For the Rail Fan Inside All of Us

[Mr. Cortez 11]

CityTrans is the brand name for Cortezlynn City's mass transit hybrid light rail/heavy rail system. CityTrans was the child of city planner Maye Feldman, and it was introduced into the city's government in 1946. Back then, it was only a dream...

But by 1955, Cortezlynn City was going through terrible traffic woes, and needed a mass transit system; CityTrans was born, as a branch of the city's transportation department. In 1965, plans were finalized and construction began.

On March 27, 1976, 100,000 people rode for free on the 4-station red line between Old Town and Rowland City.

---

Part I: The Red Line

The current red line has 23 stations. CityTrans do not plan to extend the line any farther.
(All pictures facing north)

Toast Central
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking on Private Lot (not pictured)
Opened on July 25, 1998.

 

Alan Heights/Cortezlynn Village
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on September 22, 1990.
Notes: Alan Heights/Cortezlynn Village does not have parking of its own, which is weird, since this station is close to an airport. When the Toast Central Airport Monorail station (owned by CityTrans, will be posted at a later date) opened in 1995, it provided parking.

 

East Ocean Parkway
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on September 22, 1990.
Notes: Heavily Used Station

 

Kew Gardens
Served by Red and Green Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on September 22, 1990.
Notes: This station, like Amarachi Hotel, has two separate platforms. Passengers stamp their farecards to re-enter for free.

 

Seagate
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on September 22, 1990.
Notes: Seagte is a off-line station (a station with track that branches off the main track). Trains from North Newport terminates here. One of the few station designed by the construction company MAXIS.

 

Lindawood
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on February 6, 1978.
Notes: Lindawood, another MAXIS-made station, opened some time before the rest of this portion of the line. Another offline station, and trains from Ukira Terminates here.

 

Greenpoint
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on February 6, 1978.
Notes: The Frogface motif continues. Officially named the modified gull-wing roof.

 

Tyler Garden
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on February 6, 1978.

 

Old Town
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on March 27, 1976.
Notes: One of the first stations to open.

 

Convention Center North
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on March 27, 1976.
Notes: One of the first stations to open. CityTrans turned run-down streets into pedestrian-friendly walkways.

 

Amarachi Hotel
Served by Red, Green, and Yellow Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on March 27, 1976.
Notes: One of the first stations to open. Very busy station, and has two platforms. Named after the Grand Oscar Amarachi Hotel.

 

Rowland City
Served by Red, Blue, and Orange Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on March 27, 1976.
Notes: One of the first stations to open. Very busy station. All red, blue, and orange line trains serves this single platform.

 

Northwest Avenue & Imani
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on January 17, 1977.
Notes: This station opened a bit later because of soil problems. The parking lot pictured is not owned by CityTrans and cannot be used by CityTrans passengers. Damn red tape.

 

University Heights
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on December 5, 1981.
Notes: Near one of the Simtropolis University Campuses, hence the name.

 

Halo Heights
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on December 5, 1981.

 

Fox Point
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on August 25, 1984.

 

Kennedy-Petworth/(South)Newport
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on August 25, 1984.
Notes: Major commuter station, but does not have parking. Cortezlynn City failed to rename station to Kennedy-Petworth/South Newport, which would cost the system $43,000 in new maps and signage.

 

Ukira
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on August 25, 1984.
Notes: Another offline station. Trains from Lindawood terminates here. Terminal for all red line trains for three months.

 

North Newport-Queen City
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on December 25, 1984.
Notes: Another offline station. Trains from Seagate terminates here. Opened on Christmas Day 1984.

 

Lilly Heights
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on December 25, 1984.
Notes: Terminal station from 1984 to 2010! Built too close to a nuclear power plant, no? The city has complete confidence in its electricity department.

 

Omari Zoo
Served by Red Line Trains
Does Not Have Parking.
Opened on December 21, 2010.
Notes: Built into a trench. Direct interface to zoological park.

