Posts Tagged ‘South Side Flats’
Back to level ground
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator was highly satiated and satisfied by scuttling the spectacular Sterling Street Steps in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes section, as described in prior posts. The subsequence of this walk played out on the way downhill, and then into the South Side Flats area. I was already thinking about photographing trains.
Saying that, what a fascinating place this neighborhood must be to live. Challenging, though.
What if you drop an apple or orange on your way back from shopping?
The tumbling cultivar might build up enough momentum, rolling down that hill, to achieve ballistic speeds. You wouldn’t expect that, an orange moving faster than the speed of sound smacking into you. That’s ‘how they get ya.’
Also, as you’ll recall from a few posts ago, I’m quite concerned about the idea of Diurnal Vampires – Day Walkers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just like back in NYC’s Queens, all those centuried waves of immigration to Pittsburgh have also allowed egress for hordes of parasitic ghouls, devils, and all the horrors that bedeviled these populations in the old world who followed their victims overseas. These entities have long set up shop here in the Republic.
Vampires are just part of the ‘evil equation,’ and luckily they’re pretty rare. You can’t have too many human hunters in one area, even in NYC, for the same reason that Tigers are solitary and have to maintain huge hunting ranges. A wolf, for instance, needs to consume 5-7 pounds of meat a day. Too many predator vampires, not enough blood. Basic economics suggest thereby that the price of keeping a human alive prior to exsanguination becomes expensive, and inflated. Best to spread out.
There’s persistent local legend here in Western PA., about ‘hill people’ who secretly inhabit the larger Appalachian region – as in they’re cannibalistic ‘people’ who live inside, and under, the hills who grab and carry away kids and hikers from the woods. It doesn’t get talked about.
Actually, Lore Lodge recently did discuss it extensively.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Wittering and worrying about the armies of the night on a brightly lit afternoon just speaks so much about my psychology… I can find a ray of darkness in any point of light…
This part of Pittsburgh was extensively mined in the 18th and 19th century. Mount Washington, which is the landform that these steps are set into, used to be called ‘Coal Hill.’
Coal mines that were abandoned, even the ones which the State environmental people know about, are a real problem in these parts.
About a year ago, some poor woman and her dog were swallowed up by a sink hole that spontaneously subsided in their back yard. That hole dropped them down about 40 feet into an old coal mine which nobody knew about. The lady died, but the dog was rescued by Fire Dept. personnel. Concrete was poured into the mine’s void and the ground restored.
It seems that you didn’t need to file a building plan with the local Government, back to the 1830’s and most of the way to the 20th century, when you wanted to start digging into the verge in search of fortune. Lots and lots of small scale mining activity happened below the surface, and no records were left behind of the subterrene corridors, columns, and chambers which were carved out and then abandoned.
Pennsylvania has maps of the abandoned mines which are known to exist, but every Academic and Authority bemoans that it’s incomplete.
Beyond these abandoned voids allowing a place for the ‘Hill People’ and other legends to congregate and lurk in fuligin darkness, abandoned mines also produce acid runoff and other environmental hazards. Good news is that Pennsylvania leads the nation in terms of mushroom harvest.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A rickety steel bridge at Mission Street, overflying a park and also neighboring a municipal water pumping facility, marked my turn off from the Sterling Street Steps and corridor. From this point out, it was all fairly familiar ground.
The plan from here out was to really lean into my strides and walk as quickly as I could, these days. Flat ground was nearby.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve walked down South 18th street quite a few times. Steeply graded, South 18th’s severely angled pavements have helped me regain the strength in my calves after the broken ankle incident.
South Side Flats isn’t an area where I’ll worry about esoteric things like Ghasts or Day Walkers, instead I’m looking out for the ‘dope sick’ and desperate who might decide to try and take something from me to feed their habits.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Were I younger, and I mean in my early thirties, the South Side Flats would have been where I wanted to settle here in Pittsburgh. A nearby commercial street is full of restaurants, bars, nightlife. Great spot. Lots of junkies, street people, and tons of ‘law and order’ trouble at night, however. Very much reminds me of First Avenue or Avenue A in NYC’s East Village.
I’m old, though, so we moved to the suburbs, and just come down here when a night out is desired.
My toes had already pointed in the direction of the Sly Fox Brewery, where a pint of beer and – hopefully – a bunch of CSX trains would be waiting for me for the price of walking another mile or so.
Back 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.
Things a-popping, everywhere’s ya looks
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a long interval of ‘have-to’s,’ your humble narrator finally found a little time for the camera’s exercises. I had the car with me, and drove to where I was going, violating my normal habit of leaving the car at home when out scuttling. Since I was hyper-mobile, I checked in on the Rook Yard of the Wheeling & Lake Erie RR outfit while on my way. They were doing ‘something,’ with that train set moving back and forth while workers adjusted the switches. Everybody has something to do.
