Train Chasing in the “burgh” Part 1

 

                Driving across the bridge I could see and feel the black engines passing underneath me. The white stallions painted on their hoods stood out against the shiny black paint. The bridge rumbled as they strained to pull their load of cars behind them.

                I parked and ran across the street, turning on my camera and putting the lens cap in a convenient pocket while at the same time, watching for approaching traffic. The bridge has a chain link fence on its sides to protect the rail yards below. People have cut some holes in the fence, just large enough to put a camera lens through. I went to the closest hole and framed my shot.

                The train had almost completely passed, not really worth taking a shot .I turned and looked into the yard on the opposite side of the bridge. A pair of locomotives were moving past a long line of assorted cars. On the other side of this line, three more engines were approaching the bridge pulling another line of cars.

(Pictures will enlarge when clicked)

                Painted in the distinctive colors of the Allegheny Valley Railroad, (AVR) the yellow stripes over the purple paint made them hard to miss. Passing under the bridge they slowed down as they approached the signals which crossed the tracks. Red lights were showing on all tracks. The train came to a stop.

                After taking a couple shots, I returned to the car. Starting to leave, I saw that the AVR train was starting to move again.  My mind went to another spot where I could take some more shots and before I knew it, I was in a race with a train. It had a straight shot through West Park while I had at least 8 traffic lights to deal with on a zigzagged path, not to mention all the traffic on the road. The train had a long line of cars to get up to speed so it was probably a 50-50 chance that I’d beat it.

                After passing three traffic lights, I came to a spot which overlooks the tracks. I was happy to see that the train hadn’t reached here yet. BUT, I was heading into a fairly congested area, the train could easily pass me up here!

                Snow was falling, at times in squalls. There were some times I couldn’t see a block ahead of me, then it would clear up as if it had never happened. Then visibility would drop again. The driver in front of me was being VERY cautious, traveling way below the speed limit and braking at any sign of a potential problem. Frustrating? Yes it was!  “Deep breath Phil, deep breath.” This wouldn’t be the first train I’ve missed and it sure won’t be the last!

                Finally I got to the spot I was looking for. I pulled over to the side and put on my flashers. The tracks coming out of West Park curve towards my right, heading up the Allegheny River. They also connect to the Fort Wayne Bridge which takes trains over into Pittsburgh’s Strip District. There was no train on any of the tracks, I had beaten it!

                I got out and composed my shot and wondered “Where is that train…” The snow squalls came and went along with clouds of steam from the power station across the tracks. Both would add to the picture I thought.

                Glancing at my watch, I figured I would give it 15 minutes. After that I would need to leave for work. I didn’t want to be late, using the excuse that I was train chasing just doesn’t cut it! With five minutes to go on my self imposed timeline, I saw the headlights of the lead engine coming into view as it started into the bend.

 

                The three shiny engines approached through the light snow. I started shooting my pictures as they neared. They passed me and headed towards the bridge crossing the river. I took a couple final shots and then returned to the warmth of the car

                I had wanted to get some shots from this location for awhile but never had the chance before. It isn’t a spot I could park and wait for a possible train to come along. I feel as if a policeman would be stopping before long to ask me to move along. I really don’t want to get into any hassles while I’m taking pictures. I just want to get my shots and go.

                Looking at the pictures in the car, I was happy with them. I saw a couple trains today and that’s all it takes to raise my spirits!

Train Chasing in the “burgh”   Part 2

                The next day, Friday, I went out with Ann Marie and my good friend, Jim and his grandson Oscar to do a geocache. We also went to see if we could find some trains to watch.  We did the geocache first. It was a rather easy one since it would be Oscars first find. I figure three years old is old enough to start caching!

                We parked almost on top of the cache. The GPS showed it being 35 feet away. It was hidden in an old fallen tree which was lying on a very steep hillside. Oscar really didn’t know what he was looking for so we provided a little bit of guidance. When we opened up the cache and he saw everything inside he got a bit more excited. He took a golden coin to remember his adventure and we left a silver one in its place.

                Next, we went to see if we could find some trains for him to see. We went to the Island Avenue Yards on the Northside where I had seen the trains yesterday. Sadly, we were greeted with an empty yard. There were 4 or five boxcars sitting in the middle of the tracks but that was it. Luckily there was some construction equipment working at the far end of the bridge. We parked and spent some time watching the men operate BIG machines, moving piles of rocks from one place to another. What 3 year old wouldn’t enjoy watching that? For that matter, what 60-70 year olds wouldn’t enjoy it? We did!

                Then we went across the McKees Rocks Bridge to visit the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad.  We were able to look at an engine sitting right beside where we parked the car. It was BIG and ORANGE but sadly it wasn’t running. Still it was impressive to stand beside. (I was hoping to see one passing by and to be able to wave to the engineer! Maybe even have him toot his horn at us!)  We stopped for a quick lunch at a drive through and then headed back home. We saw another train crossing a bridge on our way.

                By the time we got home, Oscar was sound asleep in his car seat. Ann Marie and I said our good-byes and Jim and Oscar headed towards their home.  Oscar was nestled against his car seat, his chin propped on his chest, hopefully dreaming about bulldozers and trains! I sure hope this was a day he will always remember! I can only hope this will be a start to a lifelong infatuation with rails and geocaching!