 

Quandaview Street
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking.
Opened on December 21, 2010.
Notes: An unique station breaking the motif.

 

Shady Grove
Served by Red Line Trains
Has Parking (under station)
Opened on December 21, 2010.
Notes: Another unique station, and the most famous!

---

You have seen part one of a six-part series. Comments are welcome.

[winonanick 0]

good start.

[GMT 389]

quite good

can't wait to see what's next

[SC4Noobie 5]

It looks pretty intresting! I will check this CJ out! The start is good, and tehre is a good variety of rail stations.

[Nardo69 51]

Nice pics about the RR stations so far. You do like Frogfaces Station! Me too, but I would love it more if one track would be a road so that it would serve as a perfect transit station between Bus and Rail.

But IMHO there are too much RR crossings! I would suggest you either close some of them (RR lines cut rhough seddlements IRL, too!) and replace a big part of the remaining by underpasses and overpasses. Use the NAM, if you don't want to or if you are not able to do so make some holes or passes and build small tunnels!

Anyway I am curious about your railyards and freight stations now!

Bernhard

PS: Did I ever mention that I LOVE RAILWAYS!!

[CDB 3]

Interesting.

I think that a full-system map before new stations closeups would be helpfull to understand the situation.

[Mr. Cortez 11]

Thank you for the comments. May I add that the red line itself does not have any yards or sheds! About the at-grade crossings, my intention (sp?) was to make the system a light-rail system. I do have have any ind sections. The official ARS (adopted regional system) is complete, but there is a blue line extention in the works. It is sunken, so there is no right-of-way problems.

Keep coming-tonight, part II, the yellow line. There is a system map on the official website. A link is in my sig, or click here to see it.

By the way, I knew I said there will be six parts, but to try to keep the story as clear as possible, more episodes will be made.

[markmass 0]

Very nice use of stations, loving the Shady Grove station layout--very European/South American looking!!

[jacqulina 162]

great start looking forward to more

[Battlecat 14]

Nice idea!  Showing off your city through a transit tour.  Looking forward to the next. 

[pnorrell 4]

Checked out your transport map - looks great! How did you make it?

I like the idea of the CJ as well and I do love urban rail. Can't wait to see more. A suggestion - take it a little slower and give us some shots of the neighborhoods around the stations, in addition to the close-ups. Unless we're talking about architectural marvels, what's really interesting and distinctive about mass transit stations is the neighborhood each one serves. Also, try to get some shots with trains in them - I'd like to see the system in action.

With a system as extensive as the one shown in your map, a "train window view" of your city is a great basis for a CJ...

[Mr. Cortez 11]

Part II

The Yellow Line

The yellow line was introduced in 1983 when the City Hall station opened on April 30. The yellow line was a link connecting the L'Enfant Plaza station (opened on July 1, 1977) and Amarachi Hotel (opened on March 27, 1976). The yellow line became a bit more useful on December 31, 1983 when it was extended from City Hall to Spring. The yellow line moved to its current northern terminus, Pinehurst City, on May 11, 1991, when a stub of the green line was introduced. The southern end (beyond Spring) was not extended until 2013, when on January 3, Cortezlynn Airport, Cortezlynn City Gardens, and Annapolis opened. Finally, on March 14, 2016, the yellow line was completed when the Coldspring Avenue, Garrison Road, King Street, Paca Street, and Huntington Village stations opened.

---

The yellow line has 16 stations, yet only 5 are exclusive to the yellow line. Seven are shared by the blue line, 4 are shared by the green. Those stations will be posted in later updates.

All pictures facing north. There are no plans to extend the line.

---

Pinehurst City, City Hall will be posted in green line story. L'Enfant Plaza, Spring, Cortezlynn Airport, Crystal City Gardens, etc, will be posted on blue line story.

E Street

Served by Yellow Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on December 30, 1983.

