Posts Tagged ‘Wheeling and Lake Erie’
Kicking dirt in Carnegie
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The region of the Pittsburgh Metro which HQ is located in is called ‘The South Hills.’ In the past, I’ve already established that Dormont where HQ is specifically located, is part of an area once known as Lower St. Clair.
Practically next door to Dormont is the municipality of Carnegie, which is about a 15 minute drive on local streets away from HQ. Water runs through Carnegie, specifically Chartiers Creek. I’ve brought the camera here before but there’s a lot to see in Carnegie.
Luckily, Our Lady of the Pentacle had scheduled a class she wanted to take in Carnegie, on a recent weekend day. I drove her to her deal, and then I went to work on visiting several waypoints I had dropped onto a Google map the night before. I do a lot of remote scouting this way, using street view to figure out if there’s opportunity in unknown spots.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Since I was in the car, I was traveling heavy. Tripod, all the lenses, etc. one of the waypoints I had coded into my ‘Carnegie Map’ was the Wheeling & Lake Erie RR’s Rook yard. A nice history of how this rail yard got sited here, and why it’s called ‘Rook’ can be experienced at hmbd.org.
Turns out I didn’t need to have all that gear with me, but since I didn’t have to carry it – who cares? Also, I got lucky. The W&LE RR people were getting busy and moving trains around when I randomly drove up, and on a Saturday no less.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
#6996 up there was functioning as a DPU, Diesel Power Unit. Everything you might want to know about the W&LE outfit – its rolling stock, rights of way, corporate structure – can be gleaned here.
It was a beautiful day in Carnegie, PA. Mid 60’s in temperature, with a strong breeze. The Rook Yard was one of several places which got a quick drive by and lookie loo.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
#3049 was in the lead, and after coupling to a train of tanker cars, began moving away from my position. Not entirely sure where they go after this. I have vague ideas, but finding out is one of my summer projects.
I had my little railfan radio scanner with me, and was listening to the conversations between tower and engineer, but it might as well have been Greek they were talking. I’ve got to learn to speak railroad.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I had a couple of hours to myself while in Carnegie, and spent about a half hour or so of it right at this spot watching other people at work. Definitely coming back here in the future. No fences!
There were a few other spots which I wanted to take a good look at, but it was also Memorial Day weekend. When I got to a some of those other points of interest (tomorrow’s post), in the residential sections, back yard parties and BBQ’s were going on and I was sticking out like a sore thumb.
Next time, it’ll be a weekday morning visit, when the streets are a little less populated.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Chartiers Creek runs through Carnegie on its way to the Monongahela River which it is a tributary of. This post shows where that admixture occurs nearby the West End Bridge.
There’s all sorts of ‘desire paths’ along the water which fishermen use to get down to the shore. I plan on following a few of those this summer as the ankle situation continues to improve.
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.
Catching, and backing, up
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Shots from the archives populate today’s post.
I’m a bit behind schedule at the moment, with literally hundreds of new shots on my computer’s hard drive awaiting processing. Rather than rush the photos out, and since all of my deadlines here are basically self imposed, this post is instead carrying a few shots of trains captured as they were moving around Pittsburgh. Taking a breath, me.
Your humble narrator has been busy preparing for some light travel, which will involve returning to NYC for a few days in early June. Tugboats, Newtown Creek, and whatever happens directly in front of me are what I’m planning on shooting in between visiting friends and family.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m traveling as light as I can, and will be flying in this time. Last time I came to town, I drove in from PA and having the car with me was like dragging a cross around. It kept me from doing a few things as I couldn’t park the damn thing just about anywhere I wanted to be. At the bottom of my camera bag will be a few t-shirts, skivvies, and socks. A toothbrush and basic toiletry kit will also be needed, but beyond that it’s all camera gear in there. This will be a mission.
A statement of priority that is. I’m planning on returning to Pittsburgh with hundreds if not thousands of photos. Can’t wait to see what’s changed for better or worse ‘back in the old neighborhood’ in the last three years. I actually have no plans to visit Astoria.
