Rhenen, NN

[sebes]

Still no update..... I had no idea when I posted that teaster that it would take so long...

Story is: I have my new PC, and it's great playing the game on  it. However, my wireless modem from 2001 was too old to handle it, so we had to buy a new one. They happen to come for free if you upgrade your subscription to the internet provider, so we decided to do so - but I have to wait for a month before it will be installed. Can you imagine....

Well - at least the teaser is realy doing what it's supposed to do: tease the hell out of you  .  The real update will take another while... but now first some:


Replies:


Maarten/Mrtnrnl: You are right - the highways you mention also enter the city. However, as they don't enter the historic city center I did not mention them. I guess that there are many more places were highways end in a city....

Bat: You'll need to have some more patience. Stay tuned, my friend from Bielefeld

Arthur/Art128: It does look like a drawing indeed! Glad you like the drawing. It took me ages to get it that way  (not...)

Alfred.Jones, Casper, sciurus54, manny Thanks for stopping by and liking the teaser. I'm glad you like it as it's all there will be for now. More will come... one day 

Bohort: I think it's just the maxis rock textures that are in... blame EA 

Paul/Paroch: Yes! An underpass it is. So car racing in Rhenen... that it is a great idea. Thanks. I will have to think on how to arrange that. But indeed, the Innercity Loop as well as the Outercity Beltway (yet to be shown) are reason to consider it...

Burgemeester: Wow, another mayor visiting town. Welcome mayor! The houses are mainly created by Haarlemmergold, Vanderaap(VDA), Tatoed Millionaire and maybe some more.... You can download them from the STEX. Barby also had some Haarlemmergold packs that can be downloaded here on the LEX.

Ryan/Burgsabre87: Yes - plenty of rail option. Tracks will carry goods and passengers towards the West (via Nieuwpoort to Buffeloo), the South (Fingerlake Shire), The North (Ontario Lake shores & Irondeqouitbay) and towards the East to the rest of Nieuw Nederland!

So good friends and loyal visitors: stay tuned for an update in a few weeks....

[Pat]

Sebes I cant believe that I missed the teaser over a month ago eeks!!! Im glad you gotten a new computer and also will be getting a better modem too!!!!  Cant wait to see the New Rhenen!!!

[sebes]

Good news – I was able to make a temporary connection via the neighbours wireless modem today (don't tell them) and got to upload some pics to Photobucket. So the tour of the Eastern Part of Rhenen-Center can continue. YES!  To make up for the long wait, this update consists of two parts: Eastgate (the quarter between downtown and the station) and Rhenen Central Station. Have fun!

Update 4 : Rhenen-Oosterpoort

In the previous update we explored the Eastbank of the Genessee river, in downtown Rhenen. As you know already, the old town is nowadays surrounded by an elevated highway, that was build during the 50's. It was build to enable transit traffic to cross the city and the river without going through the historic part of town and crossing the old narrow bridges.  It's a blessing for the old city, but at the same time of course the buildings surrounding the historic town had to be demolished for it. One of the old buildings to be demolished was the Oosterpoort (Eastgate). It was situated on the spot where today the NE-exit of the downtown loop is (Centrum NO).

4.1 Oosterpoort  anno 1875




In the second half of the 19th century, the city expanded towards the North East.  The area was called Oosteinde (Eastend) at the time, and the main street through the area is still called that way. There was some textile industry and some residential streets.  The place where the Oosterpoort used to be looks like this in 1960 and today:


4.2 Oosterpoort anno 1960


The Oosterpoort was at the place where the exit of the elevated highways is today. In the top right corner you can see the small staion Rhenen-Oosterpoort. The main street running North-South is Uniestraat.

