Winchester

[bbfan02 23]

Great update! Really like the intersections and signs! Great use of the ANT tool. Great little village in there too.

-bbfan02-

Welcome to page 6!

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Great job on the signs and smalltown scenery. I'm sure I've been through towns like that hundreds of times--the ones that you forget about 20 minutes after going through them.

[Shanna 1]

Woah! Wonderful rural area and great road intersections! Amazing update!

[Simtastico 0]

wow, you even got television in your cj! i like it!!

[packersfan 666]

How are the RHW and MIS working for you? Can you have development along side them? I'm a little hesitant to use it for that possibility and that they don't show up on transportation view, even though that might not actually matter it I choose not to use transportation view, haha.

[PhilsCafe 8]

Hello Dan. That's a really interesting journal you have here. I see you put a lot of effort into planning, road signs and stuff like the news cast from the primaries. That pays off, it lends your CJ a lot of depth. I like how the region is developing, especially that there is still place for agriculture (especially for super-oranges... ).

[dfnva 34]

Kyle (ky72x): Thanks! I think it's important to have that gas station in Harris, just in case one runs out of gas in the middle of a rural area. 

Travis (SCDawg): Ding-ding-ding, you're right, that's where MP-427 ends at I-34. I agree that the dirt roads add some credibility to making a true rustic feel. Thanks for your comment.

Equilibria: It's interesting that you noticed the two road names... John J. Fortlick Memorial Highway is the legislative name given by the Massopax general assembly to all of US-84 west of Alexandria despite the various road names that US-84 goes by such as Winchester Pike, and Hartford Blvd, yet portions of it such as this one actually are called Fortlick Rd. 

Jacquilina: Thanks, glad you like the rural areas, maybe not quite as picturesque as the ones you've made, but it's been fun making them.

KJ3400: Thanks for the comment... you're half-right, as one of the roads in the interchange is MP-427, but the other is I-34. 

Vivydu29: Thanks for your comment and visiting.

Andro (Andronicus22): Thanks, glad you like how the peg creeks look in the rural areas.

Haljackey: Thanks! I enjoy making the road signs as I like to depict what the driver sees as driving along. 

Benedict: Thanks, that means a lot as I really like the rural areas in your Ellis Valley CJ.

Bbfan02: Thanks for opening up a new page for the second time in a row! 

Edmonton-Stinks: It's funny, but I was thinking the same thing as trying to figure out what to include in the rural villages as I don't think much about them as I drive through them in real life. 

Shanna: Thanks! You've got a lot of great rural areas in your CJ, so the comment means a lot!

Simtastico: It was fun making the TV graphics for some of the updates, probably will use them again as warrented for future updates. 

Packersfan: To tell you the truth I haven't thought much about development fronting RHW roads, something I should try, though I usually use RHW simply on major rural roads or highways. The MIS is great when making normal diamond and cloverleaf interchanges, but is limiting when trying to make more complex interchanges where using one-way roads is still a better way to go. I find that I can estimate where the RHW highways are on my region view and then I will just draw in the route if I post a region view.

Phil (PhilsCafe): Thanks! Glad you like the signs and newscasts. One of the main focuses for me in this CJ has been developing rural areas as I find I usually want to overdo suburban sprawl. However there will be struggles between rural areas and suburban expansion in this region. 

And now....

Today we continue down US-84 / Fortlick Rd....

Here's a reassurance marker along US-84 just past the junction with MP-56 we passed last time.

More rural scenes...

Signage for the next intersection...

[Haljackey 17,306]

Wow!  Nice job with the update and the signs!  I like the one with the road running next to the rail.

One thing that will help make your CJ even better is to improve your curves.  An example follows:

(I think it explains itself)

Best,

-Haljackey

[vivydu29 60]

Great update and great work, It's very beautiful.

[bbfan02 23]

Another great rural update! Great creek and farmland. I like the intersection signs too!

-bbfan02-

[dfnva 34]

Wow... another update already?? I actually had a lot of pictures ready last night but was tired and only updated a few of them. 

But first...

Haljackey: It's interesting, since I downloaded the RHW, I've been working harder on proper 45-degree turns as they don't show up right on RHW highways if it's done wrong, so I'm in the process of fixing such turns on other roads, but thanks for the tip.

Vivydu29: Thanks! Glad you like the rural scenes.

