Posts Tagged ‘Wheeling and Lake Erie’
That train’s ‘Da Bomb’
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While a humble narrator was checking out a section of the Montour Trail in Pennsylvania’s Cecil Township, a ‘rail to trail’ public space which follows the right of way once enjoyed by the now defunct Montour Railroad, the still active rail tracks which mirror the trail’s path suddenly sprang to life.
That’s the Wheeling & Lake Erie RR’s #6353 pictured above. It’s an EMD SD40-2 model locomotive, built sometime between 1972-1989 when the model was in general production and apparently it was originally built for the Burlington Northern RR.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Part of my mission here at the trail was to find fresh ground for Moe the Dog to tear across, in pursuance of bleeding off some of his boundless puppy energy. The sections of these trails closer to HQ are fairly well populated with people and dogs, both of which Moe is displaying a high amount of reactivity to.
By ‘reactivity,’ I mean that he loses his damn mind and becomes a snarling/snapping icehole that is very difficult to keep under control. This is a problem we’re working on, and have been since he came to live with us, but it’s a real bugbear. Thereby, I’m searching out relatively depopulated areas within a certain driving distance of HQ to take him to, where we can work on his training.
This section of the trail seemed fairly ideal, as the surrounding municipality is fairly small in terms of population. There were certainly other people on the trail, but nowhere near as many as you’d encounter closer to center of Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A couple of days later, Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself had packed our four footed problem child into the Mobile Oppression Platform (our car, the MOP) and headed back to this section for a long training walk with the dog. The little monster did fairly well for most of the excursion, but when somebody passed by with a couple of other dogs Moe flipped out. Sigh…
We had just wrestled him back into the MOP, and I was driving us out of the parking lot when I spotted another train approaching from the opposite direction it had been heading towards previously.
That’s Wheeling & Lake Erie #3048. It’s a (rebuilt) EMD SD40-3 model locomotive, but it was originally manufactured sometime between 1966 and 1972 by the General Electric Electro-Motive division and General Motors Diesel.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
W&LE RR were hauling tanker cars designed to carry hazardous cargo, specifically ‘Liquified Petroleum Gas, Non Odorized.’ My friends back in NYC at the Riverkeeper outfit coined the term ‘Bomb Train’ for this sort of cargo. There’s a largish fracking operation nearby this spot, which the W&LE people were likely working for.
When I saw the train a-coming, I reversed the car back into the parking lot, grabbed the camera, and ran across the road prior to the signal arms actuating. Our Lady was comforting Moe back in the MOP while I got busy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the end of the assemblage, there were two locomotives acting as ‘DPU’ or Diesel Distributed Power Units (addendum added post facto, thx to Michael and Daniel for pointing out error). My understanding of this role is that the engines are essentially slaved to the main locomotive at the front of the train and are there to provide extra ‘oomph’ when needed.
That’s W&LE #6992 pictured above. It’s a EMD SD40-2, and quite similar to #6353 in the first shot. It was functioning as a ‘DPU’ or Diesel Power Unit and controlled by wire from the front of the train.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the back of the train, W&LE #6386 was also helping the traction operation move along. I guess that it’s the nature of the cargo of some specific about the location, but this train set was moving quite slowly, which is apparently how you move ‘bomb trains’ around for safety’s sake.
#6386 is the same make and model as #6992, an EMD SD40-2.
While learning about trains, I’ve learned a few things. One is that Hobo’s prefer to ride on the DPU units when they’re catching a ride as the interior cabins are climate controlled and there are electrical outlets which can used to charge their phones.
Back tomorrow with something else.
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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.
Frustration Friday
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator was not at all happy, when as that lovely Wheeling and Lake Erie freight train appeared, a personal hullabaloo occurred. While acquiring focus, and before I had pointed the camera in a direction conducive to a pleasing composition – my body suddenly lurched sideways and then forward. My left arm began flinging about, with a sharp pain at the wrist.
An ear splitting, high pitched whine followed by a percussive basso shout penetrated my skull, and then I was pulled forward and back again as my left arm flung about uncontrollably. Was it an ischemic event? No, it was a canine one.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It seems that Moe the Dog had spotted another dog during the roughly 15 seconds during which I had looked away from him, and he tranced out into a manner best described as “losing his god damned mind.” He sure told that other dog ‘what for.’ The cheek of it, walking past Moe.
Afterwards, Moe seemed to think this was exactly what I’d like him to do and he was happy as a little clam. I missed the train shot, so I took one of a quite pleased with himself dog instead.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We walked back to the car, where I discovered that a bug had vomited on the engine hood. I’ve got a special seatbelt for Moe which attaches to his harness, so I put him in the back seat (where he likes to vomit) and then set about cleaning the bug puke off the car. Good thing I did, as I later learned that bug puke is basically acid and would have eaten away at the paint’s finish. Puppy puke, on the other hand, has yellow bile in it and smells the same way that licking a battery’s terminal tastes.
Everything’s great, all the time. Just another day in Paradise, that’s me.
Back next week with something else, at this – your insane Puppy and Bug Puke 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.
Pickle faced
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator is in a bit of a mood at the moment. Nothing special is going on, just in the midst waging war with that most intractable and stubborn of all the enemies I’ve ever encountered – myself. Bah.
Forgive any dark outlook or prognostication this week, I’m in a mood.
The good news is that no matter what torrential and self referential hellscape might manifest twixt the ears, life always needs tending to. It was time once again to give the Mobile Oppression Platform a drink of the fuel it craves, and I got lucky when the tracks across the street from the gas station I frequent were suddenly occupied by a passing freight train operated by the Wheeling & Lake Erie outfit.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The M.O.P., which is how I refer to my Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, gets an absolutely science fiction level of gas mileage – just as promised by the manufacturer. Topping off the tank gives me an unbelievable 560 miles of range. According to the analytics in the dashboard, which I’ve confirmed by real world reckoning, I’m getting about 39 mpg. This is working out for me, as the car is a necessity in these parts.
I’ve also finally figured out how to get Google Maps to offer me driving route options which use local rather than highway streets to get where I want or need to go.
In the case of the need for a constitutional ‘short walk’ here in Pittsburgh recently, that route involved me driving through the central business district and then over to the waterfront trail found on the north side of the Allegheny River, nearby the former Heinz Factory, from HQ in the South Hills community of Dormont.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Heinz has been converted over to housing, and there’s several attractive but quite expensive (by Pittsburgh standards) domiciles available for lease. I think they also do Condos in there, but who knows. The last thing I want to do in my dotage is live in the center of a city again. HQ is about 6 or 7 miles south of the Heinz Factory Lofts, and it’s a 2 story house, in a suburb with my very own driveway. I’ve got deer regularly walking around in the yard, and there’s a family of ground hogs living under the yard. We’ve got Chipmunks too, and every kind of bird you can think of is regularly spotted – including eagles. Just the other night, something huge skulked through the yard, but all I saw was its shadow. Might have been a Squonk.
As mentioned, a section of the ‘Great Allegheny Passage’ trail runs through this section of Pittsburgh, which also offers up a safe parking spot for that great gas mileage car of mine, so I ended up wandering around for bit and burning up a bit of shoe leather while wandering in this section.
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.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 