Posts Tagged ‘South Side Flats’
Always heading nowhere
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Aimlessly wandering down Pittsburgh’s East Carson street with Our Lady of the Pentacle, in the south side flats area of Pittsburgh, where the ghostly outline of a former structure was spotted on the wall of an 1888 vintage merchant’s building. It made me want to deep dive a bit into the history thereof, but I stopped myself.
Sometime in the future, I’ll use my magnifying glass to study the historic building stock found along this corridor, its story, and learn about all the ‘once, long ago, used to be…’ but that’s not today.
The rest of the walk was uneventful, and then we headed back to HQ, where Moe the Dog awaited.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Separately, we were wandering around Pittsburgh’s Dormont during the evening of a different day, Dormont being where Newtown Pentacle HQ is currently found, and the T light rail suddenly exploded into view.
I cannot stop myself, so… HEY NOW!
Our Lady and myself were going out for dinner at a local burger joint, one which offers a fantastic happy hour menu if you sit at their bar. I had a bourbon/apple cider cocktail that ‘rocked the bells,’ alongside a double smash burger. Yum.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot, depicting the Sterling Street steps, which I returned to with Our Lady in tow (she’s caught the bug for exploring the steps), was shot in a manner that attempts to visually describe the PTSD symptoms I’ve been experiencing when traversing stairs, since breaking my ankle on a set of steps at home last year. It kind of looks like this to me, that moment when the blossom of terror opens.
Enough of all that personal terror and weakness, though, it was a beautiful day and that was the focal point.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One truly odd holdover from that experience is that due to all of the opioid pain killers that the Docs were feeding me after the surgery, my memory of this exact period (approx. September to November) from last year is extremely fragmented, or nonexistent. I’m missing about 5-6 weeks of time.
Constant agony, yes. That I remember.
I promise I’ll eventually stop talking about this. Don’t worry, something else that’s horrible or profound will happen to me and then that’ll be my new ‘thing’ to worry about. Sigh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our final set of stairs for the day were attained, and we returned to more or less flat ground at the bottom of the hill. The rest of our walk would be mundane, visiting shops and eating lunch, along the commercial corridor of East Carson Street in the South Side Flats section of Pittsburgh, which brings you back to the first photo and the end of the the last steps story.
It was nice having company for a scuttle, must say. I used to sell tickets in NYC to groups of people who wanted to walk around with me. Narrators need to narrate, occasionally.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Eventually, we found ourselves at the shoreline of the Monongahela River, nearby the Birmingham Bridge. It was time to head back to HQ again, and Moe the Dog. He’s sort of our constant, Moe.
Back tomorrow with something different.
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Roadslug, baby, roadslug
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now! This CSX train, #2218 specifically, bears a painted cognomen on its side that reads ‘Roadslug.’ I had to check with my ‘rail rabbi’ back in NYC to find out what that meant. His response follows:
“Sweet. Road slug is a locomotive without a prime mover. (No diesel engine to generate power) the electric motors on the locomotive revive power from the “mother.” The other locomotive attached to it. CSX road slugs have a cab for control and the fuel tank is piped to provide extra fuel for the mother unit.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The railfan rabbi continues:
“2218 used to be a GP35 class unit before it was de-engined. It was a cost effective way in the 1990’s to re-use outdated locomotives without needing to buy new locomotives.”
Now… my ‘rail rabbi’ pal… he just has this information floating in his head. That’s what a railfan is, and it’s the reason why I keep on pointing out that I’m not (as I don’t have anywhere this amount of knowledge on the subject) and ultimately – I just like taking pictures of trains.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There were only the two locomotive units on this one. They headed off, ‘towards Ohio’ and I finished my ‘luncheon beer’ at the Sly Fox Brewery. After returning my glass, and then ‘inspecting the porcelain’ again, I adjusted the camera straps and bag, and set off for the last leg of my scuttle.
The ankle was in fine fettle once again, after the 30 minute sit down. Yes, that’s how long it takes me to drink a pint. I’m a nurser.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Along the path, a T light rail was observed exiting the Panhandle Bridge after crossing the river, heading out in the direction of its terminal stop in the South Hills section. Soon, I’d be on a similar train set and heading back to HQ, where Our Lady of the Pentacle and Moe the Dog awaited my return.
I had quite a job ahead of me at home, roasting a pork loin for dinner.
