Ace, The Helpful Super Market Place?

A newly completed Life Like Ace Super Market has joined with my other structures in a quest for prime real estate. The building is an older kit and some of the details are a bit vintage. But after painting, dull coating and adding decals it should fit in pretty good among the taller buildings. One good thing about having a layout still under construction is that all real estate is temporary. Buildings can move as others are added.

 Ace Super Market is the newest building added to Empire City

Signs of life can be seen inside the store as employees and customers interact at the cash registers. A few cars parked outside indicate ACE is now open for business.

EMD E8A Demonstrator # 952

The E-Unit was the diesel star of the stream liner era. Built by GM's Electro Motive Company, later renamed the Electro Motive Division, the first E was known as the EA with a cab less booster called an EB. In production from  May 1937 to June 1938 six EAs and six EBs were sold to the B&O. Next was the E1 which went into production one month after the EA. Eight E1As and three E1Bs went to the Santa Fe to power the Super Chief. These units introduced the "Warbonnet" paint scheme which was developed by GM artist Leland Knickerbocker. As production progressed and more railroads turned to diesel power the E7 became the best selling passenger diesel of all time. However when Alco released it's PA1 passenger diesel in September 1946 with it's very capable dynamic brake installation it put the E7 at an immediate disadvantage, especially with the western railroads since the E units had no provision or room in the car body for dynamic braking. Despite its drawbacks the E7 did not suffer from reliability problems that plagued the passenger diesels of other builders and EMD was able to sell 428 E7A's and 82 E7B's in little over four years. The last E7s in revenue service ran on New Jersey Transit.

Enter the E8, introduced in August 1949, totally redesigned, inside and out. Dynamic braking, reconfigured prime movers, winterization hatches, better ventilation and a combined fuel and water tank led the EMD to sell 421 E8 A units and 39 B unit. Just 50 short of the E7 record. Not to shabby considering that most railroads were halfway through their dieselization process and competitors Alco, Fairbanks-Morse and Baldwin were offering similarly capable units.

In honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Electro-Motive E unit the New York Central train master treated the train passengers at Empire City Station to the rare EMD E8A Demonstrator # 952. Word has it that an all E unit day with the New York Central, B&O and Pennsylvania RR participating is being lined up for later in the month. Stay tuned and in the meantime enjoy these pictures of the newest addition to my railroad fleet.

 Empire City rail passengers gather around the brightly painted EMD E8 Demonstrator

 NYC 20th Century Limited passengers stare out the window of their observation car

 Head conductor, Engineer and Fireman confer while two old friends greet each other

 Passengers stop and look as they head about their business

 Older brother, B&O E7A, looks on while two policeman chat in the foreground

 Getting ready for departure

 Another policeman watches the crowd on the lookout for pickpockets and loose women.

Word on the Street Part I

Greeting from Empire City.... A recent mock up of building placement has resulted in the following "Word on the Street Part I"

 Joggers make their way down the street as an E.C.P.D. Patrolman engages in the time honored, Park, Walk and Talk of urban policing

 A Taxi Cab waits in front an Empire City landmark, The Algonquin Hotel, home of the "vicious circle" lead by Dorothy Parker

 The newly built Walther's Northern Power substation is getting a check up from Empire City Electric Company workers.

 A vacant building sits adjacent to the power substation

 A soon to be department store or train station. The facade and building size could handle either entity 

 A corner paper boy hawks the latest edition

 The Empire City Bus Station

More joggers make their way through the local population

Bench Work Progress

Bench work on the New York Central Train Layout upper level continues and after several months there has been some noticeable progress. Building model train layout bench work is O.K. but to be honest it is much more fun (for me) to build model trains, locomotives, buildings and add scenery. With the sawdust flying I have severely limited what scenes I can add so the look of raw or painted plywood still prevails. But we are getting closer. Here are some recent pictures....

 Overall shot of latest completed bench work

 Close up of newly built upper level

 A B&O E7A makes it way under a newly built upper level section

 Passenger trains pass on the lower level while a NYC H16-44 switches a Cargill grain elevator on the upper level

Three levels taking shape. Dedicated subway lines on lowest level run under center of Empire City and Empire City Station. Passenger trains run on lower level. Freight trains on upper level. Track to right of passenger train takes trains from upper level to lower level.   

 Passenger train makes it way over canal bridge. Note reverse loop track branching off to the right. This allows inbound trains to run from staging yard to Empire City Station on lower level. Trains unload their passengers and are then turned on the reverse loop for outbound service back to staging. 

 Upper and lower level access from shelf portion to island portion of layout 

 Empire City taking shape. Still much to do

 A B&O train heads to the lower level above reverse track and canal

  Close up of B&O train passing over canal.

The B & O says Hello

This past week Empire City rail fans were treated to a showcase of B & O power. Due to track maintenance the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad diverted it's trains over New York Central tracks through Empire City. The action was steady and the cameras were rolling

 An SDP40 and FP45 power a freight train on the upper level

 A pair of Alco PAs meet up with the EMD pair while 2 NYC E8s watch from below

 B&O SW7 switches a 40' Hi-Cube boxcar from a nearby industry

 Traffic heads to the lower level as a pair of lovers watch the action from their precarious perch

 B&O GP30 6954 and a newly painted Chessie GP35  head up a long coal drag

A B&O F7A and F7B lead the National Limited into Empire City Station

 B&O E7 1423 leads train 18 into the station

  B&O Geeps head for the lower level tracks under Empire City

Merger ???

I picked up two undecorated Blue Box Athearn GP-35s and one undecorated Athearn Blue Box SD40-2 about six months ago. The plan was to paint them for the Penn Central as I am a major fan of this railroad along with the New York Central. The Penn Central was the railroad of my youth that captures the grime and decay of 1970s New York City. Using Microscale decals set #87-84 and some research on fallen flags I present the following units;

 GP35 #2252 with the red "P", GP35 #2327 and SD40 # 6282

 Close up of SD40 # 6282

 Close up of GP35 #2327

 Close up of GP35 #2252

 All three units were hardwired. The SD40 had all axle gears replaced, GP35#2327 had the front two axle gears replaced. All units have accurate road numbers and GP35 #2252 did carry the red "P" according to Microscale.

Brooklyn Signs

 Brooklynites around the world agree. There is no place like it

 In the immortal words of Brooklyn's own, Jackie Gleason

 A little Brooklyn attitude from the movie Taxi Driver featuring Robert DeNiro