4.3 Oosterpoort  today - Oostplein




4.4 Oosterpoort in twilight




4.5 Oosterpoort by night




4.6 Oosterstraat & Prinsenplein




4.7  Oosterpoort Quarter




4.8 Prinsenplein




4.9 Oosterpoort School




4.10  Oosterpoort Quarter by night




4.11 South of Oosteinde some manufacturing industries where established, some of them still remaining today.




Rhenen Centraal Station

At the end of the 19th century, Rhenen was connected to the Dutch American Railroad System (HAS). The nations main railroad, from Nieuw Amsterdam to Buffeloo via Beverwijk, Syracuse and Rhenen, runs just north of the city and the Oosterpoort Area.  A small station Oosterpoort was build near the Eastgate, but just north of the Oosterpoort quarter also the main station, Rhenen Centraal Station (RCS) was build. During the second  half of 20th century the RCS-area was an attractive place to construct office buildings. Currently, the trains and highway network bring the commercial workforce In the offices. But, a metro line has been planned to connect the RCS-area with the cities main residential areas and even with the Airport . Hopefully, the metro will be ready in time to celebrate the cities 300 year anniversarie this fall....

Remember this teaser?

3A



Well – here is the full picture:

4.12 RCS




Since this picture was taken, a big beverage company has build their headquarters near the station, giving a boost to the entire area

4.13 RCS with Coca Cola headquarers




4.14 RCS – Stationsplein Zuid




4.15 RCS – Stationsplein Zuid (closer)




4.16 RCS – Stationsplein Zuid (from the North)




4.17 RCS – Area




And, as last picture for this update, an overview of the entire area

4.18  Rhenen Centrum  Oost & Oosterpoort - Overview

[Sciurus]

Nice

[MandelSoft]

Oosterpoort looks nice, BUT I see a lot of empty spots! Why don't you fill those with beautification perhaps? Anyways, the Centraal station area looks good.

Best,
Maarten

[art128]

I sebes
nice updtae here 
i like the central station district 

[Ryan B.]

Wow, that's a great update!  Sorry to hear your modem conked out on you.  I know what that's like.

At any rate, it's great to see a neighbor prosper. 

[paroch]

Hi Sebes,

It's good to see some more of Rhenen.  And great to see some "Oosters" - brings back memories of the Oosterdock and oosterpark!!

I like the housing in the Oosterpoort and that square junction with the diagonal avenue is very innovative, I like it.  And funnily enough the East End of London was home to many textile industries many years ago as well. 

In 4.4 it's interesting to see that Blockbuster Video has some competition next door to it 

The mayor's statue on Prinsenplein in 4.6 is a really nice place.  The sidewalk mod you have in place there works perfectly.  The whole of the Oosterpoort area has just a really nice feel about it. 

The station zone is also very nicely done too.  The big parking plaza adds a nice touch of realism and the tunnel under the station is also a good idea.  In 4.17 I really like the apartment blocks layout in the bottom right corner, and the hospital with the bridge over the avenue is great.

If I may add a couple of suggestions.......

The railways look a little odd with the concrete texture underneath them, particularly on the diagonals.  I think the grass/dirt underneath works better.
And the area around the station looks at though there is plenty of green to still build on - I am guessing you are going to build into this zone.
I'd also recommend downloading Mas71 Walls from the LEX (power search Mas71) as they would finish off the embankments and entrance to the tunnel.

Thanks for the update and good luck with the nex modem and broadband line.

Paul

[Diggis]

Well I finally made it.  Sorry, was a long trip over from Watersford.  Stupid works at the Airport, plus had to stop over and help build some ponds in Balnavia and attend the football in West End.  Here now though.

I love the way you have worked with the gorges in the first update.  Funnily enough the Coke building was one of the first high rises in Watersford too.  I like the station, although something is messing with my perception and I can't quite figure out whats happening with the ground there.

[bat]

Nice pictures there in that great update, sebes!!!

And this part of your city looks wonderful! Great work on the rails ations, too!

Looking forward to the next update of Rhenen...

[dsrwhat316]

I agree about the empty spots, but that can be easily fixed.

Another critique I have (sorry!) is that lone Maxis glass condo in some of those pics; it just kinda sticks out too much. I like the use of tunnels; maximizes the space used. I'll be eager to see your next update!

