Winchester

[dfnva 34]

1Greetings,

Welcome to the Winchester and Massopax Piedmont CJ. Winchester is a medium-sized town in the fictional state of Massopax about 200 miles west of Alexandria, featured in the Massopax River Valley CJ.

Before going on, I'll acknowledge gracious thanks to the wealth of goodies on the STEX, more specifically I have used BATs and mods by Simgoober, Peg, Blam, and a host of others, which I cannot recall, please forgive me if I have not listed you. I'm using the old version of the NAM (once I get a new computer in a month or two, I'll download the new one). I also have used the Modular Amusement Park Pack as you'll see below.

Winchester is meant to be a medium-sized town along the lines of Charlottesville or Roanoke in Virginia... other cities I thought of as I built this were Bloomington, IL and Des Moines, IA. Surrounding Winchester is the small town of Salem (hmm... just like Roanoke, VA) and the suburb of Piedmont Heights which has seen growth because of it's proximity to I-34.

Rather than blubber on, I'll post some pics of various places of interest in the region and let them do the talking.

In future updates, I plan to do a drive-through theme as I did with Massopax River Valley. Next time, I plan to start us at the northern part of the region on US-27 near Midland.

Thanks for visiting and please leave any comments or suggestions!

Dan

[Abc987 3]

First post!!

I especially like the shopping center. My only complaints are the graphics on the first 2 pics and the abandoned buildings in the last pic.

[Schulmanator 5,787]

YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! Salem & Roanoke (Winchester)!!!!! My ancestors frommany many years ago hail from that area. Rock on!

[Sim_Air 2]

Lol, anyway, that's an excellent beginning there! That map is just amazing and your city looks great; good luck and keep it up!

[penguin007 27]

Looks great so far although I would love to see some more custom content

Will

[jacqulina 162]

great start and intro my friend,great seawalls,excellent waterfront,very nice pics too

[dfnva 34]

Thought I'd take a moment to reply...

Jhrnemo - Thanks, the big Wingate Town Center I put together to be like an outdoor lifestyle center (more on that soon). I put an improved version of the road map up.

Schulmanator - Thanks for your visit, Salem and Roanoke are a nice area, kind of like a big city in someways, but without the traffic and endless sprawl. 

Sim_air: Thanks for your visit, glad you like the map, I like figuring out roads and where to put them, etc.

Penguin: The downtown could probably stand to have some more building variety. I'm trying to look for some more medium sized buildings on the stex. I don't really want skyscrapers as that's not the feel I'm going for. Thanks for your visit.

Jacqulina: Thanks for your visit and glad you like the waterfront area.

This weekend, I aim to have an update, we'll start driving South on US-27 and pass through the village of Midland en route to Piedmont Heights and Winchester.

Dan

[granto93 4]

pretty cool!! a bit maxisy but i love Adventure Land!!

[dfnva 34]

Replies...

Granto: Thank you, we'll take a grander tour of Adventure Land at some point in the future.

And now... The update... 

If you look at the map above, we're going to start at the northernmost part of US-27 and head southward toward Winchester. Here is where we enter Piedmont County. As we drive through the region, I'm labeling our route with a green arrow. 

US-27 is also known as Kings Highway, an old road dating back to before the civil war as a main road from the mountains in the north to the piedmont and eventually the coast in the south.

And here are a few signs to let us know mileage and that we've entered Piedmont County.

This part of US 27 is rather rural with various agriculture along the way.

Here's a sign at the junction we just passed, a typical Piedmont County street sign as well as a state marker for SR 730.

Now we're beginning to enter the town of Midland, a small town that is slowly being encroached upon by Winchester's ever increasing sprawl.

The major junction in town is here with US-27 and SR 640/Martinsville Rd. 

Here's the aging early-80's-era traffic signal where US-27 crosses SR 640. As you can see by the signage, there's a short multiplex where SR 640 joins US-27.

Here's a park in the center of Midland surrounded by some churches.

A newer sign with Clearview font tells us the next intersection is where SR 640 diverges as well as a sign for the Piedmont County Fairgrounds.

Here's where SR 640 turns left while we're going to keep straight. The famous Midland Farmers Market is on the right side.

A newer signal was recently installed at this intersection.

Here's a zoomed out picture showing the fairgrounds and the wind power generators that the Massopax state government is doing research with.

US-27 widens to four lanes here as we keep going south toward more developed areas.

And one more sign for the JCT we just passed with SR 710. This is a newer county street sign that shows the route number bigger.

And that's it for now! Next time, we'll continue further south on US-27 and pass the Wingate town center.

Dan>

[mosselman 0]

pretty nice farm

[Cleaner475 150]

nice update - farms are nice - Midland looks like a nice place to live

keep it up,

Richard

[redhed55 0]

wow everything looks great. Mind telling me where you got that mall??

[Fresh Prince of Wmbg 44]

Where did that you get those traffic signals?

