Posts Tagged ‘South Side Flats’
Hey Now, yet again
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was Palm Sunday, and… well, what do y’all think us Jews do when you Goyem are in your churches, communing with your god?
This ‘hebe’ was out taking pictures of trains.
After having captured shots of another Norfolk Southern freight unit hurtling past from a point of elevation over the tracks (yesterday’s post), one scuttled about a city block east at the edge of the South Side Flats zone, and then found a pile of big rocks to sit on while waiting for #872 up there to arrive.
Sated, I moved on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I didn’t have any sort of plan for this part of the walk, just following my nose and kicking my feet around. Eventually, I’d need to get back to the T Light Rail’s Station Square stop, which is about a mile or so from the spot pictured above. Movement, that’s what I was after.
Hey, I don’t think I’ve walked that way yet, wonder what’s there?
As usual, I was the singular pedestrian.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Street Furniture was encountered, and somebody must seriously regret not dealing with this couch prior to a rainstorm which blew through Pittsburgh the previous night. Sheesh. Hell, back in NYC, this sofa would already be in somebody else’s living room. A lot of people don’t lock their cars up here, or even their houses when they go out. Can you imagine?
My toes were pointed, in the direction I needed to go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another view of the South Tenth Street Bridge, complimenting yesterday’s more aerial POV from those high flying City Steps up in the South Side Slopes. I’ve noticed a serious drop off in foot traffic in this area in the last few months. Wonder why?
I figured on being RR greedy, and headed down towards the trackage of CSX, but they weren’t busy – at all. Nothing was coming through.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
More street furniture was encountered.
Littering and dumping in Brooklyn and Queens was always done in a somewhat artistic way. You wouldn’t just abandon a couch like this, you’d need to ‘eff it up a bit,’ maybe even set it on fire before abandoning it. Paint some obscene graffiti on it. Maybe include a sort of explosive into the plan… something… give the couch a Viking funeral. It’s been loyal.
That sort of thing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I keep on reminding myself that ‘every walk doesn’t have to be an exodus,’ and accordingly kept on heading back towards transit. There’s a T light rail unit crossing the Monongahela River via the Panhandle Bridge, which was the last shot from this one.
Back next week with something – completely – different.
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Hey Now! Squared
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First… the bad news: That brewery along these railroad tracks, which I’ve been haunting since moving to Pittsburgh from NYC, has closed its doors.
It seems that me showing up once every couple of weeks to photograph CSX trains, while drinking the two beers they sold me, wasn’t enough to keep them open. That’s why these shots are from ‘above’ instead of the usual ‘down there.’ The good news is that the brewery immediately changed hands and a new operator for the space is currently moving into the property. Whew!
Your humble narrator was ensconced upon an elevated causeway which forms a bridge over the rail tracks, a trestle structure designed with heavy trucking in mind. This entire area used to be part of a rail yard operated by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR.
The building that the brewery, and this very ramp upon which I was standing is based within, used to serve as an intermodal facility where cargo could be unloaded from rail cars, warehoused, and then loaded onto trucks for local delivery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s empty offices and residences, mainly, these days. It’s owned and operated by one of the big real estate players from South Brooklyn who have had their hooks in the Bush Terminal along the Gowanus for a long time. Same set of problems here, as they have created there.
The riverfront trail is nearby, along with with Colors Park, but observationally the retail levels of this property are disastrously underutilized, and I barely see anyone coming or going from this structure who isn’t a security guard or maintenance worker. There’s an office of some kind in there, as you’ll notice ‘professional looking’ people exiting the place while wearing lanyards with ID’s on them at about five in the afternoon. Other than that – it’s usually quiet as a tomb. Perfect for me, but not so much for all 3 of their retail tenants.
I’ve been struck, incidentally, after watching a series of documentaries about Pittsburgh which were crafted back in the 1980’s and 90’s by a fellow who works for the local PBS station (WQED) named Rick Sebak.
It’s startling to see ‘that’ Pittsburgh, before the suburban diaspora really kicked in, when the Downtown section was pulsing with life and the ‘Station Square’ area surrounding this ‘Highline’ building was absolutely popping with both daytime and nightlife activity.
These days, it feels like there was a plague…
oh… wait…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #5381 was hauling some sort of mineral – which looks like coal – but I’m assuming that one there so let’s use ‘mineral.’
That isn’t some sort of political statement, by the way. I’ve caught crap from the local boomers, on social media, about this verbal stand of mine, but they’re the same people who use the word ‘Democrat’ like it’s an accusation.
It may walk like one, and quack like one, but I’ve learned over the years not to pronounce something as being a duck if I don’t know for sure that it is indeed a Duck. Looks like coal, probably coal, I don’t know for sure.