Notes: Why is it called E Street? There is no "E" Street! There is a Edward Street.

East Tech City/Imani Park East

Served by Yellow Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on December 30, 1983.

Notes: Named after Tech City, a major commericial/industrial development that failed.

West Tech City/Imani Park West

Served by Yellow Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on December 30, 1983.

Notes: Another station named after the failed plan. Notice the same station design.

Paca Street

Served by Yellow Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on March 14, 2016.

Notes: One of the newest stations.

Paca Street Shed

Huntington Village

Served by Yellow Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on March 14, 2016

The yellow line is not too remarkable; the only thing worth seeing is the yellow tunnel.

Here is an arial view of it:

Most posts before the night's out!

[oroen 0]

You know what's funny is that as soon as I read, "March 27, 1976," I knew immediately that you were basing this on DC's Metrorail. Of course the bit of the map you've shown makes that quite obvious. There's a tiny railfan inside of me (contrary to what it may seem at timesso I'm liking this little tour.

[Mr. Cortez 11]

Oroen- looking at your avatar...you're from DC area too? Yes, it is a remake of WMATA, in fact, I'll give you a list of stations named after WMATA stations. Names in (brackets) were added by me.

-Shady Grove, red line

-Vienna-Fairfax, orange line

-King Street, blue & yellow lines

-Huntington (Village), yellow line

-Van Dorn Street, blue line

-(Andersen)-Springfield, blue line (Franconia-Springfield)

-Naylor, green line

-Anacostia, green line

-Cheverly (South/Ikea Heights), orange and blue lines

-Cheverly (Heights East), orange and blue lines

-New Carrollton, orange line

-Landover (Street/Madeline), orange line.

-Largo

As the CJ grows on, I will post more arial views of segments of line, and because of SimCity taxing my PC, I can't post "live" pictures. As the simulation goes, it greatly slows down other programs.

Here is a picture (facing west). At the bottom is Vista Park, and at the near center is a station I forgot to name when I was building this city (I haven't spent time in this part of Cortezlynn in a long time) Beyond the top end of the picture is Andersen-Springfield. Any suggestions on naming this station? Look, this portion of the blue line is in the median of the Andersen Springfield Parkway.

I totally forgot about that unnamed station, its not even on my system map!

[Ramona Brie 121]

How about Gold Tree Center?

[Tommy_Vercetti3 3]

oo  I like the scenery.. all the Stations too, lines. That one however is greatly prone to be flooded out due to it being in a trench.... nice...lol

Keep this up.

[AspieGamer13 11]

i'm liking this so far...

why not name it after the avenue that goes under the rail near the station?

or maybe the VAS station (Vista Andersen-Springfield)

[Mr. Cortez 11]

Part III:

The Blue Line

---

The Blue Line was introduced on July 1, 1977 between Panama City and Cheverly South/Ikea Heights. Only blue line trains served these stations until November 20, 1978, when the Cheverly Heights East and New Carrollton stations opened. From there, all trains, orange and blue, ran between New Carrollton and Panama City until December 1, 1979 when orange line trains terminated at the new Sierra Town station, instead of Panama City, and on November 22, 1980 when blue line trains terminated at Branden-Patrice Park.

Spring, once an exclusive yellow line train, begain blue line service on July 14, 1991, when the McCarthy, Industrail City, and Panama City stations opened. On the other end, Summer and Media Center opened on January 13, 2001, and on April 6, 2010, Attica and Largo opened. The Cortezlynn City Airport, Crystal City Gardens, and Annapolis stations opened on January 3, 2013, and finally the Coldspring Avenue, Garrison Road, King Street, Van Dorn Street, and Andersen-Springfield stations opened on March 14, 2016.

Since the March 14 opening, two new stations had opened: Vista Park on May 17, 2016, and Gold Tree Center on April 11, 2020.

28 stations, 12 exclusive

---

Andersen-Springfield

Serving Blue Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on March 14, 2016

Notes: Station and shed.

