Greenacre

[benedict]

I am a big SC4 transit fan, and I think the tram skins look phenomenal.

[carlfatal]

This is a wonderful update, i like this old RL picture... 
And i like the tram skin, it´s a really nice old streetcar. But these links to the train museum are not the stuff You should give to guy like me: the next weeks i´m only lurking into US railway stuff not able to play SimCity or write some comments. 
Greetz, Carl

[threestooges]

Replies:
-Guillaume (Sciurus): I'm really glad to have found that station. It fit the area perfectly and was one of those things I didn't know I needed until I saw it there. Good to see you back around here Guillaume.


-Joan (Jmouse): Get ready for some essence then, or perhaps a quick snooze, not sure which. I'm continually impressed by the work he does, and I'm floored that he took the time to produce this for me. I hope these updates do his work justice.


-Rick (RickD): Get ready for some more useless knowledge then. I figured if that little blurb was of interest, then a bit more was in order. Thanks for helping to prompt this update.


-Noah (noahclem): Greenacre was based, in large part, on several places I've lived, and in using the GLR in the first place, I drew heavily from the Pacific Electric. Drawing it out in some areas has actually helped shape Greenacre's growth.


-benedict: Thank Vester for the execution of the skin. He does wonderful work with them, and I believe he may be working on others too. Hope you like the upcoming bit of transit history in this update too.


-Carl (carlfatal): You've probably seen a few of the following pictures in your internet travels, but hopefully this will help satisfy your lurking... or maybe it'll just make it worse. Not sure... Either way, hope you enjoy this update too.



So, I noticed some interest in the Pacific Electric and the tram skin that Vester made. With that, I thought I'd take some time off for a bit of a history lesson.

Wait, wait, don't scroll away that fast, there are pictures too. Some of them are even from SC4.

RL and site outages kept me a bit quieter than I would have liked to be this month, but yes, we're here: the last day of the month, nearing the end of OSITM. That being said, just because the month ends, doesn't mean I'm done with what I was planning. To the contrary. Thanks to the site outage and some RL from this past week, I still have plenty to show; so March will become the unofficial continuation of interest month.

At any rate, the Pacific Electric Railroad: formed from several smaller acquisitions in the LA area, it soon grew to become one of the best, and as far as I recall, the largest, electric urban and interurban passenger railroads in the world.

39.01 – Route map of Pacific Electric


If you want to see something interesting, pull up a map of the LA freeway system compare it to this map.  Notice any similarities? Many of the major freeway routes were built along (and over) the existing interurban routes. Why not build alongside them? Well, back then the car was the wave of the future and all (and the Pacific Electric was losing ridership to the car, and a few other factors) but yeah, many of the new metro rail lines are now being rebuilt in freeway medians. Anyway...

Back in the day, the lines would run anywhere from a single car, up to trains of several cars, as frequently in some places as one every several minutes.

39.02


39.03


Given that the LA area was much less developed than it is today, many lines ran through open areas or farmland. If you've heard of the Inland Empire (Riverside/San Bernardino/etc) it used to be known as the Orange Empire, and for good reason.

39.04


39.05


The routes even provided people a means of reaching the beach from downtown LA in under an hour. Huntington Beach actually obtained its name from Henry Huntington, one of the principal figures behind the development of the system. He built the line to the area, and a sleepy beach town of a few hundred boomed to several thousand almost overnight.

39.06


39.07


The Hollywood Cars (as this particular car style came to be known for their regular appearance on Hollywood Boulevard) also lived up to their name as the style featured prominently in movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

39.08 – Who Framed Roger Rabbit


39.09


To put it in perspective: here's the area before Universal Studios. You can see the road that would be today's current US 101, with a lone Hollywood car trundling along beside it.

39.10 – Cahuenga Pass before Universal Studios 2


Commonplace, yet almost strange to imagine with the reputation drivers around here have, the streetcars here were often right in the mix without any sort of dividers or barriers.

36.11


39.12


In Greenacre, their tradition still runs strong, carrying passengers in all areas and in all capacities. The ports benefit strongly from their presence, allowing workers easier access without having to battle the freight traffic that shifts through on a regular basis.

39.13


Bottom line, GDOT is planning several upgrades to the existing routes, and several extensions. Their goal, should it prove cost-efficient, is to link Greenacre in a way similar to the way the Pacific Electric linked the greater LA area. The routes may be more permanent than those of buses, but the wear on the parts and maintenance costs are projected to be significantly lower in the long run.

Residents of Greenacre are about to see a lot more red.