Bbfan02: Thanks! I'm glad you like how the peg creeks look and such.

And now....

During today's update we will continue our drive toward the small town of Graham.

Here's the view as we start south down SR 649 / Graham Rd. A small freight train station is here to ship fresh produce throughout the state.

Some nice fresh flowers are grown at the JCT of SR 649 and SR 857. Quite a few rural secondary roads remain unpaved. SR 857 multiplexes with SR 649 here for a short distance.

Here is where SR 857 diverges.

And the road continues...

SR 649 crosses another rural creek.

Here SR 649 passes two junctions with the discontinuous SR 646 requiring a short mulitplex.

Here is how the multiplex is posted using signage... here's the first intersection...

... and the second one.

In this picture we ascend a hill into Graham.

At this intersection SR 649 turns left onto Euclid Ave. while Graham Rd continues ahead as SR 1105 ending unceremonially a block from here.

Here's the signage at the intersection. SR 638 is where SR 649 terminates. 

And here we go through the small downtown of Graham and approach SR 638 / Rolling Valley Rd. SR 638 was once part of MP-165 (which we drove on through Piedmont Heights earlier in this CJ on page 2), but MP-165 was truncated to end in Salem back in the early 1980s. We shall turn left here to go northeasterly on SR 638.

Here's the signage at the T-intersection. Notice the control cities of Salem and Pomerey. Pomerey is a town southwest of here where MP-165 originally ended.

And finally tonight, a zoomed out view of Graham.

[bbfan02 23]

Great work! Great farmfields and nice dirt road! Like that town, I want to live there!

-bbfan02-

[SCDawg 0]

Awesome work again! Graham looks really nice, and as bbfan02 said, I wouldn't mind living there either. Again, these areas look really realistic, it actually is almost identical to the area where I live (Hanover County, about 30 minutes north of Richmond, Va).

Keep up the Great Work!

Travis

[Equilibria 16]

Great updates. Do you not continue the roads all the way to the intersections because you're afraid of stoplights, or is there some darker, more sinister reason?

[PhilsCafe 8]

Just like in RL then... . Great farmfields, very colourful, I like them. Also good job with the town itself.

[kj3400 178]

Wow, I didn't even get to reply to the first update... you're quick! Nice update, Graham looks really cozy, one of those towns where everyone knows everyone else. How far is it from Winchester, though?

[edmonton_stinks 5]

More great rural updates! The signage is still great.

[dfnva 34]

Bbfan02: Thanks, glad you like the small towns and rural areas.

Travis (SCDawg): Hanover County is to the northeast of Henrico County, right? I've driven through there several times then, I think Kings Dominion would be there too. When I make these areas in SC4, I try to think about areas I've driven through and what they look like.

Equilibria: While it would be much more fun to say there's a dark sinister reason, I create intersection based on what kind of traffic control I want, i.e. two streets for a four-way stop, a street crossing a road for stop signs, and two roads crossing for signals. I find it unrealistic having signals at every intersection and try to think what kind of traffic control would be the best in a given situation.

Phil's Cafe: Thanks, glad you like the town and farmlands. I think at least this area (west of MP-427) is safe from sprawl at this point. 

KJ3400: I assume Graham is cozy with some of multi-generation farmers but also I'll bet some commuters live there wanting a slower pace of life when not working. I think we're probably about 10-12 miles from Winchester now, the map below may help you.

Edmonton-Stinks: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the update.

= = =

And now.... here is a map of the western portion of Piedmont County. This is the first regional map I've posted since significant replacement of various roads and highways with RHW. While RHW does not show up on the regional view, I found areas where I put trees and such that allowed me to approximate the alignment of road such as US-84, I-34, and MP-427.

You can see where we came in on US-84 for through Harris. Then we turned onto SR-649 south into Graham. In the next update we're going to go back Northeast along SR-638 toward Salem. As you can see, SR-638 makes a logical extension of MP-165, which was truncated to end in Salem in the early 1980's.


And here's a refresher course on the method of madness known as the Massopax state route numbering system first posted in the Massopax River Valley CJ. 


Interstate Highways: 
These highways run as they do in the United States, they are major limited access highways connecting various parts of the state and nation. Interstates are funded by the Federal (U.S.) government, but often built by the state with these monies.

For two-digit interstates, East-west routes are even numbered and north-south routes are odd numbered.

