Urland, a (mostly) rural coastline

[Nardo69 51]

Some quick replies:

Shanna: Thanks and Thanks for the compliment

PhilsCafe: Hello my friend!

Yes, I had a lot of fun especially with the GLR after I mastered the CTD syndrome and learned not to hover over TE lots ... And because I really like this town I restored a pox free bacakup and redid so much areas yet it wasn't supposed to be ...

The library is prepo's OpenBooks Library 

bbfan02: Thanks for the compliment my friend!

Now I wonder how you did solve your pox problem ?!?

jacqulina: Thanks for the compliment my friend! I already missed you ...

DougOZ: Thanks for the compliment and Welcome to my small humble CJ

[Schulmanator 5,812]

Sorry to see that your city was afflicted. You had such a nice city too. But, at least you were able to glean some pictures for us.

[Almighty Nienaber 3]

wait, doomed? why?

[jacqulina 162]

hello bernhard my friend hows you and your family doing,i bet your loving being a dad.thanks i missed you too.im looking out for more of your awesome work.take care

[PhilsCafe 8]

Thanks for the link!

[Nardo69 51]

Hello to all!

Some of you may already know that this CJ is one of the few CJs that can be read both here on Simtropolis as well as on SC4devotion - and German Speakers find the German version of Urland at SimForum.de.

The reason for this simple, some of my CJ followers are here at Simtropolis, others are at SC4Devotion and a lot of German followers who only know little or less English are at SimForum.de.

This month my CJ/MD/Regionsporträt became "Of Special Interest" at SC4Devotion - a selection of up to five MDs which are regarded extraordinaire. As this is the second for me I decided to search my hard disk for some nice pics. Unfortunately I was rather busy with the Reader and LE rather than playing the game (I will show these later on, too) but there are still some nice pics of my cities under construction

But as always before we start:

Schulmanator: Well, I am looking for a DVD with a lot of  older pictures, also from Rhenbrücken. Except from some new Developements (Avenue with GLR, catenaries and railway signals) they were great too, so I may do one or more updates of Rhenbrücken in future ...

Almighty Nienaber: The Prop Pox deletes all kind of props from any kind of lot or network piece - only the textures and the building (of the lots) stay. It cannot be fixed by now and becomes worse the more you safe the town. It also seems to affect only large city tiles ...

jacqulina: Hello my friend! Well, if my wife lets me close to my son I do but most of the time she's around the little angel - guess this is the fate of fathers ...

PhilsCafe: You're Welcome!

Okay, let's begin with the

OSITM Special 1

As I told you I spent more time in Reader and LE the last weeks than in SC4, and a bit later I will show on what I am working. But now I have some nice railway pictures for you - Enjoy!!!

Let's start where the last regular update finished: in Silberstein:

The entrance signal of Silberstein with my embankment lots - one of the three projects I am working on at the moment!

Behind the hill (and the place of the next regular update  ) is Quirnstein, a very old village with a small flag stop. The Signals are only used when needed for freight trains in the small freight station, otherwise they show "Approach".

You know this area from a different angle ...

Sommern is a medium map not far away from Silberstein. Here you can see a small flag stop, again the signal is on approach unless additional traffic makes it necessary to secure the small freight station.

[waway625 72]

no wonder this CJ won a trixie, all pics just capture how it is in the countryside (but still looks progressive and not derelict)

absolutely stunning work

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, excellent work! Great rail system and great farms at the end!

-bbfan02-

[Nardo69 51]

Hello to all!

This is the second Special but as always before we start:

waway625: Thanks for the compliment! Actually I am very proud of that trixies!

bbfan02: Thanks for the compliment! There will be more railways ..

The first map we visit is Bad Riedelshofen -  a small town in the hills, where a not electrified secondary railway line branches off from the main railway lines through the mountains here.

It is also the first time after years that I used PEG-Channels and the first time that I build a map with the raintool ...   yes, I confess I can be a stubborn oldfashioned donkey sometimes ... 

Bad-Riedelshofen Eselshof is a small seddlement with some industrials. I made the layout before I got the electric signals so there are no signals here (by now ...  )

The bridge and the kanal. I am not using the raintool very often though, I am a bit lazy I guess ...

Bad Riedelshofen Bhf still has mechanical signals (there aren't may railway stations left with mechanical signals and even less with mechanical signals AND cateneries ...  )

But I like this layout ...