Our Lady of the Pentacle was out of town, and Moe the Dog was thereby nervous and ‘faklempt’ without her for better than a week. She’s goodness and light, Out Lady is, and when she’s not here all the dog has to rely on is me.
I’m horrible, an intelligence of malign instincts housed in the decaying cadaver of a man, an outsider and abomination which somehow walks and breathes but never seems to stop talking. Poor Moe had to deal with me, but after a certain interval of service to the pup, one needed to get some exercise and wave the camera around lest madness take over.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I drove down to the Monongahela River shoreline, and the Colors Park, where there’s also a parking lot. After the Mobile Oppression Platform was safely stowed, one gathered his gear together and set out for a scuttle. It was just a few miles this time, and I opted for a familiar section of the Great Allegheny Passage trail to focus in on and where I’d slap the pavement with my feet.
The concrete factory next door to the Sly Fox brewery was unloading a minerals barge and piling the stuff up for processing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Since this was going to be a short walk, it had been decided to try and walk as fast as I’m capable of these days. Cardio, yo.
It was a warm autumn day in Pittsburgh, with clear skies and temperatures in the upper 70’s. Your humble narrator ‘leaned into it.’ No headphones or audiobooks for this walk, which I’d already capstoned as being ‘Liberty Bridge to Fort Pitt Bridge and back.’ There and back again is just under three miles. A short walk, thereby.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back at HQ, Moe had really been working me during Pu Lady’s absence. I’m fond of telling the neighbors that Moe is very much Our Lady’s dog, but that I’m his favorite toy. That played out in an ever tightening circle of annoyance for me, and I desperately needed a break from the inter species dynamic for an afternoon.
Great care was exercised, in terms of moving about the world, given that Our Lady was on another continent and recent experience with the broken ankle revealed that your whole life can be turned upside down unexpectedly. Moe’s life was literally in my hands.
A ‘deadman’s switch’ was instituted with one of my neighbors. If she did not receive a daily text from me, her husband would then be instructed to break into my house after work and save Moe. I told them to just leave my body lying wherever they found it for the coroner to deal with.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey Now! I was hoping a train or two might appear.
That’s CSX #7225, heading away from Ohio along the outfit’s Pittsburgh Subdivision (aka Keystone Subdivision) tracks along the Monongahela River. Tankers, that what it was hauling. Could have been fuel, or chemicals, can’t tell you what was inside. I also fundamentally do not care.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I still had a few days of solo service to the dog ahead of me. Our Lady is British, and she had headed home to visit her Dad and Brother as well as her passel of old friends. A hellish interval for me.
I hate the loneliness. I’ve become ‘institutionalized.’ Moe the Dog ain’t a great conversationalist.
Back next week 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.
Hey Now! Friday Edition.
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
HEY NOW! I had arrived at the Sly Fox Brewery outfit’s ‘Highline’ location, and started a tab. I’ve seen these tracks referred to as either the ‘Pittsburgh Subdivision’ or as the ‘Keystone Subdivision.’
Just as I was sitting down outside the brewery, with a lovely pint of stout, CSX #2656 thundered through while heading in a westerly direction.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now! Emanating from the west, #7411 hurtled past next. It was quite a busy afternoon, I should mention, for the employees of CSX. I was only there for about two hours, but the hits kept on coming.
I’m going out of my way not to look up the make and models of these trains, as a small section of my soul seems to die everytime I do.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now! Next up was CSX #7391. Really, it was a very busy afternoon for the CSX folks.
As I’ve been learning about rail here in Pittsburgh, one of the things I’ve gleaned is that ‘getting the shot’ is all about finding where the railroad choke points which they have to pass through are. It’s just like fishing.
Luckily, this particular choke point is found alongside a decent bar with outdoor seating.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
#7391 is either brand new or it’s just been repainted. That’s one of the highest quality ‘finishes’ I’ve ever seen on a freight train. Shiny and all specular, with actual reflectivity. Wow.
I went inside to the bar and paid my tab, then headed back outside to start my journey back to HQ in Dormont.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey now! The signal arms began to chime again just as I walked back outside, and this time it was CSX #7563 that was flowing towards me.
This train’s finishes were in the sort of corroded and scratched up condition which most freight trains usually are observed in.
All beat up, and quite a counterpoint to #7391.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It had been a nice day, really.
Back next week 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.
Sky Palaces & the ultramundane
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘bits,’ from the ‘Kill Bill’ movies, offers the supposition that Clark Kent isn’t a secret identity for Superman – rather it’s that Clark Kent is commentary on humanity, and revelatory as to how the Man of Steel regards mankind. Weak, cowardly, indirect, messy, all that. That’s balderdash, Superman has the most ‘humanity’ amongst all of the fictional men. He’s a miracle.