~ Dan

[sebes]

Update 5 : Rhenen-Hoog (Rhenen Heights)


This update we will be exploring the northern part of central Rhenen. The North part of downtown got heavily damaged in the 50's, when the elevated highway surrounding the historic city was build. The highway had to go through the north part of the downtown to bypass the waterfalls in the Genesee river : a bridge just down the river near the falls would moist  the road, what might cause accidents due slippery asphalt. But also the danger of drivers watching the spectacular falls instead of traffic made the city board decide to have the river crossed just South of the waterfalls.


5.1 Rhenenvallen





See this picture ( link) for the bridges across the Genesee River. Because the railroad also crosses the river just south of the falls (it was easier building there in the 19th century) the Inner City loop had to be build a bit closer towards the old town bridges. Consequently the North part of downtown had to be torn down.  

5.2 Downtown (North)





5.3 Stadsring Noord by Night





Luckily, the downtown markets remained in place. Fresh fruit and vegetables from Lakeshire are brought here every day, as well as fresh fish from Lake Ontario. The fresh goods are snapped up by the yuppies and dinkies that rent the high-end apartments in the historic inner city.  

5.4 Downtown Markets




5.5 Downtown Markets by night





One of the buildings that had to make place for the new city ring was the St Cunera Hospital.



The hospital was named after the cities patroness. The building was constructed in 1892 by the Joannes de Deo foundation, named after the Roman Catholic order that was founded in the 16th century.  (link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Hospitallers_of_St._John_of_God]link). The hospital was rebuild on the other side of the railroad. In the 1990's, the Nieuw Nederland government decided to liberalize the health care market.  Since then, a renowned medical company, Newman Inc., has taken over most hospitals in the country. Also the St Cunera Hospital is now renamed in Newman Inc. Memorial Hospital, and has a very large psychiatric wing. The location of the hospital, in Rhenen-Heights, gives it the nickname City Nut Mountain.


5.6  Newman Inc. Memorial Hospital (Loc. St. Cunera) aka City Nut Mountain





The plans for the new elevated highway were made in the late 40's. When the hospital was ready in 1948 also the surrounding area's were build up with modern residential flat buildings for the people that lived in the to be demolished downtown streets. Their homes had to make place for the elevated highway, and the parking areas for the new businesses  that were expected to settle in the "renovated" northern downtown.

5.7 Rhenen Heights




5.8 and 5.9 : 1940's flats near the St. Cunera hospital





5.10 and 5.11 : 1950's flats on Stevensberg






5.12 : 1960's row houses in Richardspark



5.13 : 1960's flats near Oosterpoort Station




5.14 : 1960's flats  and 1900's barracks on Hudson Rijlaan




5.15 : 1960's flats and Oosterpoort Station




5.16 : 1960's flats on Bramenveld




5.17 : Rhenen Heights (Overview)



The last picture gives an overview of the entire Rhenen-Hoog area, except the higher flat buildings near Oosterpoort station, that are better seen in the previous update. In the next update we will explore the west bank of the Genesee river a bit more...but, I will first be gone for a 3 weeks vacation, and be tracking in Saxonia, Prague and Berlin. But first.....


Replies


pat: Better late than never.... and the same goes for this reply LOL. Still, I don't have the new modem... so updating is painfull exercise depending on sneaking in on the neighbours connections (hope they will leave their machine on during this update 

sciurus54: thanks!

Maarten/mrtnrln: that BUT is very right.: there are indeed a lot of empty spots. The reason is that I build this city on my old machine, and in order to bring the load time down to 1 hour, I had deleted many of the folders with plugins, amongst them most of the BSC and CSX parks. The empty spots that you notice are to be filled with some CSX beauties, especially the seasonal trees, and some of the Godess best creations! As soon as my new modem comes in, I will download datpacker, reinstall all plugins, and finish the empty spots. As I explained in the first update: this city is build on a PC with a lot of handicaps... and is far from being finalized! The pictures that you see are a city that is still under construction (but you might get it...also the cranes were not loaded in the plugins folder ) Hey, Almere was not nice in the beginning either, was it???