Also – as a note – if I was still in Astoria/LIC they never would have gotten away with demolishing the fountain in front of the court house. I would have forced the electeds into action and marshaled a protest or ten. I’m disappointed, but not surprised, at the apathy for the history of the place in the modern population and elected officials of LIC. Y’all should really pay attention to this sort of stuff, in between arguing about bike lanes and subjecting each other to political purity tests.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ll be back next week with another series of posts describing the random places which draw my interest, of course.
In the meantime, I’m pruning my camera bag down to its maximum efficiency, and planning the NYC trip in granular detail. When I return to PA from NYC, I’m feeling a certain curiosity about nearby West Virginia for some reason, and intend to visit Weirton – which is somehow only a 40 minute drive from where I dwell. You can park there, I’m told.
I’ve also got a few day trips I want to do as summer arrives – a return to PA’s Oil City, and to Maryland’s Cumberland, also – there’s an ex coal mine which does tours nearby Pittsburgh… lots and lots of stuff. I’ve watched a few videos about the PA Trolley Museum, and thereby it’s drifted fairly low on my list. I’ll get there, but the whole thing seems remarkably unexciting.
Back 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.
Throw and fill
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator needs a break right about now, which is why single image posts depicting rail traffic observed in the greater Pittsburgh metro area will be greeting you all week.
Pictured above is a Wheeling & Lake Erie train set, captured about twenty miles outside of Pittsburgh’s municipal boundaries.
“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.
W&LE, Montour Westland
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Created – as it was – from the remains of bankrupted railroad’s right of way, there are several branches of the Montour Trail found snaking around the hinterlands of Pittsburgh.
One of these branch lines, in particular – the Westland – is fascinating to me. The somewhat sudden emergence of an industry which harvests gas from the Marcellus Shale formation in Western Pennsylvania (and in other nearby states here in Appalachia) using the hydrological fracturing – aka ‘Fracking’ – methodology, has caused a new set of rail tracks to emerge that more or less mirrors the route of the old Montour Railroad.
Recent endeavor found a humble narrator in PA.’s Washington County, walking along the Montour Trail, and also encountering a rail yard used by the Wheeling & Lake Erie outfit along this route.
For a history of the Westland Branch of the Montour RR – I photographed a signboard which the rail to trail people have installed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was a lucky catch for me, as I had literally just scuttled up the trail from a nearby parking lot, and my arrival is exactly when the gates of the rail yard signaled an alarm and then opened up to receive this train. In the distance, a young eagle was twisting in the sky, and you could just make out the rumble of a diesel engine coming my way before it arrived.
The land surrounding this area is semi rural. A dairy farmer has a small property nearby and you could both smell and hear his cows just beyond the tree line. The trail itself was barely being used, besides myself there was some other guy jogging about and a young woman riding around on some fancy pants bicycle was also spotted.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Wheeling & Lake Erie train was hauling mainly tanker cars. Each one bore a screed exclaiming that ‘Liqueified Natural Gas’ was contained within. The fracking thing… well, I’m new here and I’ve got opinions.
Just like butt holes, opinions are, everyone’s got ‘em.
Serious consequence to ground water and seismic stability accompany the practice of ‘Fracking.’ Future generations will rue the day that our current civilization decided that harvesting this gas was a good idea.
Saying that, this industrial pursuit has accomplished a fifty year long quest to decouple the American economy from energy dependence on the Middle East, and consequently the United States has now become the leading exporter of hydrocarbons to the rest of the world. This has allowed the Foreign Policy types to introduce the Arabians to the Chinese and let them work things out between themselves. In my opinion, never have two groups of people deserved each other more, but that brings me back to buttholes.
It’s… complicated.
“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.
Second Interruptus
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Happily, I can report that the bug which has been afflicting me has fallen, and destroyed by my mighty immune system, as buoyed up by dozens of hours of sleep. Felt like hell for about 24 hours there, this was a ‘wild eyes looking back at you from the bathroom mirror at 4 in the morning’ kind of thing. Nothing survives within me for long. My gaze causes inflammation in the healthy, imagine what it’s like within.
Back tomorrow with proper offerings 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.
The Newtown Pentacle 