Notes from a Reading Addict: March 2025

This may not be exactly what you were expecting... let me tell you a bit more.

I’m not sure what it was exactly that brought the idea into my head. I was thinking about photography. This moved into catching a picture of a train coming through the city, with the buildings behind it glowing from the rising sun. “There had to be a spot where this could be caught!”

I started by consulting my maps and a web site called “The Photographer’s Ephemeris”, a site that shows the direction and times of sunrise. I found out that Amtrak has a daily train to NYC, leaving the Pittsburgh station six days a week, leaving at 7:30! Looking at the maps, a couple spots presented themselves.

During the upcoming days, I visited them. Some appeared better than others, there weren’t as many as I had hoped. My first attempt was from a parking lot beside the tracks.

I had to wait for a good morning; wanting the sunrise reflecting on the buildings meant that I needed a day without rain or heavy clouds. This can be difficult in Pittsburgh. Finally a day arrived that met my criteria. I got there early, the parking lot was empty. I parked near a set of signal lights, hoping to catch the engine coming between them. The camera was set on a tripod, the scene was framed, all I needed now was the train.

Just before it was due to leave the station a car pulled up, the window rolled down and a security guard asked me what I was doing. I explained and was told that I was on private property and would have to leave. I talked and maybe even begged a bit and was granted 5 more minutes. Just as this was given to me, the train came into view. I snapped my pictures, thanked the guard and tore down my set-up. I won’t be returning to this site again!

The pictures were OK but I felt as if I could do better so… My next spot to attempt my picture from was a bit further away. I figured I could get a sharper image by adding a bit of distance from the train, making the speed of the train less noticeable, showing less blur.

The sun was rising a bit earlier each day making the chances of sunshine on the buildings a little better but as I already said, the weather always plays a part in any outdoor photo shoot.

The next site was on a bridge that spanned the railroad tracks, about 1000 feet further away from the last site. The day I chose was cold and the ground had a light layer of snow on it. Clouds were in the sky. I was glad I had brought gloves! The train came right on time but the city wasn’t lit up. My best picture from that day showed the snow blowing off of the top of the train; the city wasn’t in it.

I returned a week later and tried again. While I got the city in the picture this time, once again the morning sunlight I had hoped for never developed.

Looking at the pictures intrigued me. I decided to forget the city and go for another location. Out came the maps again. I found what looked like a good spot in-between Shadyside and Homewood. I took a ride to scout it out and it showed possibilities. A signal tower sat on either side of the tracks; maybe I could capture the train between the pair. The sun (if there was one) would be illuminating the front and side of the train.

I returned with the camera to see what I could get. The sun was up, things were looking good. I decided to skip the signals since the lights wouldn’t be visible in the picture. The train came and a couple pictures were taken.

These pictures were starting to become an obsession now! I decided to try again with my 4X5 camera so 3 days later I returned. I caught it between the signals this time, but the train was blurred, the shutter speed was too slow. Drat, always something!

I started looking further out the line. Looking at the maps I noticed the tracks went underneath the George Westinghouse Bridge in East Pittsburgh. Oh it takes so little to grab my attention!

My buddy Frank and I planned a trip out to where we thought we’d get a good view of both the bridge and the tracks. We had found a geocache a few hundred feet away a couple years ago. A bridge once crossed the tracks here and the pier provides a wonderful view of the valley. A section of the old brick road leading to the bridge is visible poking through the dirt and weeds. Stepping over a broken wooden roadblock takes you to a comfortable spot complete with a concrete shelf to put excess camera gear on and provide a windbreak.

While we were setting up and then waiting, we watched a westbound freight pass by. Ten minutes later the Amtrak train came, about 20 minutes after it left the city. High hills are on either side and the light wasn’t the greatest…so we decided to come back another time.

A week later, we were back again. The sunlight was just hitting the top of the bridge. We surveyed a few other sites in the area before we set up. Frank decided to go a little lower down the road while I stayed on the bridge pier. We got some nice shots including a few with the moon in them but we still weren’t satisfied. Was I pulling Frank into my obsession?