Philip Johnson, architect of PPG Place here in Pittsburgh, was a guy whom I’d imagine didn’t like the idea of humanity very much. Whenever I’ve found myself walking around or within his buildings, a sensation of ‘inhuman’ jumps out of me. You can exist in Johnson’s work, but not ‘live’ there. The architecture is the main character, and you’re just a ‘walk on’ extra. Johnson lived in a glass house, literally, and threw stones all the time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying that, Johnson’s stuff is always pretty photogenic. I’ve got an idea for a cool shot in this area, one of my rare ‘moving image’ forays. Planning on trying to surmount the ordeal of capturing it as the winter gets closer, and the skies grow more dynamic.
I’ll need fast moving weather for what I’ve got in mind.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I had a few errands to run, and then the afternoon would be mine to waste. A couple last shots from downtown, and I was heading across the river to the usual spot at Sly Fox Brewery, for what ended up being a fairly productive late afternoon session of shooting trains.
One headed over to the Smithfield Street Bridge to cross the river.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Cola Street caught my eye again during the effort, with its Color House. That vehicle bridge in the shot is a part of the PJ McArdle Roadway, which I’ve walked down several times.
The Paris of Appalachia, yo.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On my walk to the brewery, I spotted a BNSF locomotive moving along CSX’s Subdivision tracks. Movers and shakers, BNSF is the country’s largest railroading outfit and operates over 8,000 locomotives.
They seemed nice.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A bit closer to Sly Fox Brewery and the concrete company next door to it was unloading what looked like sand from a barge. A crane handled the work and conveyor belts transported the market across the tracks and into the mixing vessels.
Your humble narrator repeated his usual ritual of using the brewery’s lavatory and then ordering a pint of beer, starting a tab. I planned on hanging out here for a while, and photographing trains.
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.
Going to and coming from…
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After executing a fairly long scuttle, along the Great Allegheny Passage Trail between Homestead and the South Side Flats section of Pittsburgh, just as I was arriving at the Sly Fox brewery for a rehydration session with a coy-Le of lovely pints of Stout, the train tracks signal arms lowered and the alarm bells started ringing.
A train was a-coming. HEY NOW!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
#3418 was heading westerly, towards Ohio. It was hauling cargo boxes and tanker cars. A ‘GE ET44AH’ model locomotive, its fairly modern by CSX standard, having been built just during the last twenty or so years.
‘Grade crossings,’ as in when a vehicle/pedestrian path is interrupted to allow train egress, are pretty rare back in NYC.
Apparently, Robert Moses made it one of his missions in life to eliminate as many of NYC’s grade crossings as possible, except at Newtown Creek. Here’s one in Blissville, one in Maspeth, there’s LIRR in DUPBO, and one that’s from East Williamsburg.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The spot I was standing on was once part of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie rail yard back in the days of steel, and the brewery I was headed to is sited in a building that used to serve as a rail yard warehousing and intermodal operation. Railroad tracks were here first, so everything else has to wait when a train comes through. Saying that, I see people racing against oncoming trains all the time. It’s only a matter of time before I photograph something horrible happening.
Hey now?
They don’t do Guinness at this establishment, but they do offer a couple of other choices in the ‘Stout’ category which I’d describe as ‘salubrious.’ After a quick visit to the porcelain within, and then to the bar, your humble narrator soon sat down for the first time in a few hours, and slurped on a pint of grog while hoping for the next train to arrive.
Vainglorious hope, and after an hour I paid my tab and started moving again. There’s an elevated truck ramp that overflies this familiar spot, which the current owners of the property have fashioned as ‘The Highline.’ I headed up there.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just as I got to the ‘top,’ the signal arms began to chime and another train appeared, this one heading south easterly and away from Ohio.
CSX #3200, its a GE ES44AC-H model locomotive. Same basic design as #3418, I’m led to believe, but equipped with different electrical gear and traction controls.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You have to respect ‘nerdom’ and all the facets it may take.
There’s comics people, music people, sci-fi people, philatelists, sports people. Uncredentialed experts in their fields of study, these people nevertheless are amazing fonts of knowledge about esoteric things. Like railfans are. Respect.
As stated a hundred times: I’m not a ‘railfan,’ in terms of understanding all the nuance and detail that’s rolling past the lens. I just like taking pictures of trains, an activity which I find kind of challenging.
I’m a photo nerd, these days.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After the train passed, it was time to head back to HQ and I opted for the lazy solution to getting home – calling a ride share. It’s about $12 for that fare, as Pittsburgh isn’t terribly large and HQ is roughly five miles from this spot.
Moe the dog danced and brayed on my return, then promptly fell asleep.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“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 