Arthur/Art128 Thanks for the friendly comment. I like the area too -even it 's far from being finished.

Ryan/Burgsabre87 That are neighbours for! I havetried some beach building (for a far future update) but did not have the same result as you have. I'll need some practise on Lake Ontario's shore.

Paul/Paroch Your comments are noted, and highly appreciated. I have downloaded MAS walls, but never yet played with them. They were not in the plugins folder when playing with Rhenen, but plan indeed to try some out with them in future.  Indeed, more offices will rise in the CBD arround the Central Station.
If you liked the appartment blocks in the previous update, you will be very happy with this one I guess. I'm eager to find out what you think of them. But remember, the area is not yet dressed up.... and still some zone's are to be grown. It's far from ready here, but you can get an idea!

Shaun/Diggis Your comment means the world to me! It's the first time I played with the realistic road heights mod (sorry - forgot the real name of it) and it was a pain in getting those tunnels.

Bat Glad you came by again. The 5th update is here... enjoy it!

Dan/dsrwhat316 Your post came in during updating. Yes, the empty spots can be fixed easily indeed.... but need some major infrastructural updates on my PC first (please see my reply to Maarten, above). I also agree with you on the Maxis condo... and next time I will open the game I will get something better there. Any suggestion?


So my friends, see you back in 3 weeks.

Until than.... and please.... leave a comment !

[MandelSoft]

Ah, I see... Well, in that case, the city looks quite good!

[bat]

Those pictures in update 5 are looking really good, sebes!
Looking forward to more of your nice looking city!!

[paroch]

Hey Sebes,

An update in Rhenen is always a good day.  And yes you are right about me loving Rhenen Heights - those apartements look fabulous there.  If they are all growables you have either been very lucky, or have done much bulldozing and "making historic" to achieve such a result - very good indeed.

And I'm pleased those New Dutch have made room for those footie pitches.  You need somewhere for the young Cruyffs, Van Baastens, Gullits and Bergkamps to practice and learn!

I think my favourite picture is 5.10 the flats at Stevensburg - just a really nice simple picture, but very effective.  It may not have a dramatic "whooomph" factor but I'd be tempted to enter that in the Picture Competition, there is something about it that draws me in.

And 5.12 is interesting - I think we've said this before..... those houses are so very British (made by RP who is a Brit) but also so very Dutch (I remember the picture you posted of Emmeldoorm (not sure if I spelt that right)).  I've made a custom lot of two of the six house rows sitting opposite each other.  If you'd like it just let me know.

Well, I've enjoyed this update - and I hope you have a great THREE WEEK vacation.

Catch up soon,

Paul

[Pat]

sebes fantastic update and I loved the flats around the hospital area!!!  Hey are we going to see that wonderful waterfall ingame per chance?  I see you did make it threw this last update with the help of your neighbors  I hope you get your new modem soon!!!

[sebes]

Replies:


Maarten/mrtnrln: this update still is showing some empty spots, as I am still not connected to the internet to redo my plugins and download the CSX parks (planned to be plopped between the residentials) and Porkie's squares. And I refused to fill the town with the basic game content....as you can imagine. So I will be asking your (and everybody elses) patience for a few more weeks. (pictures for this update were also taken in May-June already, when I still had the internet connection)

Bat: I am happy that you liked it. Now, lets see what you think of the 6th update...

Paul/Paroch: I knew that you'd like the rowhouses. Indeed, it was a lot of bulldozing, waiting, bulldozing, waiting, bulldozing, waiting and making historical.... It took forever, and as you can see, the process is still going on to get the monotonous look in that part of town. But, it's worth it, I am also pleased with the result myself.  Any larger size rowhouse or flat lots are always welcome here, you know that my friend. (when internet is up and running at my own PC again – I expect it this or next week- we can there meet again:)

Pat: I know!  I cannot wait to FINALLY receive the new modem and hook myself on to the world again. I'm totally fed up after 2 months of improvising connections.  An ingame waterfall... ouch... I have never practized that. I believe that the map does not even a height difference there. I will probably make a hideous attempt to make the Rhenen Falls somewhere in the next weeks, but I doubt if I will be brave enough to share the results.


