empty properties use them as commercial parking lots, to help handle the overflow of vehicles, and to make bank.
I leaned into it, and shook my head until my apprehensions about the steps faded. It must have looked like a scene from Jacob’s Ladder.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m all ‘effed up.
I’ve described crossing the West End Bridge, its history, and its environs before, click here for all that. This particular walking path is regularly visited, as it’s a fairly easy ‘reach’ for me to find a few hours for exercise during an afternoon. Leaving the car at home and using mass transit like the ‘The T’ to get into the zone is just a plus. Once a New Yorker…
I’ve gotten curious in terms of statistics, regarding Pittsburgh. A lot of this thought process involves comparison between ‘the old neighborhood’ and Pittsburgh. For ‘old neighborhood,’ let’s just use Brooklyn, as NYC itself rates as a bit of a Nation State, rather than a mere municipality.
I asked a computer about comparative geography, so according to Google’s AI:
- Brooklyn: Has a land area of 69.4 square miles (183.4 km²).
- Pittsburgh: Has a land area of 55.6 square miles (144 km²).
- Comparison: Brooklyn is significantly larger in land area than Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now, that’s active rail action on the other side of the bridge!
This day, as a note, would end up being described as ‘fantastic’ if the subject of rail traffic or quality of light was my qualifier. Really productive day on that front, as you’ll see in subsequent posts.
Also, comparing the numbers of and brands of people, from Google’s AI:
- Brooklyn: In 2020, Brooklyn’s population was 2,736,074, with a density of 39,336 people per square mile. In 2023, the population was estimated to be 2,646,306. It’s known for its significant cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. In 2023, the racial composition was estimated to be 36.2% White, 26.2% Black, 18.9% Hispanic, and 12.3% Asian.
- Pittsburgh: In 2023, Pittsburgh’s population was estimated to be 303,255. The metropolitan area’s racial demographics were estimated to be 83% white, 7% Black, 3% Asian, and 2% Hispanic.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve mentioned this several times over the last few years, but… there’s the ‘City of Pittsburgh’ and then the ‘Pittsburgh Metro Area or Greater Pittsburgh’ concept, and then there’s an overlay of ‘Allegheny County’ to factor in when talking about this part of the country. It’s kind of complicated.
Finally, comparing the regional economies, also from Google’s AI:
- Brooklyn: The total GDP for the Borough of Brooklyn (Kings County) was US$107.274 billion in 2022.
- Pittsburgh: The GDP for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was $194.229 billion in 2023. However, this figure represents a larger region than just the city itself. Key industries include healthcare, higher education, and financial services.
- Comparison: Brooklyn’s economy, as represented by its GDP, is significant, and the city has seen a resurgence in various sectors, including the arts. While Pittsburgh’s economy was historically dominated by the steel industry, it has diversified into areas like healthcare, life sciences, and technology.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As is my regular habit, a quick 180 degree heel spin occurred periodically to see if I was being followed or predated by some creatures of the streets. Old habit, keeps me from dying hard. The light was really spectacular on this afternoon, I’d mention again.
Back tomorrow with Choo-Choo’s.
“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.
Anomalous gravitics
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When you near the eastern section of the Ohio River Water Trail, the West End Bridge just sort of rises up and looms over you. That bridge is involved in one of the many walking routes I’ve been evolving for myself, since moving out here to Pittsburgh from my lifelong residency in NYC. There’s a set of ‘Bernie Holes’ in the fencing overlooking CSX’s Pittsburgh Subdivision tracks which offer commanding views.
Check out prior posts from up top on the bridge by clicking here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m super curious about what happened with that tree above. Just saying. Normally, you’d grind or burn a stump out, you don’t excavate it root and stem. Weird.
Last time I walked through this area, a well established homeless village was found here. Advanced encampments, with water and power, constructed from tarps with structural supports, was observed here and there were probably two to three dozen people living rough along the river. It’s an election year here, and the incumbent Mayor has just been voted out during the Democratic primary and these encampments were a serious component of the critique of the current administration. Saying that, the outgoing Mayor really seemed to send the Cops and Garbage people out to eradicate all of these encampments and tent cities which had sprang up around the trails in the leadup to the primary.
Wonder what happened to all of those poor people.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a pier here, which seems fairly condemned and is definitely disintegrating, so I didn’t walk out too far on it. Cool view, though.
A lot of post steel development has occurred in the area I was just scuttling into, which isn’t too far from the stadium where the Pittsburgh Steelers dwell in revenant gaze. There’s a casino, the Carnegie Science Center, and a bunch of ‘new’ construction bars and restaurants set midway twixt the dwelling place of the Steelers and that of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.
