Posts Tagged ‘Tugboat’
‘Effin Pittsburgh, yo
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just as I arrived at a series of ‘Bernie Holes,’ found in the fencing on Pittsburgh’s West End Bridge which overlook the CSX tracks along the Ohio River, a train set appeared. The locomotive engine was CSX #6348, an SD40-2 type built by General Motor’s Electro Motive Division. That’s literally all I can tell you about the thing, as I continue to refuse to ‘nerd out’ about trains.
Really, I just like taking pictures of the things, which I find fairly challenging. Something moving at 20-40 mph that’s bigger than most houses, which just sort of randomly appears… that’s a difficult photo. I guess I’ve been preparing for this sort of scenario with all of those subway posts I used to do back in LIC for a while now.
BTW- How’s that all that going these days, New Yorkers? I’ve seen the news about the Governor sending the National Guard in. Tell me in the comments, I’d love some ‘personal experience’ perspectives on the presence of long barrel military guns being brandished about down below.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot looks back along the West End Bridge span I’d just walked. This isn’t a hard walk at all, I’d mention, but driving over this bridge is actually fairly challenging. Narrow – in the extreme – travel lanes, and you have to be in the correct lane for your destination on the other side, I’d offer. The amount of gouging into and transferred auto paint on the bridge’s concrete sections speaks to the driving challenge. Tight fit, this.
Also, as a note… ‘Bernie Holes’… are gaps found in fencing that would otherwise occlude a desirable point of view. Some of these are surveyor’s holes, which are discernible by the fact that the fencing was cut with a power tool. My old friend Bernie Ente, who introduced me to the Newtown Creek community and acted as a mentor when I first turned up on the creek, had created a series of these apertures all over Western Queens. He made me privy to many of their locations, and long have I thereby referred to them as ‘Bernie Holes,’ although the ones here in Pittsburgh were obviously not created by him. They do use his preferred pry bar and spring powered vise grip methodology, however.
For those of you reading this who were members of ‘Team Bernie’, hello again old friends.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The train lumbered along, and the towboats were changing shifts. This one looks up the Ohio towards the Monongahela River. The plan at this point was to walk eastwards, in order to get back to a T station and home to HQ after my short walk.
Simple pathway, this. After debarking the bridge, I’d walk about a half mile, where the entrance to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail is found. An easy walk is found on the trail, which offers quite photogenic sets of circumstance along the way. This has become one of favorite paths here in Pittsburgh. By ‘easy,’ I mean flat.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, something about this abandoned automotive service building, constructed of corrugated steel, intrigued me. The moss on the roof was calling, I guess. Imagine that, this has to be the most hostile environments that a plant might nestle into. Griddle hot in the summer, undertaker’s slab cold in the winter. Nature always wins.
One negotiated his way down a couple of flights of stairs from the West End Bridge, whereupon I needed to find a place to take a tinkle. Another sign of age which I’ve had to deal with – other than the various aches and pains which I bitch about endlessly – is that as soon as I start exercising the kidneys kick into high gear. This is a good thing, obviously, but it gets a bit problematic when you are walking over a bridge or something.
Luckily, right alongside that steel building pictured above is a fairly private area with lots of shrubbery. These plants were watered, thereby, with my personal liquor.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After obliging these biological imperatives, one continued along with the photowalk. The view was pretty epic from my pee spot, as it turned out, and I waited around to see if another train might be fixing to cross my lens but there was no such luck.
I hate ‘hanging around’ and waiting for something to occur. It’s a ‘photowalk,’ not a ‘photo stand around and wait,’ after all.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One last look back at the West End Bridge, and then to the east did a humble narrator scuttle, which will be described in a subsequent missive.
As a note – I’m still re-listening to the History of Rome podcast mentioned last week, and I’m pretty sure that the story of Marius and Sulla was what was being discussed on this afternoon. It’s a very long podcast, by the way, and highly recommended. Caesar is coming.
Back tomorrow.
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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.
Obsessive & compulsive
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As previously stated, one was involved with an afternoon constitutional walk on a fairly chilly afternoon recently, and my pathway carried me to the West End Bridge here in Pittsburgh. It’s the first bridge to cross the Ohio River, and found just a few hundred yards away from where the admixture of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the waterway’s source.
There’s a pedestrian and bike path on either side of the bridge. I was walking on the eastern side of the thing, which faces downtown Pittsburgh and several other points of interest.
This was a short walk, but I was also desirous of and committed to a ‘photowalk,’ wherein the wandering photographer makes it a point of looking up, down, all around along a meandering path.
Serendipity is what one craves, ultimately. Right place, right time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a towing company, which I know nothing about, based on the southern shore of the river. They seem to haul a lot of mineral barges, but I spotted a Towboat with a barge whose design is unfamiliar to me. It was riding high in the water, suggesting an empty hold, but constructed in a rather stout manner with lots of metal fastenings. It also had a ‘lid’ on it, but didn’t appear to be a fuel barge. Gas, maybe? I don’t know, but if you’ve got an idea – leave a comment and share the wealth.
I was using a zoom lens on this walk – my super reliable 28-105mm. The thing has gotten a bit banged up over the last few years, I’d mention, but it’s also tens of thousands of exposures in at this point. The choice of lens was made for convenience’s sake. Wish I had a broader zoom range, but…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is one of the spots I ‘slow walk’ whenever I’m scuttling down this particular route. Love the abandoned blue automotive care building with its patches of moss on the roof, but what really draws me in are the railroad tracks. These belong to CSX, and are fairly well used. Fencing starts just as you get to where you’d want to shoot from, but there’s ‘Bernie Holes’ cut into the chain link which allows for pretty nice views of the tracks.
