Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh’
Throw and fill
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator needs a break right about now, which is why single image posts depicting rail traffic observed in the greater Pittsburgh metro area will be greeting you all week.
Pictured above is a Wheeling & Lake Erie train set, captured about twenty miles outside of Pittsburgh’s municipal boundaries.
“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.
Waves or particles
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator needs a break right about now, which is why single image posts depicting rail traffic observed in the greater Pittsburgh metro area will be greeting you all week.
Above is a shot of two Norfolk Southern trains snaking through the South Side Slopes section of 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.
Occlusions and such
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator needs a break right about now, which is why single image posts depicting rail traffic observed in the greater Pittsburgh metro area will be greeting you all week.
Pictured above is a CSX heritage unit moving along the shoreline of the Monongahela River with downtown Pittsburgh providing a backdrop.
“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.
Solus ambulo
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a cool experience with the Wings of Victory historic plane tour about 20 miles away, described in prior posts, I drove from Pittsburgh’s West Mifflin section over to the waterfront section of Homestead to execute one of my constitutional walks.
A section of the Great Allegheny Passage trail coils through here, and there’s a local chunk of it which I hadn’t walked yet. Distant, the section I normally frequent is landmarked by the Homestead Pump House, whereas this one is notable for the extant group of soaking stacks from the former Homestead Steel Mill complex.
To see the historical context of these stacks, click here for a Library of Congress page with ‘back in the day’ info and photo.
They’re just for show these days, an architectural curiosity sticking out of the parking lot at a gigantic shopping center complex called ‘The Waterfront.’ Near the Costco and not quite as far as the Sandcastle water park, close to the movie theater multiplex, that’s where you’ll find these.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was a short walk on what was turning out to be a really warm day, and since there was no tree cover – I was schvitzing heavily. My plan was two miles in and two miles out, and along the way a CSX train came roaring past, so ‘win.’ I had a rail bridge in sight which was my turnaround point and mile marker, although I generally gauge my distance using time.
I’ve started religiously carrying a water bottle on walks, as a note, after my ‘problem’ about a month ago on a different trail.
According to my phone, I walk at 2.3 mph and have a pronounced limp affecting about 20% of stride, associated with my left leg. That’s the one with the smashed toe, broken foot which never healed properly, the sprain prone ankle, the knee that sounds like I’m crushing popcorn in it, and an onset of arthritis through out the entire assembly, so the data is easily interpretable by use of a single phrase.
I’m all ‘effed up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The aforementioned water park, which is dubbed ‘Sandcastle,’ was quite busy and hundreds of kids were waiting their chance to get shot through a plastic tube, or into a wave pool via an angled ramp.
Above is one of my experiments, wherein 17 different shots were combined as some Yinzer teenager shot through one of the ride/tubes. All 17 were combined into a single shot. The action started at top right and finished bottom left, and that’s the same person you see at every stage.
Back next week with more moaning, and groaning, 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.
Alis victoriae, deux
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, a humble narrator was tipped off by a neighbor that a museum aviation outfit, based in Arizona, would be making a July 4th oriented week long stand at Allegheny County Airport here in Pittsburgh.
They flew out two of their planes – a B-17 and a B-25 Mitchell – with the latter being the focal point of today’s post and the former yesterday’s. Links to information on both planes, the airport, and some general WW2 stuff were embedded in the prior post, so scroll down if you’re curious about such things.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Wings of Victory people had set up ladders, of a common variety, to facilitate the climb up into the planes. Once within, you needed to drop down to all fours to move through its confines for an interval, at which point you were able to stand up but needed to stay stooped over. It was very quarters tight within, but these are warplanes and they weren’t built for comfort or for modern day American bodies.
These are still operational aircraft, as a note, and were flown here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From the prone position, this was what I saw while looking towards the nose of the plane. Below was the fore gunner’s station, above, the pilot and co-pilot/radio operator seats. I clumsily reoriented myself towards the neck of the plane, which would carry me through the bomb rack.
That’s right about when I started feeling a bit claustrophobic.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Squeezing through the breech above required sucking in the gut, but the buttons on my shirt were still clicking against the metal. All the kids on the tour jumped through like deer, whereas me and all the other fat assed old men had to turn sideways and hope for the best.
Americans were physically smaller back then, in stature and especially in body weight. Back then, the average height on a draftee was just under 5’ 8,” and their weight would have been about 150 lbs.
Modern day yanks… we don’t have lived knowledge of famine, drought, or financial depressions like they did back then. We’ve been very well fed, as a country, for the last 80 years. In 2024, the average weight of an American male is 197.9 lbs.
On the bomber doors and bomb bay walls, several former service members had left behind autographs with their unit information.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All of the kids were having an absolute blast, and were allowed somewhat free rein to explore. As you’d imagine, those machine guns on the windows were often grasped and ‘choom-choom-choom-gigatah-gigetah-gigateh’ sounds were enunciated more than once.
After leaving the plane, and checked the time on my phone, it was time to leave as I had another destination for the afternoon. I had driven here, so it’d be reached by automobile. It’s still quite novel owning a car, after all those years living in the center of NYC.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On my way out of Allegheny County Airport and to the parking lot, I noticed that the emergency fire unit, which is housed on the airport property, had just deployed their trucks in front of the hangar/garage which they operate out of. Neat.
My next destination was about a 25 minute long drive away, but more on that 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 