[Equilibria 16]

What a treat! You've given me yet another reason to stick around ST. The new city looks great, looking forward to some DT pics, and the interchanges look as good as ever.

Welcome back!

[Schulmanator 5,787]

The roadgeekery is a treat to me!

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Vroom! Vroom Vroom! And Midland is just a blip in the rear view mirror.

(8)Oh, I await the day

Good fortune comes our way

And we ride down the Kings Highway-yyayyyy-yayy

[penguin007 27]

good update I like the signs you created

Will

[dfnva 34]

Replies...

Mosselman: Thanks, glad you like the farms.

Cleaner475/Richard: Glad you like the farms too, Midland is a nice place to live, especially with nearby shopping and entertainment brought by ever-encroaching sprawl which we'll see today.

Redhed55: The mall is Simgoober's Suburban Mall which you can find on the STEX.

Fresh Prince of Wmbg: I make the traffic signals using (drumroll...) Power Point!

Equilibria: Thanks for the visit, and thanks for your comments with the original Massopax journal, as this CJ is (hopefully) a marked improvement from that. Hopefully I'll see a new CJ from you sometime soon! 

Schulmanator: Glad you like the roadgeekery... plenty more to come!

Edmonton stinks: Thanks for the Interesting poem and visiting.

Will/Penguin007: Thanks for visiting.

Well, it's time for us to continue our ride down Kings Highway. US-27 has now widened to four lanes as we approach some shopping. On our left, there's a Bloom grocery store (Food Lion's upscale division) and an S-Mart (yes, I know that's actually a bat of a Kroger, but indulge me please). If you've ever seen the movie "Army of Darkness," you'll know that you should "Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart!"

Here's the traffic signal for Jennings Hill Drive, which is the cross street by the Bloom and S-Mart.

We continue south on Kings Highway passing more houses. This at grade rail crossing is proposed to be changed with Kings Highway going over it.

We see these two signs.... the first notifies us of the impending split of US-27 and US-27 Business in about 1.5 miles. Notice the patches on the sign as Business-27 is a rather new designation and US-27's new route was originally SR-940. Also notice, the control city of Alexandria which we visited in the Massopax River Valley CJ.

And another sign for the next interection.

Here we are at the intersection with SR 625/Brantley Rd/Galesforth Rd. Turning left onto Brantley Rd will take you to the Wingate Town Center, which we'll explore below. Notice all of the upscale shopping that has popped up in this vicinity such as Wegman's and Organique Foods. 

With all of the traffic going through here, it's being proposed to replace this signal at SR 625 with a SPUI or diamond interchange, only time will tell whether that will happen or not.

Here's a close-up of Wingate Town Center, an outdoor lifestyle center built in 1998. This shopping center along with other nearby shopping has pretty much become the Winchester region's shopping mecca. Originally opening with JCPenney, Dillard's, and Belvedere's (An Alexandria-based department store), Bass Pro Shops was added in 2000 and in the May Company's consolidation with Federated Department stores, Belvedere's became Macy's in 2006. In addition there are 200 boutiques, an outdoor food court, stadium-seating cinema, and full-service restaurants including Captain Jack's, Uno's, and California Pizza Kitchen.

As we keep going down US-27, Wingate Town Center is to our left. Contrary to what your eyes may see, US-27 widens to three lanes each direction at this point.

Attached to this traffic signal at Millstone Pl are more signs showing which lanes to get into for both US-27 and Business-27.

And finally one more sign right before US-27 splits. This sign is not entirely true as Business-27 does cross I-34 and has access, but the Massopax DOT wants through traffic to avoid signals on the business route.

Here's an overview of the Wingate area and the intersections of US-27 with Business-27 and with Wingate Blvd. As you can see we're going to go left to stay on US-27 as Kings Highway/Business 27 exit stage right. 

And one more sign for the ramp to SR 944/Wingate Blvd.

That's it for now, 

Dan

[Equilibria 16]

Lookin' good, I like the updated signs and the detail in the shopping center. It might pay to terraform the land you zone to eliminate those towering retaining walls, but that's just my opinion. Nice job!

P.S. My latest region is a little bit off from being ready for a C.J, and I'm moving away from custom interchanges, though I've started to play with access roads and sound walls. The result is less frustrating to make, and, I hope, just as effective.

[iamihop11 19]

Wow. I'm from Charlottesville, VA, and I noticed right away (before I read anything you'd written) that the names were all from Virginia. Winchester, Salem, Piedmont, Martinsville, Smith Lake (Smith Mountain Lake...coincidence?) Very cool. I'm curious about the populations you're shooting for, because C-ville's only about 1/6 the size of Roanoke/Salem/Vinton. I love the road signs...they're pretty consistant w/ road signs in VA, too. Plus it's an interesting way to show the region.

[thatmonkeysim 8]

Hey Dan!!

Its great to see one of the best Road Geek CJ EVER!

