Market Street Makeover

Greetings All,

Another section of the layout has been upgraded! From eyesore to a nice corner with the addition of some structures, signs, vehicles, people and a story. For many years I have avoided showing this area of the layout in photos. With the below additions and story line look for it to be featured much more.

So let's take a look at the corner of Market Street and Water Street in Empire City;

The Water Street over pass is to the left and the Cornelius Vanderbilt Memorial Bridge is to the right. The rooftop in the center belongs to the New York Central's Water Street Freight Terminal. The high rise behind the overpass is a newly built City Classics kit.

A close up of the front of the newly added building

The Market Street side taking shape.

The Four Aces Cafe is a private social club owned and operated by the Market Street Mob as they are known. Dependable Auto Parts serves as a front for the gang's midnight auto chop shop.

Some billboards to take advantage of advertising opportunities.

Looking from Market Street up towards Ralph's Grocery Warehouse

Business is good at Ralph's as there are three Swift Reefers on the siding and a new sign on the upper level

Once a dead end corner a tunnel has been installed to get the 1/87th scale traffic in and out of the neighborhood. Note some of the Market Street Mob are enjoying a nice day outside of their club. 

The view from the North Side Yard operator's position. 

An E.C.P.D. helicopter surveillance photo.

Carmine "Tubby" Manicotti is on his usual perch outside the Ace Cafe monitoring who gets in to see his brother Vito Manicotti, the caporegime of this area. 

1/87th scale gangsters and wanna bees idle away the afternoon on Market Street as yet another Cadillac turns turns onto the block.

Across the street some of the less successful criminals are hard at work on the chain gang cleaning the adjacent RR right of way.

Truck traffic coming from and heading for I95 thru the Market Street Tunnel. This is very convenient for the Market Street Mob as they don't have to travel far for their truck hi jacking activities.    

A quick signal and the truck is blocked at the corner and the driver given an offer he can't refuse.

A tractor trailer heads to Brooklyn later in the day. 

By night fall the tractor trailer is leaving Brooklyn and the driver is well aware of it.

Meanwhile over on Main Street a Market Street Mob bootlegging operation has been shut down with extreme prejudice. The driver, nicknamed 'The Bandit' has learned a valuable lesson that his Trans Am cannot out run the police radio.

He certainly gave the E.C.P.D and the E.C.S.O. a run for their money but his car is wrecked and he'll be spending his night in the pokey. Trying to run non taxed beer into Empire City is still a no-no. The PC tractor trailer will be impounded and the beer will be confiscated.

The Market Street Mob enjoy their spot on the corner of the layout. They are keeping most of their nefarious activities out of the public eye. Most visitors here are more interested in watching the trains than worrying about a few chubby guys in silk shirts with nice cars hanging around.

Thanks for reading!