Searching for Who Knows What

 

This morning my buddy Frank and I took a ride. As is always the case, we were armed with cameras and GPS’s. We had a rough idea of where we were headed, and our purpose was to find some interesting things to photograph. Nothing in particular, we'd know it when we saw it. Our destination was the Turtle Creek and Braddock area.

    The day was perfect for photography. The sky was a deep shade of blue dotted with puffy white clouds. The polarizers on our lens made the sky appear even darker.

    We did a cache in Wilmerding, (You know, “There are no Winky’s in Wilmerding!”) across the RR tracks from an old building that Frank used to work in, many, many years ago. We were right beside the tracks and sadly, saw no trains go by.

    Since we were in the area, we stopped to take a few pictures of the George Westinghouse Memorial Bridge. The conditions were perfect!

    Opened in 1932, it was then regarded as the longest concrete span bridge in the world. It is approximately 240 feet from the deck to the valley below. After we took some pictures from one side, and watched a train go by, we went to the opposite side to see what it looked like from there.

    While the shots from this side were nice, they didn’t compare to the view from the opposite side. While we were there, we watched a set of 4 Union RR MP15 locomotives pull a line of cars into the mill, crossing a long bridge. Next, we decided to see what the view was like from on top of the Westinghouse Bridge.

    To do this involved a bit of walking. Naturally, we couldn’t stop the car on the bridge, so we had to find a spot to park and then hoof it to the center. We strung our cameras around our necks and started walking. Ten or more minutes later we were nearing the center. The sun was hot overhead and cars and trucks were zipping past us just a few feet away. Thank heavens there was a sidewalk! The noise was loud to put it mildly, but it was definitely worth it once we got out in the middle of the span.

    Kennywood could be seen off to the left in the distance, its yellow roller coaster standing out against the green hillsides. The huge USS Plant grabs your attention in the center of the view. Turtle Creek was below, lined on either side by railroad tracks. A dam could be seen almost directly below us, with a flood gate hanging over the stream. The Norfolk and Southern RR tracks could be seen going under the Union RR Bridge and the Braddock Avenue Bridge, disappearing into the trees to the right. During the height of the steel boom this area was supposedly the most active railroad area in the county! 

    Back at the car, we headed into Braddock where we stopped numerous times to photograph old, abandoned buildings and Churches. One of the Churches no longer had a roof and the windows were all broken out. Sad how such a nicely built building, once weekly filled with people, now sits empty with only (?) pigeons living in it. We photographed a few houses that were surprisingly still standing, the end of their lifetimes rapidly approaching.

    We passed a train and hoping to catch it further down the line, pulled into a funeral home parking lot. We framed our shots and waited…and waited. After waiting 10-15 minutes we gave up and continued on to where we started our journey.

    Without a doubt, it was a great morning! Trains, caches and decrepit old buildings, what more could you ask for? And, so far no signs of ticks or poison ivy! What a great way to spend a sunny morning!

Imagination

There is a smell to fog that I like. It’s damp and I can’t help but think that it smells fertile. Perhaps it is the water, water that helps things grow, helps keep us fed, and encourages the grass and trees to grow. The fertility of fog works with my imagination also. I can’t help but imagine on foggy mornings. I drive and walk on familiar streets but they all look different, they transform into places I’ve never been to before and the buildings into places I’ve never seen. Reality fades and I wonder what could I be missing.

    Some say that a writer shouldn’t start a story with “the weather.” Yet I find that almost everything I do has been determined by the weather. Should I wear a jacket or take an umbrella? Do I need anything more than a t-shirt?

    Sunny during the afternoon, I might be raking the leaves, trimming the hedges or cutting the grass. Raining outside, I might decide to settle in with a good book. Clear at night and I could be watching the stars or waiting for a satellite to pass overhead. Foggy in the morning, chances are that I’ll be out looking for pictures. Weather determines quite a lot!

    Waking up this morning and looking out of my bedroom window, all I could see was white. Even the trees closest to the house were nothing more than slightly darker shapes in the clouds. I was expecting it, when I went to bed I could see the fog gathering in the valley below the house. I set my camera gear in the hallway.

    I washed up and brushed my teeth and quickly got dressed. I was behind the wheel of the car by 6:30 and driving through the mists.

    The fog dissipated a bit as I drove down into the valley. Crossing the 62^nd Street Bridge (The One-minute Bridge) I was once again driving through a white out. Nearing Pittsburgh, driving through Lawrenceville it started to clear up a little more. The day was brightening and I was able to see a bit further now.

