Re: Santa Barbara County - Update: The End.

[RickD]

Where did you get that passenger rail station from?

It is on the LEX in a pack with some other very nice stations: http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1716
Another quality BAT from the SFBT. 

[Nardo69]

Did someone call my name? Yes? Here I am ... anyway! 

And I like what I see. The rail yards looks logic in itself, the necessary switches and connection are there without to much of it, some parked engines, an engine shed ... yup. Like it.

It's just a bit ... funny to see the Russian 232 and the German 218/360 in an American environment - but hey, there are even bananas in Urland so who am I to blame you for this!

Take care my friend!


Bernhard 

[Nexis4Jersey]

Very Nice , i like how you did your rail yards...

~Corey

[canyonjumper]

Wow Raphael! Very realistic! It'd suck to be on that avenue when a train's goin through.....

               Your friend,
                              Jordan

[Kevin1a]

I'm glad to see someone giving rail some real attention.  Hopefully this won't be the last of your rail updates.  I've found the railyard pieces to be difficult to use as well.  It would almost have been nice if it had been even more modular allowing you more configuration freedoms.

[citybuilderx]

Great work as usual. You must put a lt of hard work into your updates, and its definitly paying off.

[Jayster]

Very nice!  I tried using that set of Rail Sidings but I just couldn't get anything to work right so I gave up. Looking forward to more! 

Jayster

[RickD]

Sorry, no real update today. I've been on vacation (and by vacation I mean doing badly needed repairs around my parent's house and chopping down trees for firewood and I finally finished Mass Effect 2).

But I found some time to work on something I wanted to do for ages: a transit map of SB's minuscule GLR network. It is for an oncoming series of updates about mass transit in Santa Barbara.

16.1


I have been playing around with Inkscape for quite some time but this is the first somewhat presentable result.
It surely needs a lot of polishing. I am hoping for honest feedback and advice from you.



Replies:

travismking:

p.s. sc4mapper works if you change your my document folder from c:\Users\ to somewhere that doesnt contain \U in it. theres a thread on it somewhere

I will try that. Thanks!

Nardo69:

Did someone call my name? Yes? Here I am ... anyway!

Ahh, I expected to see you here. I baked a cake. 

It's just a bit ... funny to see the Russian 232 and the German 218/360 in an American environment - but hey, there are even bananas in Urland so who am I to blame you for this!

Agreed. Now I could bring on excuses like "alternate universe" and so on. But truth is that I was simply too lazy to open up the lot editor and make some American sidings. 

canyonjumper:

It'd suck to be on that avenue when a train's goin through.....

Yeah, especially considering that the freight trains have to slow down to 15mph in order to enter the yard. 
My Sims can't wait for NWM over- and underpass puzzle pieces.

Kevin1a:

Hopefully this won't be the last of your rail updates.

There will be many more.

nedalezz, kodlovag, rooker1, Battlecat, nbvc, emgmod, TiFlo, Nexis4Jersey, citybuilderx, Jayster:
Thank you all for the nice comments.

[kwakelaar]

Some amazing shots from your rail yard. Although a lot of work is involved I am happy to see you have managed to overcome the problem with the prop-pox. Looking at your large overview I still think it is one of the most beautiful maps I have seen. I very much look forward to see this at later stages when all the flat areas are filled in with cities and farmland.

[RickD]

Similar to the real Santa Barbara my fictional city is a mostly wealthy place with many rich people. But there are also some areas where the not so fortunate people live. The contrast can be quite harsh sometimes. In this update I will show you one of the worst Ghettos in Santa Barbara: the Nelson Muntz Housing Projects.

17.1


It is located in the Eastern suburbs of Santa Barbara. You can also see the contrasts in this overvie picture. The Ghetto is only separated by the Interstate from the nice middle class neigborhood of Coast Village.


17.2

Despite its location near the coast it is a rough place to live. Gang violence, drug dealing and even shootings are common around the rundown apartment complexes.


17.3

The apartment houses were built in the late 70s when land prices exploded due to the large numbers of rich people moving into beautiful Santa Barbara. The city counsil saw the need of affordable housing and started the project on city owned land. The intention was to provide the low income families with affordable but clean and comfortable housing. It went well for several years. But in the late 80s with huge budget cuts things started to decline rapidly.


17.4

Originally more Apartment houses where planned but never built. The rest of the land is now occupied by cheap shags, Trailers and Shotgun Homes.


17.5

Some shady businesses provide amusement at night.


17.6

North of the rail line things are a little bit better. There are also some probably not so shady businesses.


17.7

This is Chapman Library. It is part of a privatly funded youth education project.


17.8

The afternoon Pacific Surfliner passes behind the houses on its way to Santa Barbara AMTRAK station. For safety reasons it is mandatory for home owners to have a high fence or dense hedge between the rail and the back yards.


17.9

Caltrans operates a regionwide commuter rail service (SBlink). This is the local station. The Surfliner long distance trains do not stop there.


17.10

The nearby Ramps to and from Interstate 5.


17.11

Soundwalls where installed when Casitas Pass Road was upgraded to six lanes. Rumour has it that they weren't built to protect the people from traffic noise but to block the view on the poor housing behind them.


17.12

This undeveloped piece of land belongs to the city. There were plans to build a hospital there but it is unlikely this will be realised in the near future.
I wish there was a way to get rid of the sidewalk texture on the diagonal road.


17.13


Palatka field. One of the few places where rich and poor meet peacefully and enjoy watching a game.


17.14

Some shops opened next to the baseball field and along the busy road.


17.15

One of the few big box stores within the Santa Barbara City limits. There are strict development rules to prevent those stores from ruining the local businesses and the visual appeal of the city. But here in this area this does not matter that much so an exception was made.


17.16

Interstate 5 passes over Olive Mill Road. There are plans in the drawer to build another Interchange here if traffic levels warrant it.



Replies:

kwakelar:
Thanks for the compliment. I'll start working on those farmlands soon.

Thank you all for stopping by and please leave a comment.

[Paul 999]

Great update! Good story

Keep up this good work.

[Tomas Neto]

Really great update!!! Very nice my friend!!!

[Nexis4Jersey]

Very nice its like a Euro-American mix , reminds me of around here.

[Girafe]

Some interesting stuffs 

[kelis]

Great job my friend, Its very realistic !

[kodlovag]

Very nice update.

[kwakelaar]

Nice work on the urban areas around the highways, and Nelson Muntz can't be very happy with the legacy he has left behind.

[Nardo69]

Nice update my friend!

I love those empty areas next to your highways etc. even though I like to fill them somehow (I just say RRP ) but here they just fit in perfectly.
And I always love to see poor areas of any kind - they have their special charme and are not as easy to layout as it might look like.

Nice detail with the sound wall. 

Take care my friend!

Bernhard   

[Skimbo]

Nice update, Rick, I lreally like some of theese pics

[canyonjumper]

Great work Raphael! Wouldn't wanna live there though.....

                   Your friend,
                                  Jordan