We returned one last time. (at this writing) It was eleven days later on a Saturday morning. There were occasional drizzles as we drove back to East Pittsburgh. We brought Kelle and Ann Marie with us this time, for company, perhaps good luck and to share the excitement of the hunt.

This time we set up underneath the smaller bridge in front of the Westinghouse Bridge. While the on and off rain never came down hard, the bridge provided a cover for us. It also gave us a different view of the train and the bridges.

I brought my 4X5 camera along and I set up a bit closer to the tracks than Frank. The women hung out beside the car. We heard lots of train whistles while we waited but none of them were from the train we were waiting for. Then we heard it, there was a definite difference in its sound! The headlight first appeared between the branches of the trees and then there it was, speeding towards us. I took a few shots with the digital camera and then depressed the shutter release on the bigger camera. A couple more digital shots of it as it raced away from us and then I started tearing things down. All that preparation for only 10 or 20 seconds of excitement, was it worth it? As far as I was concerned, it was!

We repacked the car and headed for a place to get some breakfast to celebrate a successful trip. Even if the pictures don’t come out as we planned for them, we were still happy!

Thinking about the various shots I’ve taken, I figure this will probably be the last time we come out to this spot. I can let this series go now. I developed the 4X5 negative, it came out OK, it’s the photo at the top of this story.

I don’t think I’ll be chasing this train any further. It was nice knowing when it was going to pass as compared to just standing trackside and hoping a train goes by. Should it pass me again, I’ll take another couple pictures of it. I’ve been taking shots of this train long before this year.

A past shot of the morning Amtrak train coming into the Horseshoe Curve

The search always continues, whether or not I get anything isn’t important, it’s all about the hunt

Whenever we drive into a new town or city, we always look at the buildings. They give us an idea of what the town is like now and what it used to be like. They tell us a little bit about their history, they tell us a bit about the people who founded the towns and what they did.

It isn’t so much the new, shiny glamorous buildings that have recently been erected; it is the older buildings, the ones which aren’t streamlined, dull and boxy or looking just the same as the others around them. We look for the buildings in-between the new ones, the ones still remaining. Those with ledges complete with nice patterns carved into them, false facades crowning their fronts, fancy brickwork, maybe even gargoyles. Its things such as these that set them apart from the newer creations. It often seems that an older, dilapidated building has more class as compared to a new sleek building that was planned complete with a tight financial bottom line in its plans.

Driving past these older buildings we often spot painted signs on them. If we are lucky, a complete sign will be visible. A sign advertising a company that used to occupy the building or maybe a product such as candy, flour, chewing tobacco or a soft drink. Coca-Cola and Mail Pouch Tobacco signs can be seen all over the place! Some signs are so faded that you can only guess what they might have said while others appear as if they’d been painted yesterday. Many of these signs have been painted over with other signs, making them even harder to read!

They are called “Ghost Signs” The men who painted them, called Wall Dogs or Barn Lizards used oil and lead based paints which helped the signs last longer. The men who painted them did it by hand, they were true artisans!

Many of these signs are found near the centers of towns or in the commercial districts. They are also seen near railroad stations and places where newcomers might congregate. In some cases, a new building was built beside a sign, hiding it from view and also the damaging effects of sun and weather. When the building was demolished, the sign became visible again. There may be many you pass daily and never notice, they have become part of our background. Further out from the cities, in the country side, Mail Pouch tobacco signs decorate barns in over 20 states. Between 1891 and 1992 thousands of barns were painted with their ads. A pair of skilled men could do 2 barns in 12 hours!

The signs may be for Banks, Savings and Loans, Tailors, Machine Shops, Shoe Stores, Drug Stores and Grocery shops. They advertised the things that the people needed. The signs are a part of their history! A lot of communities are still using these signs though now they are more as a tourist attraction as compared to a selling device. Some have restored older signs and some have painted new signs. To someone who looks for ghost signs, these aren’t quite the same as finding the older, original signs. They consider re-painting a sign sort of like re-touch a piece of artwork. These were done by masters of their craft and by re-touching it, you might be possibly damaging it. The new signs, while they look nice, aren’t quite as exciting as the originals!

Here are a few of the signs we have come across in our travels. Most of them are original but there are a few that are reproductions. When you’re out on the road, keep an eye out for these old pieces of artwork.