    In the Strip District, the city stood out in the morning sunshine, no signs of fog lingered near-by. I parked and took my camera gear up to the railroad tracks. It was a little after 7 and the Amtrak Pennsylvanian would be leaving the station at 7:30. I originally thought it would be nice to get a picture of it coming through the fog but that was not to be this morning. Still, since I was here, I may as well take another picture of it leaving the city.

    I started setting up, choosing my position, f stop and exposure. I heard a short blast of the train whistle and could see the light of the engine getting brighter. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was only 7:15, it was leaving early?

    As the train neared me, I could see that it wasn’t the engine I was expecting. I saw that there were two engines and a lot more cars behind it than normal. This wasn’t the train I had been waiting for! I later found out it was the Amtrak Floridian which normally stops in Pittsburgh around 5AM. It must’ve been running late today. I watched it as it continued on its way to Florida.

    I walked down the road beside the tracks, trying to see into the station’s train shed, attempting to see if the Pennsylvanian was still at the station. I could just see it; “my train” was still sitting there. I heard another toot and the light brightened; it was leaving the station. Looking at my watch, it was 7:30, right on time. This time it was the engine I was expecting. The Pennsylvanian was starting its trip to Harrisburg and New York City.

    After it passed, I walked back to the car. The Strip District was getting ready for another Saturday morning. Retailers were setting up their tables to display their wares. Trucks were unloading produce and merchandise to be sold to the weekend visitors. I returned home, curious to see how my pictures looked. As I drove back into the suburbs, the fog thickened again.

    I stopped and took a couple final pictures and then headed up the hill to my home. My coffee machine was patiently waiting for me to fill it with coffee grinds and water and then, I could return from my imaginary world, back to reality and get on with the rest of the day.

A Short Glimpse into Railroads Past

While searching on my computer for some pictures I had taken many years ago in West Virginia, I came across a file containing a small batch of black and white railroad pictures. They were all taken on film, before I discovered the joys and wonders of digital cameras. The pictures were all taken in the Pittsburgh area, mostly in the late 80’s. 

    Trains have always been a part of my life. I think my first memories of trains, after the picture books I had and the train set-up under the Christmas tree, was listening to them pass below the house when we first moved into Shaler. There were two sets of tracks there along with a couple crossings and the trains seemed to go past every 15 minutes or so. As a young boy, my friends and I would walk down to the tracks and watch the trains go by, hoping that the engineer would wave to us and counting the cars. I’d listen to the whistles at night and imagine where the trains were. The love of trains is still with me all these years later.

    This is just to take a short stroll through some of the railroading in the past. A mere 35 years ago the lines often had more than one set of tracks, steam engines still ran excursions through Pittsburgh, and the trains ran more frequently, back in the “good old days!”

    I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did!

Early morning in McKeesport. (1988)

The Pat Train, taken on the morning of its last run. (April 1989)

A Conrail train going through Alleghany Commons Park on the North Side. (1990)

Changing tracks in Sharpsburg. (1988) 

Pittsburgh Railroad Station (1989)

    Back in those days we had a variety of steam excursions come into and through the city. Due to insurance and maintenance costs, they rarely come through anymore. There is nothing like hearing a steam whistle echoing through the valleys as the train thunders past. 

The Nickel Plate 765 crossing the Alleghany River to the Northside

Nickel Plate 765 in Emsworth (1989)

Taken in the Southside

Southside (1993)

Taken from the West End

    Then there were the cabooses. I can remember watching for them as a kid sitting in the back of the car. Slowly they got fewer and fewer until they were almost all gone. I still see one every once in a while, but sadly most of them have been recycled... scrapped. In the town of Sharpsburg there was a scrap yard that did the evil deed; most of them there were Conrail cars.

Taken from the Highland Park Bridge (1988)

Taken from the Aspinwall side of the bridge (1988)

They were lined up all the way down to Millvale at times, like this one. It is a fitting end to this short batch of pictures, the end of the line. 

Old Books and Iron Furnaces

My grandson Nico and his mother, Chelsey had both recently celebrated their birthdays. This weekend we were going to party! Toss Mothers Day on top and it had all the makings of a good time.  Ann Marie and I were heading out towards Philly for the get-together.

    We left a few days early, taking our time as we crossed the state from Pittsburgh. There were a few spots on our “to-visit” list and the extra day or so gave us time to wind our way across the state, going a little bit north, a bit south, a lot westward and even a bit towards the east. (Yeah, we did backtrack a few times…) This was a great time to explore some of the roads we haven’t traveled before!

    On the first day, we drove through the home of that famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. We ate our breakfast at Punxy Phil’s and then cruised the streets of the town.

    We found a bookstore, B's Books Etc., but sadly, we were a few hours early, it hadn’t opened yet. This is one of the problems with my preferred early starts.