The effort would yield lunch the next day, and a couple of days after that too. I actually had to give some of it away to a neighbor. Meat, in particular, has grown so expensive over the last ten months or so that I’m eschewing ‘cuts or chops’ in favor of large portioned items which are a couple of bucks less per pound.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Smithfield Street bridge was crossed. One last look back at the Monongahela River shoreline and the bike/ped trails which line it.
The last embers of this effort glowed dimly as I made my way to the T’s First Avenue Station on the so called ‘Golden Triangle.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While waiting for my ride back to HQ, couldn’t help but pop out a few shots of the Pittsburgh bound T rail sets crossing the river on the Panhandle Bridge.
Back tomorrow with something different 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.
Tooty toot toot
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After all of the uphill and downhill efforts described in prior posts, your humble narrator next found himself wandering through the South Side Flats section of Pittsburgh during a medium length scuttle.
This was the easy part of the walk, as it is quite obviously ‘flat’ in this area, and I took the opportunity to take long strides in obeisance to my ankle problems.
The orthopedic surgeon has ‘released me into the wild’ after my last set of X-Rays and the concurrent consultation. Saying that, a year later, the joint still aches and moans regularly. The Doc said it could be up to two years for a full recovery, but I thought they were joking and offering a worst case scenario. Sheiste!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
If a wall is inserted in front of me, I will throw myself bodily at it until either it shatters or I do. I’m an idiot like that. The ‘will to power,’ it outweighs all discomfort and turns obstacles into sand.
Saying that, the ankle was ‘singing’ at this stage of the day, and I required a ‘sit down.’ I’d been walking solidly, with a brief break while riding the T light rail, for a few hours at this point.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A point was made, while transiting through this increasingly familiar area, to scuttle along streets that I don’t normally route through.
The South Side Flats remind me a great deal of the East Village during the 1980’s, and Williamsburg during the early 2000’s. Gentrifying, but still edgy. I’ve had a few encounters with ‘creatures of the street’ in this area, but I can out talk anybody and I’ve had far more dangerous encounters with random strangers coveting a camera in NYC than anything Pittsburgh has thrown at me – so far.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I turned down ‘Cabot Way.’ In Pittsburgh, if a street is called a ‘way’ then it’s an alley. Dark alley? Yeah, count me in.
One was leaning into the last mile, as it were. Needed to use ‘the loo,’ and also I was extremely thirsty and somewhat hungry. I made the best possible decision then, and decided to have a glass of beer for lunch.
My toes were pointed in the direction of that brewery by the train tracks which I often visit, the one with the trains.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The remaining plan for the day, thereby, involved one last session of shooting trains while drinking lunch, followed by a walk over the Monongahela River via the Smithfield Street Bridge would occur, and then I’d shlep over to a T station for a ride back to Dormont. Fun.
All of that crossing the river and catching a train business is pretty minor, exercise wise, about a half hour of more or less of walking relatively flat ground. This is also the part of the walk where I was ‘striding’ and trying to move as fast as is possible these days.
I still cannot run. A quick scuttle is all I can maintain. This means that I have to wait for the walk/don’t walk signs at intersections, which is weird.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pittsburgh is so damn visually interesting. The accommodation and adaptations of the terrain for the demands of everyday life… it’s 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.
Hey Now!, times three
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the end of a medium length scuttle down through and around Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes neighborhood, detailed in prior posts, your humble narrator now found himself in a quite familiar setting: drinking a pint of beer while at Pittsburgh’s Sly Fox brewery, and photographing passing CSX freight trains.
First up was CSX #3284. Heading northwesterly, towards Ohio, and away from the steel plants found along the Monongahela River, West Virginia, and or Maryland.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was a Saturday afternoon, which made it kind of surprising just how much rail traffic there was during my relatively short visit. I’ve started working out the timing of their operations, and have observed that there seems to be a long interval in the late morning and early afternoon when nothing is rolling through. After about 3 p.m., CSX seems to get a lot busier. I’m seldom if ever here in the early part of the day, so…
After the train passed through, I marched into the brewery, put my glass on the counter and said ‘reload.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In addition to the bartender, CSX seems to heard me say ‘reload.’
Next up was #430, which was heading in a southeasterly direction (away from Ohio). One of the things I like so much about this spot is there are two grade crossings with signal arms here. I get plenty of notice that something is going to be coming through, and an idea of what direction it’s coming from, based on which one of the signal arms triggers first.
