Posts Tagged ‘West End Bridge’
Them’s boats on that river
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
West End Bridge’s pedestrian pathway here in Pittsburgh had pulled my attentions upon itself, and mainly so for several exciting points of view which are found on its south eastern terminus. The bridge’s history was summarized in a prior post, here at Newtown Pentacle. A humble narrator plans on returning here, in the early morning hours, sometime soon for a sunrise session.
Additionally, one encountered a set of ‘Bernie Holes’ cut into the fencing where the bridge overflies the CSX Pittsburgh subdivision tracks. Nothing like a Bernie hole.
For those of you who haven’t been with me from the start, my dearly departed friend Bernard Ente was a devotee of the railroad world, and my mentor at the start of the whole Newtown Creek thing. Bernie would cut fence holes just big enough to stick a lens through at several photogenic spots along Newtown Creek, and all over Western Queens, to facilitate his art. Those of us who were fortunate enough to be in his circle refer to these artifacts of his time with us as ‘Bernie Holes.’ I doubt these are his, of course, but i call them ‘Bernie Holes’ nevertheless.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Bernie also introduced me to the NY Harbor community, where I was infected by a real appreciation of tugboats and the importance of the towing industry. A Towing outfit, here in Pittsburgh, is based out of a spot nearby the West End Bridge. Observationally, they mainly move fuel and mineral barges. There’s another set of these docks further east on the Monongahela River, nearby the Edgar Thomson steel mill.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any mechanism here for interaction between the tug or tow boats and the freight rail which is commonly witnessed as crossing through the city. Personally, I also find it odd that there isn’t a ferry system in Pittsburgh given the dense population centers stacked up on the shorelines of the 3 rivers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After leaving the West End Bridge, one continued along the Monongahela shoreline and the river ‘rail to trail’ pathway. It’s actually a bit scary, getting from ‘A’ to ‘B,’ but I’m not the timid type and would often scuttle along roadways in NYC that were far more dangerous for pedestrians. You ever walk the Astoria Boulevard fenceline of St. Michael’s Cemetery between 49th & 77th streets? Brrr.
That’s the Fort Pitt bridge which that boat is navigating under.
Back tomorrow with something different, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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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.
West End Bridge, over the Ohio River
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a steel tied arch bridge near the center of Pittsburgh, one which spans the very mouth of the Ohio River (formed up by the convergence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers), and it’s called the West End Bridge. West End Bridge’s construction was declared as accomplished in 1932, and the thing was built by Pittsburgh’s own American Bridge Company (steel and span) and the Foundation Company (foundation and masonry piers). West End Bridge was originally just under 2,000 feet long.
After a sprucing up and redesign in the 1990’s, which saw the addition of pedestrian and bike lanes, as well as the removal of several vehicle approach ramps on its northern side, the West End Bridge was and is 1,310 feet long.
There’s 66 feet of clearance over the water, it’s 58 feet wide in totality, and the bridge carries 4 lanes of traffic through a 40 foot space. West End Bridge is a challenging and unforgiving span to drive over, I would mention, given how narrow the travel lanes are. There’s scrapes and automotive paint residue all over the lane facing concrete superstructure of the thing, as it’s really easy to screw up and misjudge where your car is in relation to the structure when driving over it.
Additionally, like many of Pittsburgh’s bridges, you need to be in the correct lane when entering the crossing in order to access the local streets or highway interchanges on the exit side, something which you’re just supposed to know intuitively. Pittsburgh is all about ‘vernacular.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
West End Bridge connects the ‘South Hills’ communities to Pittsburgh’s quite urban North Side areas in the annexed ‘Allegheny City’ area, bypassing the congested triangular downtown area.
When exiting the bridge on the south side, you can continue southeast onto an arterial road called Saw Mill Run Blvd., which leads out into the suburban sprawl of the South Hills, or make turns either east or west to access the local streets along the Monongahela and Ohio rivers.
On the northern side of West End Bridge, one lane leads into Pittsburgh’s North Side areas, specifically the ‘Chateau’ neighborhood, and the Mexican War Streets zone. There’s also an interchange on the north side which offers access to local and state highways which ultimately connect to the interstate roads that snake along the Ohio River, or head easterly towards a different set of suburbs after moving through the City. It’s all quite complicated.
Pictured is the pedestrian path, which was actually offered quite an interesting walk. I was the sole occupant on this pathway, which sort of describes my entire existence when you get down to it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My interest in the thing had become piqued during the many back and forth trips to the Allegheny General Hospital, on the North Side, for Our Lady of the Pentacle’s medical procedures. It provides an interesting point of view for several ‘hard to reach’ – on foot – parts of Pittsburgh. There are other ‘primary’ crossings which receive far more traffic that accomplish the same function – the Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne bridges – but there you are.
For an ‘eye in the sky’ overview of what West End Bridge looks like, and its relationship to the larger city it serves, check out any of the posts offered here from the West End Overlook Park.
Back tomorrow with more.
“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.
2 trains and a boat
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, the car needed gas. Nearby the gas station I’m currently fueling up at are a set of freight tracks which are used by the Wheeling & Lake Erie RR, pictured above. I’ve driven up to the pump and discovered this train passing by, driven away from it and witnessed the train arriving…
This time around, after topping off the tank, I parked the car in an industrial driveway and sat around in it for about a half hour, eventually getting lucky enough to catch a shot of the thing as it steamed along.
A Class 2 regional railroad, Wheeling & Lake Erie is a modern operation started in 1990 that uses the name of Jay Gould’s original 1880-1949 company. W&LE ended up becoming part of Norfolk Southern, until the larger company started selling off parts of its portfolio of assets and in 1990 the modern company was born. They serve areas of Northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, and now I have a photo of one of their trains. Apparently, their Engine 6982 was built in 1971, and rebuilt in 1995. It’s apparently an EMD SD40-2, but not being a true railfan – just a guy who likes to take pictures of trains – I had to look that one up.
If you disagree with make, model, etc. you’re probably right, so please share it with the rest of the class in the comments section.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was at a fairly cool location in Pittsburgh which I’ve visited in the past – West End Overlook Park – when I noticed a CSX train hauling cargo down the Monongahela River toward its intersection with the Ohio River. That intersection is more or less in the shot above, I guess. Those orange and black shapes at bottom left are barges of coal.
Twice I got lucky with trains. Twice in one afternoon. This has been driving me nuts, as a note, being surrounded by cool railroad stuff and not having the ability to get some shots of it because I’m driving or my timing is off. There’s always something. Saying that, I’ve begun to develop an idea of when some of these trains seem most likely to come through, and where I should be lurking about to get my shots of them.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I promised a boat in the title, and there you are. There’s a towing operation based right about where the West End Bridge, pictured above, is found. As of yet, I haven’t figured out how to get down to their base and say hello. Saying that, I know where they are, so that’s some sort of progress. Things here are beginning to become “familiar.”
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.
