East Coast Circuits / A 1:1 Sir Neal Company

 Greetings All,

Readers of this blog should be familiar with the name Sir Neal. 1:87 Sir Neal is the senior engineer of my freelanced Empire Belt RR. "The Sir Neal" is an APRR GP38 that I regularly run in our virtual ops and the HO scale "Neal's Lumber and Hardware" in Empire City is just one of his many 1:87 financial interests.

You may be aware that 1:1 Sir Neal is the owner, Chairmen and Chief Financial Officer of the well known and well respected 1:87 scale Atlantic Pacific RR but not know he is a principal in a company known as East Coast Circuits.

East Coast Circuits or ECC is a company that produces model railroad circuits for animation and lighted vehicles among other things. Their lighted vehicles can be found on some well known layouts like Vic Smith's City Edge layout(see link below).

In July of 2022 when my friend 1:1 Sir Neal appeared in Episode #199 of the "What's Neat This Week in Model Railroading" with Ken Patterson that is shown on youtube (see link below) and showcased some of the East Coast Circuits new products I knew I had to have some.

True to form 1:1 Sir Neal took care of and expedited my order. Here is the ECC shipment arriving at North Side Yard in a New York Central Express Car no less!!

1:87 Sir Neal displays the new HO scale products that have arrived.  Two sets each of HO scale Jersey barriers in both orange and white and an HO scale photographer.

 East Coast Circuits is headquartered in Providence Rhode Island.

The Kings Port Railfan Society have brought ECC photographer, 1:87 Emery to Empire City on a photo safari. Check out the new barriers.

This area of the layout has long been in serious need of an upgrade and the Jersey barriers really enhance the scene.

Meanwhile 1:87 Emery takes in the action at Empire City Station

Emery grabs an ice cream and photos the trains passing on the High Line. 

Here's 1:87 Emery taking photos from different locations

 

Back at North Side Yard Sir Neal and PC Ralph discuss the barriers and the newly added steps. They both agree the area still needs some work.

The area is paved with black hobby sand and some details have been added.

That looks much better! 

The Empire Belt trainmen talk it over as additional jersey barriers are readied for movement to other parts of layout.

An EBRR train pulls out of North Side Yard.

Later that day as they get ready to take to the lounge chairs and relax PC Ralph tells Sir Neal, I feel like somebody's watching us.

And there he is! 1:87 Emery has secured permission from Empire Produce to use their roof as his vantage point to photograph the train action. He is now hard wired to the 12 volt accessories contacts on the controller and the circuits and wiring are hidden in the top of the building.

I originally planned for 1:87 Emery to be portable and powered by a 9 volt battery, This proved to be too cumbersome and time consuming to set up so I selected this location for 1:87 Emery for it's easy access to the controller. This is one of the areas of the layout where I spend a lot of time and can easily activate and enjoy watching Emery photograph the train action. Below is 1:87 Emery's on and off push button switch.

The Jersey barriers were also used in a few other locations to protect the motorists and railroad right away in Empire City. This area is behind the Moore & Company lot. Looks like someone's going out for a pass. Don't go too long!

The lead to Superior Furniture is now protected.

The eastside of North Side Yard is now protected. Stolen and stripped cars continue to be problematic! Maybe this is the wrong side of the tracks that people talk about?

The barriers on Amboy Street will keep the Pizza Land customers and the delivery trucks for Ralph's Grocery Warehouse from driving onto the Belt Line and look good doing it.

The Jersey barriers draw the eye into the scene even with all the commotion going on. 1:87 Emery is snapping away catching all the excitement.

1:87 Emery, Sir Neal and PC Ralph have a great view as a Police Captain with a bullhorn is yelling up to them. Conductor John, afraid of heights, is standing on the corner checking his watch.

Both the 1:87 Emery and the Jersey barriers are welcome additions to the layout and provide visual enhancements to all of the areas they were placed. The East Coast Circuits are well made and guaranteed to to be free from defects for one year. Look for more ECC products on the layout in the future.

Links

East Coast Circuits

ECC Police Cars in Action on The City Edge Layout

What's Neat This Week #199

Jersey Barriers

Thank you Sir Neal for your handling of the order!!!

Thanks for reading and watching!!!

See you soon!!!