They do blow the train’s horns while approaching, but that sort of sound isn’t necessarily ‘directional,’ due to it bouncing around off of buildings and the geology, if you know what I mean.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It had been a pleasant early autumn day in Pittsburgh, weather wise. I was quaffing Helles branded draft Lager at the brewery. Intervals between train sets were about 15-30 minutes on this particular day.
After #430 passed through, I headed inside, demanded another ‘reload,’ and also paid my tab.
Big difference between ‘having a drink’ and ‘getting drunk’ for me is volume related, and these days alcohol in excess just makes me want to go take a nap. I always figure that I’m ‘paying rent’ for the train photo opportunity and am obliged to buy a drink in return for the seating, but this spot is ‘a public park area with a brewery’ rather than the other way around. I usually don’t mention the pints of water I’m also drinking, but there you go.
I could just sit and wait, but I like access to the bathroom and your humble narrator really enjoys a nice cold pint on a warm day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last up – for me, at least – was CSX #7086. It was headed in the westerly direction, towards Ohio, and it was the last thing I’d end up photographing on this particular day.
After a little while, I summoned a rideshare to pick me up, and carry my carcass back to HQ. That habit is something I’m going to be (and have been since the time of this writing) attenuating.
Made sense in terms of the ankle situation, all these months, but I’m back to riding the T light rail again, and using it as my mass transit springboard into various situations and spots. The T has limited range, however, which is why it’s a ‘springboard.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So, that’s the end of my tale of the walk down the Sterling Street Steps, through the South Side Flats, and then gathering train photos at a familiar brewery. Nice time, for a Saturday in October.
Back tomorrow with something different – 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.
Flats scuttle
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After worrying about hidden subterranean tunnels housing armies of atavist cannibals, Day Walking Vampires, and all the other usual stuff I think about while walking down the Sterling Street Steps here in Pittsburgh, your humble narrator had arrived in the South Side Flats neighborhood.
The end goal at this point involved grabbing a beer at a favorite spot, and waiting around with the hope of photographing a few trains.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the PJ McArdle Roadway, which I’ve mentioned (and walked down) several times. There’s a sizable homeless colony which exists below it, along the Norfolk Southern trackage. A recent Mayoral election here in Pittsburgh, and a concurrent ‘cleanup’ order issued by the incumbent, saw several of the large encampments in this very public area disassembled by Police and Sanitation departments. ‘Squeezing the zit,’ as it were. The incumbent lost anyway.
If a Vampire feeds on heroin or opiate enthusiasts, can they catch an addiction sympathetically? Do drugs work on the armies of the night?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yeah, I made a couple of turns I shouldn’t have while walking, and had to consult Google Maps when I went the wrong way. Signage told me that I had.
You have to figure that Vampires are absolute reservoirs for all sorts of blood based diseases. Hep C comes to mind. I’d also imagine that the Nosferatu must have food prejudices and preferences. ‘I only feed off Vegans’ or ‘Nope, he’s been eating Cod.’ Maybe ‘I’m in the mood for a nice juicy Christian’ or ‘I feel like Chinese tonight.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So, I’ve established that you can’t trust the ground, or any people that you might meet as they might be Day-Vampires. What about the air itself? Think there’s miasmas or floating jellies up there in the vault, just waiting for a chance to eat you up? Can you rule that one out? Everything is possible, now, after all.
I’ve advised against swimming in the ocean my entire life. The seas are giant open stomachs and everything in there wants to digest you.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Nowhere is safe, everything and everyone is a threat. If not to your person, than to your sense of reality and self. Best thing to do, thereby, is barricade yourself up within a personal castle and hide away with your guns and your god. It’s only going to get worse, chaos rules.
Really… I cannot tell you how many people tell me stuff like that these days. The world is the world and always has been, bad things abound, but something like 5,000 puppies are being born every minute of the day, globally speaking. Get a grip, people’s.
Sure, there’s Vampires. Why not act like a Van Helsing then? It would be hard to explain to a judge, I admit, burning down Carfax Abbey.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, I arrived in the ‘zone’ which I had been ultimately been walking to for a couple of hours, nearby the ‘Colors Park’ and the brewery where I planned on spending the next hour of my life photographing trains.
Something to do.
More on that next week.
“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 