More on that tomorrow, and also on what I mean when I say ‘Bernie Hole,’ 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.
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.
MonongaScuttling
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After returning from NYC to Western Pennsylvania, a humble narrator really felt the toll of that exertion. Honestly, it’s the seven hour drive that does you in. It’s not a terribly challenging automotive course – I-80 to I-99, which then lead into the web of highways and bridges found in the Pittsburgh metro – instead it’s the required all-day mental focus that gets to you. These roads move at 75 mph speed limits, a speed which many regard as being a mere suggestion or a starting point rather than a delimiter. One little screw up and you’re hurtling into the woods at highway speed, a cautious narrator offers.
After a couple of days of rest and recuperation, which included raiding the supply of NYC bagels that I’d returned to Pittsburgh with, before they went into the freezer, it was time for a short walk. I didn’t want to make a big production of this one, and just wanted to stretch my legs for a while and maybe catch a shot or two along the way. There’s a particular section of this trail which I hadn’t laid eyes on yet, so…
A quick hop back into the Mobile Oppression Platform (MOP) soon saw me parking it along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail paralleling the Monongahela River, heading in a generally southeasterly direction.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Across the river, on the site of an old steel mill’s campus, there’s some sort of technology incubator outfit. I have no idea what they’re incubating, other than a vague notion that it has something to do with self driving vehicles. People shudder when that term comes up.
The MOP has a driving assist feature that clicks on when I activate its ‘radar cruise control.’ Sensors on the front end of the car ‘see’ the road’s lane markers and make steering adjustments to keep you in the lane (you have to have your hands on the wheel and provide feedback or alert chimes begin ringing out), and another sensor in the car’s grill regulates speed and following distance with other vehicles, which its sees using a variation of radar technology. Most of my friends shake their heads and say ‘uh uh’ when I mention this capability to them, but it’s actually quite useful on long drives like the one from NYC to Pittsburgh.
That’s an Allegheny Valley RR locomotive on the other shore.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s tie off points for tugs all around this part of the river, which got left behind when the steel mill they serviced was torn down. Unfortunately, they were stoutly locked and fenced off from the trail I was walking on so I couldn’t explore. The only other people on the trail, this time around, were a bunch of college age athletes from Pitt that were doing timed sprints and other track and field exercises.
On the ‘you want to know when you feel old’ subject, it’s when you’re limping along and stretching the ligaments back out, just a couple of days after a 7 hour car trip, and there’s 18 year old kids bounding past you like god damned antelopes. Ute’s.
Four miles or so, and back to the car, so about eight miles all told. Not the most photogenic section of the trail, but easy walking. That’s my yelp review.
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.
Scuttling along the Ohio
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in prior posts, we’re currently experiencing weather conditions which the Pittsburgh’s native ‘Yinzers’ call “The Gray.” Unoccluded skies are a rarity this time of year and it’s often quite wet and cold. Regardless, it was time for a short walk. This time around that took the form a roughly five mile scuttle along a trail that follows the Ohio River nearby the ‘north side’ and ‘chateau’ neighborhoods.
This section of the trail is buttressed by an industrial zone, a sewage treatment plant, a defunct prison, and a power station so… it felt like home to this humble narrator.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was heading towards the 1890 vintage Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge at the outset of my scuttle. The trains which use it are generally Norfolk Southern’s. The trail I was walking on was part of the Three Rivers Heritage trail, but signage encountered suggested to me that it was likely added to the larger entity, and was originally called the ‘North Shore of the Ohio River Trail.’ I’m still enjoying my ignorance here, but a sign is a sign.
There are a few small private boat marinas in this section, but the waterline is generally inaccessible unless you like climbing on things. In most places, there’s a 15-20 foot wooded and fenced off drop down from the street/trail level. No doubt this terraced shoreline is part of a flood control strategy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few boat ramps were encountered, but they were littered with cast off vehicles, trailers, even a couple of single wide residential mobile homes were observed. The trail was fairly well populated, with bike riders and joggers, and the occasional dog walker.
An interesting conversation was struck up with some bloke who was riding a sort of electric bike, specifically a model that was new to me. He assured me that his conveyance was more than capable of handling Pittsburgh’s steep hills.
I want one of those, to use as a shuttle craft to and from the Enterprise Car.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Combined Sewer Outfall? Heck yeah! The Ohio River is, as it turns out, the most polluted waterway in the United States. That’s an awful fact, as this river is also the primary source of drinking water for multiple communities in several states.
As mentioned above, on the landward side of this trail, there was an industrial zone. Most of it seemed to be populated either by municipal service installations, building supply warehouses, last mile shipping depots, and there were a few examples of odds and ends sort of businesses like HVAC and truck mechanics. I didn’t explore this upland area – at all – on foot, but did drive around a bit after finishing my walk as I’m a connoisseur of industrial zones.
More or less, this Google maps link shows the location where this scuttle took place.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge connects the north side of Pittsburgh with Brunot’s Island (and then the south shore of the Ohio River), and it is inaccessible by foot or vehicle for the average Joe.
I was hoping for a train, but an unoccluded view from the trail was not available. Damned vegetation!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, the Richard A. Nomanson Towboat slid into view while it was towing a fuel barge. I wasn’t able to find out much about this boat, which is extremely odd, in my experience.
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 