Three digit interstate highways beginning with odd numbers (such as I-134) are spurs off of a parent route that end in a city. Three digit interstates beginning with an even number go through or around a city (such as a beltway). 


Federal (U.S.) Highways:
Before interstate highways were first built in the 1950s, these were the major roads that connected various parts of the country. Today many of these highways are paralleled by interstate highways. These roads are also funded by the federal government. East-west routes are even numbered, north-south routes are odd numbered. 


Massopax State Primary Routes:
These are the roads, numbered mostly from 1-599, funded by the state of Massopax, that connect counties and regions

[super_monkey 0]

nice Cj my friend.

[pinkpanther1990 1]

you said that there was an airport

id like to see it

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Nice map! I also like the explanation of the road system. It's perfect for us non-Americans, who don't understand what the heck is going on (not literally, I did know what an interstate was, but I just didn't know the system, so, thanks!).

[nihonkaranws 88]

Great use of PEG's CSK kit, however I think that the multicolored farm is a bit unrealistic. Good work, I'll be keeping up with this!

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, excellent work on that region map! Great labeling and great backround info!

-bbfan02-

[SCDawg 0]

Thanks for the regional shot. You would be correct, Hanover is north of Henrico, and Kings Dominion is also located here (In Doswell).

Travis

[kj3400 178]

Great jobs. That road explanation was really interesting. So are Virginia route number significant in a way like that? In Maryland our higher numbered highways are for old alignments of other routes, but our numbers have no particular order.

[ky72x 13]

Nice region transportation map, I love looking at them. The information on the highways was very interesting. I remember when I used to not understand how highways were numbered! Keep up the good work.

- Kyle

[dfnva 34]

Super Monkey: Thanks for your comment and visiting.

PinkPanther1990: The new Winchester-Piedmont Regional Airport is still in development, I will show it in a future update once it's in a presentable stage.

Edmonton_Stinks: Glad my explanation of route numbering was helpful. It's interesting how state route numbering systems vary greatly from state to state.

Nihonkaranws: Thanks for your comment. I see your point about the flower farm, not often that one drives by a field of flowers like that. 

Bbfan02: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the region map and route numbering information.

Travis (SCDawg): Glad you like the regional shot. I've driven through Hanover County along Route 1, it's kind of interesting, like the progression here in this CJ from rural to suburban from north to south. 

KJ3400: Virginia route numbering is very similar to the Massopax way, i.e. primary routes are numbered from 1-599 (with the notable except of VA-895 in Richmond). There's no rhyme or reason to the numbering scheme except that most 3xx routes are for government institutions, there aren't many 4xx or 5xx routes. Secondary routes are numbered by county from 600 on up, I've seen 5-digit routes in Fairfax County, maybe the highest is 10,600.  

Kyle (Ky72x): Thanks, glad you enjoyed the map and information.

And now....

This will be the final rural update for a while as we will get into some suburban areas and eventually the town of Salem next time.

But for now breathe in the nice mountain air and, uh, manure smell as we leave Graham via SR-638/Rolling Valley Rd.

We approach another intersection with SR-646.

Here's the signage at the intersection.

We continue north-easterly along SR-638.

This sign notifies us of our proximity to MP-427.

And here we are at the junction of SR 638 and MP-427. Nothing special here despite MP-427's status as a western bypass of Winchester and Salem. Most of MP-427 is only two-lanes and even though access is somewhat limited, there are some at-grade intersections like this. Theoretically, we could continue straight on SR-638 to reach Salem, but since getting there is half the fun, we're turning left here to find our way back to US-84.

Some beacons have been placed at this intersection not only to stop motorists on SR-638, but also to slow down 60 MPH+ traffic barrelling down MP-427.

Here's the view now that we're on MP-427 headed back North.

Mileage sign and reassurance marker...

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Wow, you're really updating a lot! If this is the last rural update in a while, it was a great one. Excellent job!

[Equilibria 16]

I'm curious why you chose not to use the RHP interchange and switched to conventional avenues and one-ways right before the junction. I've only had limited experience with the set, and it's been a little difficult, but you seem to have the room to play with it a bit. Is it the overpass issue?

Great update, as always.

[Simtastico 0]

great farmlands, very colourfull.. Interesting to see your system of roads aswell.. Keep it up!