Pronouncing something as being ‘something’ without any sort of proof or knowledge of the subject you’re commenting upon may be enough to get you elected to the Senate as a Republican, but otherwise that’s just how you end up with egg on your face. (that’s a political statement)
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One walked back over to Station Square for a ride back to HQ on the T, and son of gun if Norfolk Southern didn’t make an appearance too.
This was a red letter day for rail, in the end. Admittedly – not a great POV for Norfolk Southern #9813 up there, as it rode along their elevated trackage on a berm set against the foothills of Mount Washington, but beggars and choosers – huh?
The Sebak documentaries are charming, folksy, and betray a real love and appreciation for Pittsburgh and its unique cultures. If you can find them without paying PBS… well… why don’t you just donate to PBS instead?
What struck me while watching these Sebak films is the visualization of the depopulation of the central node of Pittsburgh’s business districts. In the 1980’s, films of ‘Downtown’ reveal a thriving metropolis with thousands of people walking the streets and interacting with retail level shops.
Modern Pittsburgh’s Downtown ain’t like that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Several times on this short walk, I asked myself ‘where is everyone?’
Not in the sort of areas I’d normally inhabit, where the answer usually is ‘no, and why in the name of hell are you here at a sewer plant or waste transfer station?’ No, I’m talking mid afternoon on a weekday, in the business, political, and administrative center of an American City.
The difficult part about capturing this sequence of photos involved getting the camera’s focus to land on the train, rather than on the web of wires and tree branches surrounding it. Other than that, I was just sitting on a station bench, waiting for a T light rail ride back to HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Tomorrow, we’ll start a much longer walk – an actual adventure of a scuttle, if you’d indulge me. I had a great time at least.
At last… the long threatened return to Skunk Hollow! The things I saw… wonders… wonders…
Back tomorrow – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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Slideways, then down, not up
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Continuing with photos from a short scuttle in Pittsburgh, on a day I got fairly lucky, were the subject of passing freight trains to come up. Your humble narrator was loathsomely crossing the Allegheny River upon one of the ‘Three Sisters’ bridges. I was busy with the self loathing and all that, so one barely even noticed the weather.
It was a lovely day, with temperatures in the high 50’s and a stiff breeze. The sky was partially overcast, but there was plenty of sunlight. My bad ankle was happy, for once.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Normally, when a municipality hangs a traffic sign on a bridge, it’s telling you what you can’t do. The signage above seems to indicate to drivers that they can do pretty much whatever they want. That kind of fits with how Pittsburgh drivers operate their vehicles, observationally.
I headed over towards a T Light Rail station.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the scene Downtown, from Liberty Avenue. On a weekday afternoon. It’s like a zombie apocalypse has occurred. Where is everybody?
I pointed my toes towards the T’s Wood Street station, where my chariot would soon arrive and carry me across to the South Side area. For once I didn’t have to worry about which line I was boarding, since I’d be debarking the thing at the first stop on the Monongahela River side.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One descended into the narrow depths, using a moving staircase.
A quick ‘sit down’ ensued, while waiting for the train.
During this interval, I observed the behavioral tics of the humans Yinzers in the same manner as I’d observe zoo animals. ‘Look,’ a dominant male… and over there, that breeding age female must be in estrus, based on the veiled reactions to her from that teenaged male over there… ‘that one’ looks sick, and ‘that one’ is wearing a MAGA hat. A woman over there… she seemed to have two prosthetic legs but was walking without a cane. As it happens, I was midway through my annual listening of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ album while waiting, and these were the songs which were playing.
I’m all ‘effed up. Bah!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
‘On the other side’ is at The T’s Station Square stop, and as I was debarking the facility a Pittsburgh bound T unit rumbled into scene.
The final steps of my day were all about greed.
I’d been very lucky all day in terms of syncing up with passing trains, and was thereby desirous of seeing whether or not my luck might hold out. It did, but that’s tomorrow’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A passing Towboat caught my attention while walking along, as it was all framed up by the Panhandle Bridge. Luckily, I can report to you that this was the last of my ‘rinse and repeat’ routed scuttles, wherein I was constrained in movement by ice and snow. The weather has since ‘cured up’ a bit, and all of the paths are once again clear.
I’ve also allowed my ‘lead time’ to evaporate a bit, in terms of how far in advance these posts are scheduled. These photos were captured better than a month ago, on February 13th. These words are being typed on the morning of March 13th, a Friday.
Back tomorrow with Choo-Choo’s, and a ‘Hey Now!’ or two.
“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.
Hungry Frustrarian Empire
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once again, your humble narrator finds himself locked firmly in your past, as the very moment these words are being typed it is currently the 24th of February as far as these words go, but the photos were shot back on Friday the 13th of the same month.