Sportsball, and gambling (or games of skill, as they call them in PA).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Personally, I was never injected with the sports thing or gambling thing as a child. I’m the nerd who can talk intelligently about Star Fleet uniform specs, Godzilla, and what things a Jedi does or does not do. Obscure DC comic I also don’t like gambling all that much, but given that I’ve worked as a professional artist in one way or another for 40 years – there’s my gamble.
Right about this spot is where fatigue from the walk set in. Not in the ankle, oddly enough, but instead in the upper back. I was walking with a full pack on this afternoon, after all, and after a while…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a hotel, connected to the Casino I think, right where the rail trail returns to the street ‘grid.’ Looks like an architect’s rendering, doesn’t it?
The plan from this point was to acquire access to the nearby light rail station and secure a ride back to HQ in Dormont, which is approximately five miles from where this shot was gathered.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Along the way, couldn’t resist cracking out a shot or two when I noticed that one of the inclines on Mount Washington was moving, across the river. Neat!
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.
Rail trail scuttling, north side style
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator knew about the existence of a few of the rail trails which snake around Pittsburgh’s edges, but frankly – I had no idea how extensive or numerous they are when I moved out here. The former ‘right of way’ for a bankrupted rail road, or an abandoned ROW no longer used by an extant RR outfit, these trails are converted over to recreational usage for the public after legal ‘abandonment.’ The miles long strips of property ends up in the hands of the state/city/towns they move through. These entities find the cash to pull up the rails and pave the surface, and are usually cared for and maintained by either non profits or ‘friends of’ groups afterwards.
Lots of bike riders, joggers, and pedestrians like me use these trails.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Other than offering a series of fairly unique views, the rail trails also give you a back stage POV on the various industrial sites along their path. The industrial sites were likely sited here to take advantage of the former rail service, and you’ll still see the tracks of sidings crawling out from under fences and onto the properties.
The rail trails also host a fairly unique terrain in Pittsburgh due to their relative flatness. Rail grading equates to one foot of elevation for every hundred feet of horizontal travel, as a note. A variety of trail surfaces are encountered: pavement, asphalt, sometimes crushed limestone. The latter makes for the best walking, imho.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Me? I was doing fine. The ankle was cooperating with my ambitions, and all of this ‘stretch and strengthen’ business I’ve been up to for the last few months has started to pay off. I’m still walking a lot slower than I used to, but I’m doing so without much pain at this point.
Really looking forward to being back in NYC next week, and visiting my beloved Newtown Creek. Hopefully, it will be a meditative interval.
As the occultist saying goes: ‘A wizard must return to his place of power periodically for replenishment.’ I plan on getting plenty replenished.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m going to be seeing friends and family on this trip, as well as indulging myself in things I used to enjoy. Riding the ferries and smelling the salt water of NY Harbor again sounds really good after suffering through the whole ankle drama. Heading upstate to visit a buddy for a night, and then going back to Queens – LIC specifically – and my Creek. I’m probably not going to spend any time at all back in Astoria, and will be staying at a buddy’s house in Middle Village. Greenpoint is on my ‘to-do’ list too, as is a meal at a certain Kosher Deli in Mill Basin. First Calvary Cemetery will be getting a visit, I suspect.
I’m trying not to over schedule myself this time around, and am planning on doing a lot of photography. A whole lot.
Any suggestions? Anything major that I’ve missed over the last couple of years that I should pay attention to? I’m hoping for serendipity to strike, but some ‘intel’ would be appreciated. Send me a comment using the site link below. Let me know if you don’t want the comment to be public in the text.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back in the Steel City, this scuttle was hurtling inexorably closer to the titular end of the Ohio River trail. The neighborhood surrounding the industrial zone I’ve been skirting around the edges of is called ‘Chateau,’ or so I’m told.
As described in a prior post focusing in on Western State Penitentiary, also found along this trail, this ‘zone’ is about to struck with the gentrification hammer. The real estate people want to build a giant Ferris Wheel here in the style of the London Eye, with a shopping mall and entertainment complex that offers ‘affordable housing.’ That’ll fix all of Pittsburgh’s problems, for sure.
To be fair, George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. founded his ‘G.W.G. Ferris & Co.’ in Pittsburgh, lived on the North Side and died (1896) there too. Ferris was a railroad and bridge engineer, but was contracted to design and build an attraction for the Great Colombian Exhibition in Chicago (The White City) back in 1893 that would overshadow the Eiffel Tower. He invented his eponymous Ferris Wheel, thereby, in Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My scuttle was nearing its end, as evinced by the looming nearness of the West End Bridge. To my understanding, the admixture of Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers officially becomes the Ohio River at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh – so that’s mile marker zero for the waterbody.
West End Bridge is 1.9 miles from that spot, ‘as the crow flies.’
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 