Update 6 : Rhenen-St Marts


This update is dedicated to my nephew Mart, co-founder of this city, who celebrated his 11th birthday a few weeks ago. In this update we will explore the west bank of the Genesee river.  A small part of the historic town, Westend, is also on the west bank, as we have seen in the first update.  The Stadsring,  the inner-city elevated highway, surrounds Westend, and has a  stacked interchange with the Tangential Highway A85.

Just south of the interchange is the football stadium of Candia. Candia was founded in 1882 as Rhenense Boys. The stadium, build in 1930, is still nicknamed Boys Club Lane Stadium, although that club merged in 1966 with Voorwaarts Rhenen to become Candia '66.


6.1  Candia'66 Stadium on Boys Club Lane


Candia is playing in the Dutch American Premier Football League, and is sponsored by Kodak (a large multinational photographic industry, headquartered in Rhenen.  In this years competition they are on the 4th position, right after FC Manhattan (Nw Amsterdam), Yankees (Nw Amsterdam) and  BSC (Buffelloo). Well know players from Candia'66 are Luuk Kreamalmeyer,  John Menyongar and Scott Palguta.
Candia has a very promising future. Take a look at the youngsters, and you can be sure that club sponsor Kodak and team sponsor Cunera Carpets invest millions of American Guilders into the clubs future, to secure a leading role in the top of the Nedlloyd Liga . Most promising players are: Floris Jan Staal , Mart Kruidenier and Peter de Gooijer.


Fltr: standing: Theo Kuipers (trainer), Tijs Vetjens (Keeper), Robin Nijhuis, Floris Jan Staal, Teeuwes Middelbrink,  Daniël Edelijn, Mart Kruidenier, Rick Kruidenier(coach), Vincent (coach). Sitting: Joey van Dijk, Peter de Gooijer, Finn Ter Burg, Pim Tollenaar, Ben Kuipers.

Just south of the stadium you can find one of the old flour mills. This mill is still working. In the 19th century Rhenen got nicknamed Flour City of Dutch America because the high number of mills that were build on the shores of the fast flowing Genesee River, that provided natural power to the mills. By 1834, some 20 flour mills were producing 500,000 barrels (44,000 t) annually.

West of the flour mills a low density residential quarter was established, and named after Saint Martinus. The area is now called St Marts, and besides the Candia Stadium, the area is well known because of the cargo railyard with the same name. Let's watch some pictures of the residential area now:

6.2  St Marts (south east quadrant)


6.3  St Marts (south west quadrant)


6.4 St Marts (north west quadrant)


6.5 St Marts Goederen Station (Railyard)


6.6  St Marts Church


6.7 St Marts Church (from the other side)


6.8 St Marts Church (by Night)


6.9 An impression of St Marts residential


6.10 St Marts residential area in twilight


6.11 St Marts residential area by night


6.12 Madison Park in St Marts


6.13 Overview of St Marts and Westend


6.14 The Genesee Bridges from the North



And to see that the bridges actually carry traffic: two traffic views of Central Rhenen






This is the area just north of St Marts, Meersberg. I still have to work on the area, but this will be a high wealth residential area. (You can also see a part of Rhenen Heights on the eastbank in this picture)


And this is a glimpse of downtown again, towards the South. This will also come back in the next update...




Ok - that's it for today. I realy hope that my new modem will arrive this week, so that I can first update my plugins again with the missing folders, then download some of the new stuff on the LEX that came out in the past 3 months, and then plops some eye candy parks and plazas in the empty spots that were shown in the previous updates. Let me know if there is any picture in particular that you wish to see again after the finishing touch

Until then, stay tuned.... and while doing so: please leave a comment!

Sebes

[MandelSoft]

Nice update, Sebes! Lets see how you pimp your city next update! 

[art128]

this update look good 

[Simpson]

Great update, I love the 4th picture, fine work.