Posts Tagged ‘railroad’
I spy, with my little eye…
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Walking over the Fort Pitt Bridge spanning the Monongahela River, here in Pittsburgh, and on one of my many constitutional walks – a humble narrator was feeling a bit ‘meh.’ The part of me that somehow misses NYC was issued a ‘shut the hell up’ order by my internal judge and jury after returning back to the nest at the beginning of February, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss my friends and a certain waterway.
Truth be told, what I really miss was the easy familiarity of the place which I enjoyed through long habitation. One never had to wander too far before something cool was in front of the camera. Sunnyside Yards, Newtown Creek’s industrial zone… heck, when I was bored or feeling a bit sore I’d just go ride the 7 train and crack out a few shots of the trains coming and going at one of its stations.
Most photogenic subway line in NYC, I always said.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pittsburgh is great, mind you, but I’ve had a frustrating couple of months due to the winter weather coupled with an onset of various physical maladies – like arthritis – that limit what I can do during the extreme cold and wet season. Now that’s it’s warming up again… well… it looks like I’m going to have to order another pair of hiking boots as I seem to have shaved about a half inch of the sole away from the pair I’ve been using, just in the last few weeks. My shoe brand is Merrell, if you’re wondering. Used to be sneakers, but I’d wear out a pair of Nikes in about three weeks and soon find myself scuttling along on bald treads. I get about 6-7 months out of a pair of Merrell’s.
The shot above looks back at where I’d been. Foreground is occupied by the Fort Pitt Bridge, which is also depicted in the first shot. Way in the background left area is the Fort Duquesne Bridge which was discussed earlier this week. About a half to 3/4 of a mile behind that is the T light rail station where I started this particular walk. About 400 miles beyond the horizon is the Empire State Building.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The span above is the West End Bridge, which I frequently cross both on foot and in the car. The presence of a CSX train set on that curvilinear track is something I’ve been hoping to see for a while now. Even better news is that the train was being held in place, which I was able to discern by reading the lights on those signal posts. A rapid bit of scuttling ensued to an opportune spot, as there’s a shot which I’ve been desirous of collecting in that particular location.
More on all that tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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“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.
Listen for it
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While scuttling back to the T light rail station after a short walk, where a humble narrator hoped for transit egress back to HQ, a Norfolk Southern train was spotted rolling along its elevated tracks. Remember, yesterday, when I was musing about owning a better telephoto zoom lens than the one I have for random times when a long reach would be handy? Situations like this one are why I covet such things.
One of my favorite shots from last year was captured up near those tracks (location, and shot), when another Norfolk Southern unit was thundering through in the opposite direction. Apparently, there was a pretty dramatic derailment in this area a few years ago (2018) that saw train cars falling over the edge of the track bed, which damaged the light rail station. Wow.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Those tracks up there are set against Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington prominence and are pretty busy, to my observation. This is the south side of the Monongahela River, and downstream – after the ‘Mon’ joins with the Allegheny to form the headwaters of the Ohio River – there’s a bridge which allows these trains to cross the water and continue on westwards using the northern shore of the Ohio.
There’s a medium sized rail yard kind of nearby that those tracks go through, one which I haven’t gotten close to yet. It’s on my list, however. So’s Christmas.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Now that things are warming up a bit here, I’ve got a few things I want to check out on that extensive ‘got to check that out’ list of mine.
In particular, I’d like to pay some more attention to the steel mills east of this area, check out what I can see around Norfolk Southern’s regional ‘home base’ at the Conway Yard, and get a shot of the Westinghouse Atom Smasher.
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.
Squaring up
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another of my constitutional scuttles occurred on one of the rare sunny days which the Pittsburgh Metro area has enjoyed in recent weeks, a scuttle which played out along the Monongahela River. The Mobile Oppression Platform was parked in an adjoining municipal park’s lot, and so off I went.
First steps were when I noticed the Towboat ‘Sierra J’ towing a small fleet of barges, in a westerly direction towards the point where the Monongahela’s transmogrification occurs, after an admixture with the Allegheny, and it becomes the Ohio River.