You’re seeing this mid March, if I’ve got my scheduling correct. These shots represent the part of February when you wondered if it would ever stop snowing, and pondered if the Fimbulvetr was finally underway. The cool thing is that as you’re reading this, we both know how things turned out.
It’s been really, really difficult to find a walking path not blocked by ice and snow. Mentioned many times, Pittsburgh ‘shit the bed’ on snow removal. Not just the city, but the private entities hereabouts too.
Disappointing. Fixable, but I don’t want to fix things anymore.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The original plan was to ride the T light rail to the very ‘developed’ Monongahela Waterfront nearby the Station Square Stop. I’d ride the incline up to the top of Mt. Washington, I thought, but the Incline was out of service.
Ok! ‘Plan B’ took the form of me walking in the street, along a de facto highway, because some bunch of goofballs decided to pile snow on the sidewalks, forming eight foot high mounds. This pathway delivered me to a parking lot, which was expertly plowed, shoveled, and treated for ice. The parking lot leads to an entrance to one of the river trails.
It just ‘has to’ have a path, I thought, given that the trail abuts one of the Crown Jewels hereabouts – Riverhounds Soccer Stadium. I mean…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The good news is that I saw a Towboat towing something. It was navigating easterly along the Monongahela River. Yay!
I cannot express how bored I’ve recently been. As mentioned above, we’re still deep in the wintertime here in Pittsburgh, at the time of this writing at the end of February. No Bueno, indeed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was the condition of the trail, the one I was hoping would be cleared, incidentally.
These shots were gathered on the first actual ‘melt’ day, with temperatures above freezing, that had occurred in about a two to three week interval, since a big snow maker had dumped 18 or so inches across the region. It shut down a lot of options for me.
I was stuck sloshing through this, which kind of ‘pissed off’ my bad ankle a bit. Wasn’t awful, but the organelle definitely made its displeasures known.
Fixable. This snow business is fixable. Easily so, and everybody who participated in fixing the problem would get to see themselves on the tv.
Fixable…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oddly, given the condition of the trail, an enormous multi acre for pay parking lot was neatly cleared of snow and ice. I walked around there for a bit, and luckily spotted CSX #3155 as it tried to sneak past me while passing under the Fort Pitt Bridge. Imagine…
The trail on the other side of the parking lot was clad in deep snow similarly to the section detailed in the previous shot. Flarn!
Hands were thrown up in disgust, I fell to my knees and decried cruel fate. Imagine that… it was cold and snowy out in early February… and since I was largely unlucky in my pursuits – no incline, no sidewalk, no access – I could blame it on… Friday the 13th!
Dun dun dunnnnn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I back tracked through the well shoveled parking lot, walked across the blocked sidewalk street, and then just boarded a T back to Dormont. Real short walk, this one, maybe three miles all told. At least the camera got up off its butt, and did something. Hmmphf.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
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Operation De temps à autre
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While walking across the Monongahela River, onboard the Smithfield Street Bridge here in Pittsburgh, one became enamored by the reflectivity of the ‘rotting’ ice flows along its southern bank. Add in some light rail crossing over the river on the Panhandle Bridge? Nepenthe.
One was awaiting the arrival of ‘proper rail,’ but I’ll take what I can get.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That large brick building in the background, behind the Panhandle and Liberty Bridges, is the location of that brewery which I’m always shooting CSX trains from. I’d be heading that way, but this wasn’t a ‘have a beer’ day, it was a ‘short walk’ day.
All told, probably about 4-6 miles by the time I got back to HQ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My dreams came true, and ‘Hey Now’ was exhaled from that noisy hole on my sensory and gustation stalk, which the humans might call a ‘head,’ an entry point to the within that I normally pour coffee, or stuff hamburgers or candy into.
CSX was on the scene, navigating along their ‘Pittsburgh Subdivision’ tracks. Well, it’s not really ‘navigation’… it’s more ‘operation.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The cool thing about this ‘zone’ is that you can hear the train coming, long before it comes into view. There’s a few ‘grade crossings’ along these tracks which necessitates the crew blowing their train horn, and that begins the better part of a mile away in either direction. When the locomotive gets close, alarmed signal arms at the grade crossings are triggered, so flashing lights and ringing bells join the party.
It’s great… for me, at least.
Hey now!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After this capture, one found his way down and over to that brewery, but as mentioned, didn’t partake. I was being greedy, and wanted to catch another rail shot while I was in the area.
Hey Now!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After #3155 passed by, my toes were pointed in the direction of transit and back home. I couldn’t really feel the toes, but there you are.
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 