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!

Close Coupling Bachmann Baldwin RF16s (Sharks)

Greetings All,

It's official. I've succumbed to another model railroading disorder. Obsessive Draw Bar Installations or O.D.B.I. It seems I cannot look at any of my cab unit models with wide spaces between them without it bothering me to the point that they must be coupled closer. To achieve this goal I keep turning to my old friend the draw bar. 

The latest episode involves three sets of Bachmann RF16s. After putting an A-B-A NYC consist on the layout my eyes were immediately drawn to the gaps between the units. A probable catalyst for this is that there was a recently draw bar equipped A-B-A F7 consist also on the layout.

Let's take a look at my latest case of O.B.D.I.;

B&O A-B set of Bachmann RF16s using factory equipped knuckle couplers

Distance between units is about 3/4"

The solution; A draw bar! The below draw bar is from a P-1000 subway car set. Looks promising for this application!   

I've removed the couplers and covers. On the left I put two washers between the sleeve and draw bar to keep the draw bar from drooping too much. On the right I have inserted the factory screw back into the coupler box.                                                                   

With the draw bar attached. Much better!

 Space between units is now about 1/2"

 Why stop with the B&O! PRR RF16s now draw bar equipped

Installation is the same. I'll spray paint the washers down the road to make them almost invisible.

NYC A-B-A Sharks  swim close coupled over the Empire City viaduct.

Just enough clearance for the minimum 22" radius curves on the inside track.

Over on the East Side by Ralph's Grocery Warehouse the A-B-A set of Baldwin RF16s has a Baldwin S12 tagging along. The S12 is on it's way to the shop for it's 30 day inspection. I saw something similar to this in either a book or video so thought I'd give it a try here. 

Having S12 #9881 in the consist going for it's 30 day inspection allows me to mask my other model railroading disorder. 

Obsessive Track Cleaning Disorder!

  Thanks for Reading!!!

80 car train challenge

Greetings All,

Some friendly banter between my model railroading buddies and I led to the attempt to run an 80 car freight train around the layout. There was the usual can it be done and should it be done back and forth but in the end I had no problem picking up the gauntlet thrown down by 1:1 Sir Neal. There is a small caveat that if I undertook the challenge so would 1:1 Sir Neal and his Atlantic Pacific Railroad. 

So let's take a look at this momentous occasion;

The usual 1/87th scale suspects have gathered track side to witness the event for themselves

A P.R.R. A-B-B-A F7 consist have the honors of being the lead units. These units were featured in a recent blog post when I draw bar equipped them. This will be a good test of those draw bars!

The head end of the train stretched out of the Empire City Viaduct

Continuing around the curve at Walsh Steel Wool Products

Past Hohman Ave and tower operator 1/87th scale Larry D

Thru the North Side. The yard is looking a bit like Salamanca NY with that B&O power!Looking to the left of Empire City Caterpillar you can see the mid train helpers.

Past the yard to the East Side

Around the East Side curve. I parked a freight train with four diesels here just in case the train string lined and wanted to plummet to the lower level.

Past Ralph's Grocery Warehouse

And onto the High Line!

So did the train make it? Watch the video to find out!

Thanks for reading and watching!!

P.C.C.M. 28G / Dispatch of train LS-1

P.C.C.M. 28G is the final installment of this series from the N.Y.C.T.L. The action will continue on Ralph V's Kings Port division blog site in a day or so;
http://kingsportdivision.blogspot.com/ 

Today we'll be sending PC Train LS-1 from Terminal Yard representing New York City yards to it's terminus, Elkhart Indiana. Prior to the PC merger New York Central train LS-1 ran from New York City to Chicago, terminating at the Cicero Ave Yard.

LS-1s first stop after leaving New York City is Selkirk Yard. This is where the cars for the Kings Port Division and Atlantic Pacific RR will be dropped off. The K.P.D. and A.P.R.R will continue the action from that point. Let's take a look at the virtual ops dispatch of train LS-1 

To:     West Mill
           Rock Ridge
From: Terminal Yard

Dispatch of Train LS-1
Engines: 7675, 8024, 6018
Caboose: 24524
Total cars: 18
Block 1: Rock Ridge NJ; 7 cars
Block 2: West Mill NY proper; 3 cars
Block 3: Kings Port NY; 3 cars
Block 4: Mayfield NY; 3 cars
Block 5: Marion NY: 2 cars

Penn Central GP38 7675 is fresh out of the paint shop. Nicknamed Sir Larry after 1:1 Sir Larry of Flemington who graciously donated this engine to the N.Y.C.T.L. fleet. That's 1/87th scale Larry D riding the front porch showing off his engine to the guys.

PC 7675 was the first GP38 bought by the PC arriving June of 1969.

 A trio of EMDs with 7675 in the lead are the power for LS-1

7675 leads the train out of Terminal Yard past the local still and doesn't merit a look from the proprietor. 1/87th scale Sir Larry has fallen over at the sight of the still so close to the right of way.

LS-1 rolls thru Bedford NY past a string of empty hoppers getting ready to be switched into Hudson Coal

Rolling thru Bedford Station with 1/87th scale Larry D back on his feet and waving to the waiting passengers.

7675 stops at Bedford Tower and both 1/87th scale Larry D and John B give the crew a wave as they head off to Selkirk.

The Rock Ridge block passing Bedford Tower

Here comes the West Mill block

LS-1 Crosses the Cornelius Vanderbilt Memorial Bridge in the background. A NYC passenger train crosses over Water Street while another NYC passenger train heads towards Empire city Station. Market Street is to the lower left and it looks like the Market Street Mob is out enjoying the weather. More on that in an upcoming blog entry.

  LS-1 rolling across the High Line

Train LS-1 in profile on the High Line

Next stop Selkirk

Terminal Yard out...

Thanks for reading!
Don't forget to follow up with the action on the Kings Port Division! http://kingsportdivision.blogspot.com/