There’s a lot of flowing water around these parts.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Next up and along my way, CSX #6926 came roaring by, hauling a mixed up bunch of car units behind it. There was coal, and automobiles, and a lot of random cargo boxes trailing behind it.
This walk was from the 31st street bridge to the Fort Pitt Bridge, which is somewhere in the area of about 3-4 miles. There and back again, I guess my walk was about 7.5 – 8 miles, thereby, which I kicked out in a little over two and change hours.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This particular path has become fairly familiar to me, and by now I’m sure to you. Its range is along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, which follows the Monongahela River and is entirely separated from the travel lanes of vehicle traffic. Only foot and bike traffic are allowed. There’s a couple of fairly noisome gaps on the trail, but it’s nothing terribly over the top or dangerous.
There is an opportunity to gain some altitude along the route, which I did to capture the shot above, depicting the T light Rail crossing the Panhandle Bridge and is framed up by the Liberty Bridge and a concrete factory.
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.
Serendipitous scuttling
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our Lady of the Pentacle underwent a medical procedure back in October, and thusly has had to go visit the Doctor a few times since for post procedural checkups. This entire scenario of hers takes place at Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side, and I’ve usually got an hour to an hour and a half to kill while she’s in with the Doc.
I parked the Mobile Oppression Platform at a meter spot and took myself a short walk, thereby, while a light snow was falling. I was heading over to, and ultimately hanging out, on an overlook that sits above a set of railroad tracks.
Just yesterday, I described Allegheny Valley Railroad as being like a ‘white whale’ – rarely seen, and never if you’re actually looking for it. Just to make a liar of me…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was a pretty busy interval, rail traffic wise. These are Norfolk Southern’s tracks, and a good amount of mid afternoon activity was underway. These rails feed into a set of tracks that lead north easterly along the Allegheny River, and also allow egress onto the Fort Wayne Rail Bridge – which leads to a track that’s set pretty much through the center of the City, and are a primary freight pathway eastwards towards the ocean coast. Amtrak uses those same rails, too.
The air was brutally cold. As mentioned, a light snow was underway, but atmospheric temperatures were in the low 20’s and a stiff wind was blowing. I was wearing my ‘Pittsburgh Winter Coat,’ which is quite warm and mostly water repellant.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Regardless, I still had some time to kill and the trains were rolling by one after the other. I’ve got a whole insulation system I use for this sort of weather condition, with my sweat shirt hood pulled up and over the brim of my baseball cap and the jackets hood up over that. I lose peripheral vision doing this, but it keeps my face and eyeglasses dry and forms a pocket of warm air around my ears and neck.
The spot I was standing on is a small street bridge over these tracks which has recently been closed to vehicle traffic, as it is structurally unsound.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From behind me, another train heading west appeared. I bathed in the hot diesel fumes it was pushing up above it, which felt like a summer breeze but smelt like the apocalypse.
This is the same set of tracks leading to the trench through Allegheny Commons Park which I had been haunting in early December.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A triplet of engines set off for points east next, which is right about when Our Lady texted me to say that she was done with the Doctors and required pick up in the Mobile Oppression Platform. I scuttled back towards the MOP’s metered parking spot, which took me back along the fences of Allegheny Commons Park.
I heard the rumble a few seconds before the next train was coming my way, and was able to run over to a somewhat opportune spot in time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The White Whale was back, heading south eastward along the tracks.
Mind you, if I was specifically trying to get a shot of the AVRR, I’d still be standing there a month later. That’s just the way it goes for a humble narrator.
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.
I can hear that train a-coming…
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator is taking the week off from the usual folderol, and on offer are single shots captured sometime in the last year since relocating from ‘Home Sweet Hell’ back in NYC to Pittsburgh.
Pictured above is a Norfolk Southern Freight Train, moving along the south side of the Monongahela River, with the former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR station building in the background.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Kwazy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year to you all. 2024 is going to be a real whopper, I think.
Back next week for a walk over the Birmingham Bridge, continuing the walk from Pittsburgh’s Downtown, to Uptown and beyond.
“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 