39.14


Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for making this month as good as it was.
-Matt

[dedgren]

An outstanding OSITM for Greenacre, Matt.  The tram updates are nothing short of spectacular, and represent the highest reaches of MDing art.  The seamless combining of SC4 scenes and RL pics within a well-written narrative in the final OSITM update is a model that anyone interested in authoring a world-class MD would be well-advised to read closely.


David

[nbvc]

Great work with the tram.

[RickD]

Thank you for the roundup about the Pacific Electric. That routemap is impressive. It is really a shame that it was discarded in favor of roads. I guess the Pacific Electric would be a great relief for LA traffic nowadays.

[rooker1]

Matt, thank you for such an interesting month.  Anyone can always find something of interest for themselves.....from RL pics mixed in with in game pics, industrial areas to beautiful res. to water fronts to road geekery.
Great work and thank you!!

Robin

[Swordmaster]

Heh, another piece of California that's gone. Fortunately, there's Greenacre. Great updates, Matt

Cheers,
Willy

[io_bg]

That was an enjoyable historic ride. It's a pity they removed almost all US tram lines in the middle of the XX century. I'm eager to see more

[noahclem]

A fantastic update to cap off an outstanding month     I really like the way your tram lines look, and combined with your custom trams from Arne and a bit of photoshopping you're able to use Greenacre as a great medium for telling the story of southern Californias trams in the 20th century. Besides the nice views of Greenacre it's also nice transport history lesson.

Again it's been a pleasure sharing OSITM with you. I see no reason not to continue with our plans for cooperation... and to that end, here's to a month of continued interest!

[vester]

Love the tram network. 

Love the mix of MD and RL.

[Nardo69]

Hi Matt!

Thought I hopped in to see if there's still some life in Greenacre juste to see your 4th time OSITM - Congrats, be me, too! (even though a tad late ... ) 

Nice work on the cliff update as well as on the electric cable lines. I knew there has been something like this, the better someone who's got a larger knowlegde shows some of them (and even transported them to SC4)

Take care my friend!

Bernhard 

[Jmouse]

What a superb update, Matt! The RL photos mixed in with game shots lends a heaping helping of credibility to this presentation. The old autos in 39.02 brought back a memory of the time when my son said, "You were lucky. You actually got to ride in cars like that."

Your interest in all things rail, along with Arne's (vester) interest and BATting skill make for an unbeatable team. 39.07 is a favorite because it paints another picture of Pacific Electric's unique history. Actually, you have woven an engaging historical thread through the whole update that holds it firmly together.

This stands as the best update you've done so far in Greenacre's 3+ years here at Sc4D. Congratulations on an outstanding fourth time in OSITM.
-Joan

[threestooges]

Replies:
David (dedgren): Glad you enjoyed it David. It's high praise indeed coming from the master of blending RL into a Mayor's Diary. I'd though about making it longer, or more historical, but didn't want to risk boring anyone. Seems I left them wanting more. Looking forward to 3RR's birthday tomorrow. Always good to see
you here.


nbvc: Thank you very much. Vester outdid himself with the tram and it was a pleasure to put them to good use.


Rick (RickD): It is a shame to see the routes of the past now gone. It would have been a great relief for traffic if they were still running today, as thousands of people still pour in and out of downtown on a regular basis. They're working to rebuild it, it seems, but it's a huge capital investment. Plus, if the PE were still around, it'd be all electric too, which would be a nice plus on the environment.


Robin (rooker1): Glad you enjoyed it Robin. I tried to mix a bit of everything in, but I wish I'd had more time. There were still things I wanted to get done that I just ran out of time for. Oh well, something to add for this month then I guess. Always good to see you here.


Willy (Swordmaster): Welcome to Greenacre. Yeah, it's sad that the routes have largely vanished, but if you want to see some of the remaining cars that are still operational, and run on a daily basis, pay a visit to the Orange Empire Railroad Museum if you're ever out by Perris, CA. It's a great step back in time to see what these old cars were really like. Thanks for stopping by.


Ioan (io_bg): It is a pity most of the lines are gone, but up in San Francisco, they still have a very nice system working up there. Not sure if it draws a profit, but I went there for a couple days, parked my car and never touched it again until I left. The cable car system, as much as it is a tourist icon, is also an efficient system for getting where you want to go. They also have a few PCC cars that run the streets as well. Very nice city for train buffs.


Noah (noahclem): Great to share the month with you Noah. I generally try to avoid photoshopping (let the game speak for itself) but in the right circumstances, it's a nice addition. Showing off Arne's handiwork was just such an occasion that deserved it. There are many things that have influenced Greenacre, and the PE was certainly one of them. To a degree any of the streetcar lines in Greenacre owe some part of their design to the PE (and also my general love of trains). Here's to next month being as good as the last.