Gold Tree Center

Served by Blue Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened April 11, 2020

Notes: In the median of the Andersen-Springfield Parkway

Vista Park

Served by Blue Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened March 14, 2016

Van Dorn Street

Served by Blue Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on March 14, 2016

King Street

Served by Yellow and Blue Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on March 14, 2016

Notes: As soon as the tracks merge with the yellow line, there is King Street.

Garrison Road

Serving Blue and Yellow Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on March 14, 2016

Coldspring Avenue

Served by Yellow and Blue Line Trains

Does has parking

Opened on March 14, 2016

Annapolis

Served by Blue and Yellow Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on January 3, 2013

Notes: Nearby Bus Terminal, and to answer someone's question in the above post, there are some bridges crossing major avenues.

Crystal City Gardens

Served by Blue and Yellow Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on January 3, 2013.

Cortezlynn Airport

Served by Yellow and Blue Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on January 3, 2013

Notes: This is the largest station in terms of footprint, and has two platforms. (4 tracks, plus an extra pocket track for gap trains)

Spring

Serving Yellow and Blue Line Trains

Has parking

Opened on December 30, 1983, blue line service on July 14, 1991.

Notes: Second-largest in terms of footprint, the most simple named station.

McCarthy

Served by Blue Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on July 14, 1991.

Industrial City

Served by Blue Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on July 14, 1991

Notes: One of only two stations that serves an industrial district.

Panama City

Served by Blue Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on July 1, 1977

Seanwood

Serving Blue and Orange Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened July 1, 1977

Madison Plaza

Served by Orange and Blue Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened July 1, 1977

Rowland City

Serving Red, Blue, and Orange Line Trains

Does Have Parking

Opened on March 27, 1976

Rowland High

Serving orange and blue line trains

does not have parking

Opened on July 1, 1977

(can't find pic, post one soon)

West Lawn

Serving Blue and Orange Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on July 1, 1977

Notes: Mayoral West Lawn, and the station.

L'Enfant Plaza

Serving Green, Yellow, Blue, and Orange Line Trains

Does Not have Parking

Opened on July 1, 1977

Notes: one of only two stations that are underground.

Archives

Serving Blue and Orange Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on July 1, 1977

Convention Center East

Serving Blue and Orange Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on July 1, 1977

Cheverly South/Ikea Heights

Serving Blue and Orange Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on July 1, 1977

Branden-Patrice Park

Served by Blue Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on November 20, 1980

Notes: Named after Branden-Patrice Cemetery

Summer

Serving Blue Line Trains

Does Have Parking

Opened on January 13, 2001

Notes: The overpasses and the pond is part of the station.

Media Center

Served by Blue Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on January 13, 2001

Notes: named after Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition. No kidding, a six-year-old girl won a contest!

Attica

Served by Blue Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on April 6, 2010

Notes: Like the tall pillars?

Largo

Serving Blue Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened April 6, 2010

---

I'm done for tonight, you know what to do. Will stay up for replies.

[sloppet 3]

very nice work so far! keep it up

[simmax 0]

Nice job, but there are too many PEG trees and too many R/R - Avenue crossings. In some areas of your city, sunken railways would be more appropriate to avoid the crossings.

[Ramona Brie 121]

Cool!

[cityhawk 12]

The rail lines are awesome! Keep it up!

[SC4Noobie 5]

It looks very nice to me! Very realistic and all! dont have time for a long post, sorry. I will check in for sure.

[Mr. Cortez 11]

Sorry I have not posted all day yesterday, I went to the National Zoo. Later today, I will do the orange line.

[Downloadking 4]

Lookd good, i a rail fan anyway (as you can see some of my stations have been used) Rail Rocks.

[patfirefghtr 159]

cant wait to see orange line great job keep it up and btw i couldnt see Amarachi Hotel and rowland city also a railroader and fireman and storm spotter and soon to be a husband lol

[bat 6]

Nice updates!

bat

[Arctic 0]

Nice pics. Quick query, youre Shady Grove station, where did you get that station?