Once again you brought back the amazing signs and explanations that made your CJ seem real!

Just a question... as most Business routes does it go through the center of town as like a Road? I cant tell from here...

Also i love it how you start off in the middle of no where and then drive into the city... kind of like you where a commuter.

Hope you keep this one going for a long time!

Tyler

[penguin007 27]

Another good update looks very american

Will

[fern244 1]

nice

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Interesting poem? It's "King's Highway" by Tom Petty. It was a song...anyone? Anyone? Okay.

On a different note, haha! S-Mart. Now that is awesome. This whole thing looks fantastic and there are some awesome interchanges. Love the roadgeekery.

[Dsrwhat316 12]

nice shops along the highway, man! i like the pic with wegman's in it. great work!! (btw, wegman's subs can't be beat!)

[Mr. Beer 12]

Looks good! Nice use of trafic signals! Which program did you use??

Cheers!

David

[dfnva 34]

Greetings...

It's Sunday morning, which means it's time for an update.

But first, replies...

Equilibria: I agree the hilly land was a bad place for the industrial area bound by US-27, Kings Hwy, and Wingate Blvd, it may be somewhere I go back and terraform a bit better at some point. Good luck, I'll look forward to seeing your new region. Thanks for visiting.

Iamihop11: Glad you noticed all the Virginia area names, no they're not coincidences. What I'm going for is a western or piedmont region hub. For example, the US-27 and US-27 Business corridor are definitely based somewhat on the never-ending stripmalls of US-29 north of Charlottesville. Downtown Winchester, with the interstate ending in downtown, is more like Roanoke. I'd say downtown is more like Roanoke, though I may add a pedestrian mall sort of like is found in downtown Charlottesville. Thanks for visiting.

Tyler: Yes, US-27 Business goes through the center of downtown Winchester as well as through the northern suburbs of Piedmont Heights. US-27 has been multiplexed onto I-134's alignment to prevent through traffic (like trucks, etc.) to clog up roads through town as US-27 is the major north-south road through the region. Thanks for visiting.

Will: Thanks, I guess it does look American in a lot of ways .... especially the sprawl.

Fern244: Thanks for your visit.

Edmonton_Stinks: Well, I'll change my comment to interesting song. Never heard it before, I think I'll go on YouTube now to see if they have a performance of it. Glad you like the interchanges and roadgeekery of which there is more below! Thanks for visiting.

Dsrwhat316: Thanks, glad you like the shopping centers. I live about 10-15 minutes from a Wegmans, so I'll have to try one of their subs. They've got a lot of neat stuff.

David: Thanks! I use powerpoint to make traffic signals, as cheesy as it sounds. I just save a bunch of signal fixtures as manipulate them as I feel needed. 

=======================

Our first picture is an overview of where we left off last time, just zoomed out more. As always, the green arrow shows where we're driving. As you can see, I-34 has interchanges with both US-27 and US-27 Business/Kings Highway. As we diverge from Kings Highway, you can see it descends into Piedmont Heights and serves as the major commercial route through the suburb.

After we pass the interchange with SR-944/Wingate Blvd, we see these signs. Charleston is a fictitious major town in a fictitious state to the west of Massopax. Alexandria is the capital of the state of Massopax, and you can click here to check out downtown Alexandria!

In this picture we're approaching the ramp for I-34 West.

Here's the sign...

Here's a bigger overview of the interchange. If you follow the green arrow, you can see that we merge onto a ramp and that is where I-134 begins. The short section of highway we've been on previously is known simply as US-27.

After we merge onto the ramp, there are technically three lanes, two that go straight onto I-134 and one that exits onto I-34 east.

Finally we're on I-134, which is multiplexed with US-27. I-134 simply is a spur from I-34 to downtown Winchester. I-134 ends downtown at an interchange with US-27 and US-27 Business. The bridge in the picture below looks like it's in need of replacement.

Reassurance markers...

And a sign for the first interchange, and the first Massopax state route we've come across. Deltown is a small town northwest of where we are.

Here's the interchange with MP-165/Deltown Rd. A pretty generic cloverleaf interchange. As you can see, we're going to exit to go West.

Here's the sign...

Here's the view once we've merged onto MP-165/Deltown Rd. The intersection is SR 660/Barnett Rd. SR 660 originally continued to the right, but got cut off with the building of I-134, so SR 660 multiplexes shortly with MP-165 and then continues on the other side of I-134.

And the SR 660 traffic signal, the lane that merges from the ramp turns right here.

We'll continue further into Piedmont Heights next time. Thanks for visiting!

Dan

[penguin007 27]

Nice update I like the interchange

Will

[Amerikaner 42]

This is all looking so nice my friend, your road system is very good, and I love how you also include the street lights, a very creative little touch I have to say that I am in love with that mall as well, its a variation that I do not think I have seen before, which is VERY cool...anyway great job my friend

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Love that roadgeekery! Did you like "King's Highway?"