    A bit further north, we found the remains of the Karthaus Furnace. Built in 1817, the company folded after about a year. There were too many problems with transportation and customers. A couple decades later, the furnace was adapted to use coke but sadly this venture failed also. It collapsed and was later rebuilt in the late 1960’s. Within three years, it collapsed again. There is a large crack going from ground to the top on one of the sides still standing, it has definitely seen better days.

    Next on our list was Curtin Village, where the Eagle Furnace stands. The furnace was built in 1847, finally closing down in 1921. The village has a number of original buildings still standing and was added to The National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Looking around the grounds gave us an idea of what it was like when the furnace was in blast!

    The day was rapidly slipping away on us so we headed towards State College where we saw the remains of the Centre Furnace. This stack sits right outside of town. It was built in 1792!

    We then went into the town to visit Webster’s Bookstore and Café. Going down a set of steps from the sidewalk, we entered another world. Books were everywhere with lots of customers sitting and studying, eating vegetarian meals and reading. They have a great selection of books with good prices; most of their selections are used. Ann Marie came out with an arm load. 

    From there we headed (on the back roads of course) to Lewistown where we would be spending the night. Before we checked in, we stopped at The Crooked Shelf, an independent bookstore located about a block away from the town square. We BS’d with the owner for a while in this neat and orderly shop. We both picked up a couple more books before we left. 

    In the morning, while AMB slept, I went out to look for trains. Lewistown has a nice historic Amtrak Station and there is an active rail yard beside it, complete with a turn table! I was lucky enough to see a couple freight trains zip past while I was there.

    Breakfast in another diner and then we headed towards Boiling Springs. Passing through the town of Carlisle, we stopped to visit the Whistle Stop Bookshop but even though we were there after the posted opening time, it was closed. I was looking forward to looking through their railroad books; I’m only guessing they might have some. Hopefully we will get a chance the next time we go through town.

    The Boiling Springs Furnace or the Carlisle Iron Works was built around 1860-1862. They produced iron for about 100 years. An interesting fact about the furnace is that it is located on the Appalachian Trail. Hikers will notice the markers in the picture. Backpackers pass right by the furnace as they enter the town of Boiling Springs. So, not only did we visit another historic site, we “hiked” a small bit of the AT!

    Next on our list was a furnace near the town of York. The Codorus Furnace is rather unique since it was built with a round stack rather than the conventional square, pyramidal shaped furnaces.

    Built in 1765, it helped supply the Continental Army with cannons and cannon balls. It went out of blast in 1850 and has been restored three times since then. The brick structure was placed on top of the stack after it was built to help protect the workers who fueled the fire from the top. It also provided heated air to increase production.

    From here, our interests went back to books. In the town of Enola, across the street from the Norfolk and Southern rail yard was Cupboard Maker Books. The building is hard to miss; the sides are painted like books, stacked up side by side. It is a huge store filled mostly with used books. I headed in one direction and Ann Marie in another. I went to the Pennsylvania collection and then over into Photography and then where-ever my eyes led me. As we wandered through the store, various cats came by to let us pet them. I’ve seen cats in bookstores but so far, only one shop that had a dog, there should be more of those!

    From the bookstore, we headed towards the far end of the state. The party day was almost here!

    On Saturday morning, before the party, we stopped at the North Wales Library to find a geocache hidden inside it. It is a really nice library with a large collection of books for sale. While I looked for the various clues to locate the cache, AMB scanned the sale shelves. Then SHE found the cache. We both took home a book or two from here also!

    Sunday afternoon and we were both ready to get back to our homes. We didn’t make many stops other than shortly after we left. We made our regular stop at Dietrich’s Meats for some Pennsylvania Dutch style meats, and then stopped at the Lime Kiln that is located a few miles down the road.

    I know hardly anything about this other than it is a Lime Kiln, not an iron furnace. We happened across it as we were heading home on another trip. It was all overgrown and covered with trees and ivy. Someone had recently cleaned it up. Since it was Sunday, no one was at the near-by business, so we couldn’t ask any questions.

    From there, we stuck to our route. We passed with-in a couple miles of a few more furnaces but we no longer were in the mood to sightsee, we just wanted to get home.

    Playing with and holding my grandsons was the highlight of the trip, along with the party with family and friends. We left with heavy hearts but are anxiously looking forward to their trip to Pittsburgh in the near future, when we will be able to see them and their parents again. We squeezed a lot into this trip, we didn’t see all the furnaces on our list and some of the bookshops were closed, but they will just be put onto the list for the next trip!

     I have to say, my bed felt REALLY good when I got home!