[ElBarto92 7]

Looks great - I love mass transit systems, and rail is great too. The map looks great, and I'm looking forward to seeing more stations and lines

[Mr. Cortez 11]

Mail Call:

Ill Tonkso: Really? That's cool! Thank you for building your structure, and IMHO, it looks good in my city. Thanks again!

patfirefghtr: Welcome to Simtropolis! I am glad you can't wait to see the orange line, and I'm kinda sad that it is a short update. The portions of the orange line that has its own track is small, really (most of the orange line is shared by the blue line.) Only eight stations, compared the 24 on the red, but i think you may like it. The reason shy you may not seen the stations is because of two possible reasons:

-The Server in which the pictures are stored by have overloaded, or closed for a period of time, and/or

-The pictures took too much time to load, and your browser decided not to display them.

In either case, I am sorry it happened. You are a railroader? That is my dream. Very cool! You're also a firefighter, a storm spotter, and you are getting married?!?!?! Wow!

Arctic: I cannot tell you off the bat, but if you go to the stex and type in train station, it will pop up.

ElBarto92: Thank you! I loved building it. For a long time, I thought I was the only person in the whole world to love transit systems! I chose rail because I wanted it to be a light rail system, but as I kept building more stations, well... Thank you. I used Microsoft Visio for creating maps. There will be more lines; I am in the works of building the "CityTrans Expansion Project," four lines in Eastern Cortezlynn City. The Naylor station on the green line, and the Media Center station on the blue line will be interfaced.

And Now the Orange Line

---

The orange line first came into existence on November 20, 1978, when the Chverly Heights East and New Carrollton Stations opened. Before then, the blue line, which started service on July 1, 1977. When the orange line was created, it ran on the same route as the blue line. On December 1, 1979, the Sierra Town Station opened, and on June 7, 1986, the Vienna-Fairfax and Simtropolis Orange Stations opened. The final segment of the orange line opened on Jamuary 13, 2001.

The number of stations that are exclusive to the orange line are small. Like the blue line, the orange line will be extended.

(Remember: For stations between Seantown and Cheverly South/Ikea Heights, see the blue line post.)

---

West Side, Three Stations:

Simtropolis Orange

Serving Orange Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on June 7, 1986

Notes: Station and shed.

Vienna-Fairfax

Serving Orange Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on June 7, 1986.

Notes: Vienna-Fairfax. Trains from New Carrollton terminates here.

Sierra Town Station

Serving Orange Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on December 1, 1979.

Notes: Sierra Town is sunken. Vienna-Fairfax and Simtropolis Orange were planned to be also, but CityTrans was a bit cash-strapped in the late 70's.

East Side, five stations.

Cheverly Heights East

Serving Orange Line Trains

Does Not Have Parking

Opened on November 20, 1978.

Notes: Arial view of station, and the neighbrohood across the avenue. The avenue is Imani Parkway (the same Imani Parkway that is served on the green line by the Imani Parkway Station, and on the red line by the Northwest Avenue & Imani Station. Cool is it? It's a ring road.

New Carrollton

Serving Orange Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on November 20, 1978

Marvel Avenue

Serving Orange Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on January 13, 2001

Notes: If you have noticed that this station looked a lot like Summer, on the blue line, it does. In fact, the save up on money, construction of the eastern blue and orange line segments was a joint project.

Landover Street/Madeline

Serving Orange Line Trains

Does Has Parking

Opened on January 13, 2001

Notes: Nice-looking park? Southing different...

Yardman

Serving Orange Line Trains

Has Parking

Opened on January 13, 2001

Notes: Third largest station in terms of footprint, large use of grass. Only Spring has more grass.

Finally, that is the orange line. Sorry it took too long to post this, but I had a busy day. Good night!