Arne (vester): Thanks Arne, it wouldn't be nearly what it was without you and your skill at automata. You're the reason this past update was possible. This project was sitting on my back burner for months hoping that I could get that model made (and you went and did it as fast as you did, thanks again for that).


Bernhard (Nardo69): Bernhard! It's great to see you here again. It's been a while. Glad to see you've enjoyed what you've seen here. There's plenty more to come, and if you have any suggestions on the rail or trams, I'd certainly love to hear it. Also, how's that railroad tutorial of yours going?


Joan (Jmouse): You were lucky to get to ride in cars like that. I'd love to have one myself some day in the future. Great styles back then that just haven't quite been matched by today's models. However, more to the update itself, Arne is quite skilled at what he does, and I was proud to show off his handiwork. Since the update was so well received, I think I may do a supplement to it in the future, but until then, there's another big thing in the works. More on that to come later. Always good to hear from you Joan.


So some of you may have noticed last week that Siilijoki by Noahclem, experienced a bit of a storm. Well, thanks to the jet stream and a recent low pressure system that moved in, that same storm has now hit Greenacre.

40.01


I was planning on taking you for a tour of the Greenacre wilderness and a new campsite that has recently undergone some renovation, but the storm has caused the creek, and the storm drains that help feed it, to pick up a little extra water.

40.02


So that is something that should probably wait for another day.

However, I did get this in the mail:

40.03


It doesn't say anything about not bringing guests, so you're all invited as well. If you get a chance tomorrow (March 12) take a minute to swing by Three Rivers Region and leave a post to help celebrate its 6th anniversary.

Since the storm has rained a bit on the parade here, I'm heading out now, before it gets any worse. You're welcome to grab a seat on this plane, or grab the next one. Either way, I'll hope to see you in Greenacre for the festivities.

40.03


Until then, take it easy, and try to stay dry.
-Matt

[RickD]

Nice update. I like the rain effect and the curvy road at the creek. Have fun at the party. 

[noahclem]

Perfectly executed    I especially love the flooding in the second picture. Great final airport segue into heading to David's party too 

[Jmouse]

I agree with Noah. That flooded creek is the best of its kind I've ever seen. As for the plane ride, I think I'll wait until the weather clears up. Clear up to...

Time to brush up on the backstroke...
-Joan

[Battlecat]

That flooded creek is absolutely gorgeous!

[bat]

Nice tram pictures in update 39.
And great storm effect in update 40.
Looking forward to update 41.

[threestooges]

Replies:
Rick (RickD): The rain effect was something new for me to try (thanks to Noah for giving me the idea and tutorial for it) and I like the results. It fit for setting up the 3RR birthday too. Good to have seen you there too, with your organized fun.


Noah (noahclem): Thanks, and thanks again for giving me the idea for it. Sorry it didn't get in last month, but it was still fun to do. The creek itself, and the surrounding area, will feature in to the next few updates as I overhaul the area. I figured using a progress pic would work well. Good to see you at the party too.


Joan (Jmouse): Flooding was minimal, fortunately, and it was good to see you made it to the party at 3RR too. Spring time is a fun time as far as weather goes. Given that, the creek area and its nearby campground will be a focus of the next few updates. Good time to see the area too, with the recent rain, the waterfalls in the area should be flowing nicely. Hope you had fun at the party.


Battlecat: Glad you like it. It looks like that pic was the highlight of the update. It was fun to make too. Good to see you made it to the party.


bat: Glad you enjoyed it. Two thumbs up for the last couple updates; I like it. Good to see you made it to the 3RR party too.


41.00


So some of you will likely recognize this picture. The rain has subsided though, it being Spring, there are still a few storms left in the forecast. Bouyed by the past rainfall, the creek by the Hackenbush Campground is in full swing. We've visited the area before and already I'm sure you can see some changes.

41.01


There are still more changes to come, but those will be covered in the next update(s). Old Dr. Hackenbush is planning to update his campgrounds, but we'll catch up with him later. While the stream is high, there are more important things to see.

41.02


Like rapids. The creek hits two sets of them as it rolls along.

41.03


An overview of the area as it stands now.

41.04


So even that is a bit of an improvement, I think, from how it used to be. Those new water pieces work wonders when used well. Thoughts on it are welcomed and encouraged.

Coming up in the following updates: Dr. Hackenbush's renovation of the campsite (if you all think it's worth it), the waterfalls and hiking trail that leads to them, and the creek's path as it flows out to the sea. Let me know what you think of that plan and any suggestions you have along the way. As it's a plan in progress, things are open to changes.
-Matt