Today's second map is Wallmersdorf. A medium map with a big neighbor it features everything from highrise to small villages. Several pictures from here were in the SC4Devotion Picture Competition, one of them made it to the HoF ...

Not the worst village but I am still not satisfied with it ..

I did a lot of playing around with the electric signals here in Wallmersdorf.

I am thinking of making a tutorial one day about these signals but be assured you'll need to know the LE to really use them!

That's it for today! Hope you enjoyed it!

Have Fun!

Bernhard

[Almighty Nienaber 3]

cool

[bbfan02 23]

Wow, that is one excellent rail system! Great pictures as usual!

-bbfan02-

[DougOZ 0]

wow!! looks great my friend...i love it..

[PhilsCafe 8]

Hi Bernhard! I can never see enough of your detailed railway settings. My absolute favorite picture is the one with the bridge over the canal. I especially like how it is arranged with the trains going over it.

And also the mix in your towns is always very nice to look at!

Take care my friend.

- Phil

[jacqulina 162]

hello bernhard,yes my friend i think thats the what wives do they can be a little greedy lol,im sure as he grows you will get lots of time with your little one.hes so cute.

i love the way you do railroads my friend i am allways amazed by your work.your countryside is fantastic.and a train wow i still havnt caught one on pic yet lol,excellent bridgwork too.wonderfull farming.the old castle is beautifull.great canals.awesome cj.

take care my friend. 

[gabry85 2]

Wow, your rail system looks very detailed! Love the bridge on the canal and the overpass shot!

[Nardo69 51]

Hello to All!

It is still OSITM season for me and today's theme is airports ...

...

 

...

oooops

 

...

Now that was a joke - of course I'll go on with railroads and leave the above mentioned theme to those who want to

But before we start as always:

Almighty Nienaber: Thanks for the compliment!

DougOZ: Thanks for the compliment!

PhilsCafe: hanks for the compliment, my friend!

Yes, the Kanal is special, but for finishing it I may have to learn how to BAT ...

jacqulina: Thanls for the compliment!

Well after giving birth and having to around all the time as the little dwarg needs milk every couple of hours, I guess this explains it somehow ...

For shooting train pics don't use the ingame camera - it is just too slow. I use Irfanview for making these shots but a lot of other programs should do the job as well.

gabry85: hanks for the compliment!

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me present you the

OSITM Special 3

Before and After 1

We will visit a small railway station in Goldhagen, not far away from my big town Gleiwemünde (shown here in  2005/06)  and its industrial Neighbour Schlothlingen (not shown yet). The railway line had been electrified with frogface's catenaries and has been redone with the SFBT catenaries plus electric signal. As you read in the title I'll do a comparison old and revisited!

I was rather satisfied with the layout then ...

The mix of Residential, Commercial and Industrial together worked out rather satisfying. The R$$ tower got replaced by a Maxis R$$$ - unfortunately, but this is the only minor drawback by redoing it!

Frogface's catenaries were good at their time, yet I never liked the design of the twotrack - catenaries, but I do love Kenworth's oeuvre ... especially with royal's signals they do give that special RR atmosphere I was seeking for so long!

Frogface'S catenaries were good at their time, yet I never liked the design of the twotrack - catenaries, but I do love Kenworth'S oeuvre ... especially with royal's signals they do give that special RR atmosphere I was seeking for so long!

Yes, that Y is ugly but honestly I didn't find a better solution (not even me ... 

[suplado! 23]

really cool reailway tracks....the added trees in the side looks great as well!!

[Nardo69 51]

Hello to All!

The fourth OSITM shows the railways of Petersberg, a rather large map. The pictures show different stages of developement and resp. before betatesting the electric signals

But before we start:

suplado!: Thanks for the compliment my friend!

No let's go i medias res:

OSITM Special No. 4

Pic 1: A Conatiner Terminal. Industrie is rather important in Petersberg. No Signals because they still under construction

Pic 2: I had a lot of fun with the electric pols, railway and highway here!

Pic 3: How 'bout a match? Do get two teams?

Pic 4: Between highway and railway ...

Pic 5

Pic 6: You expected to see them, didn't you?

Pic 7: I like it dirty and rural ..

Pic 8: Like Pic 1, but different angle!

Pic 9

Pic 10

Pic 11: A freight train is running through the station. I just love this one!

Pic 12: Looks like selling small cars is a better business than selling burgers ...

Pic 13: As a bonus a small RR station from Rennberg, another small rural map, that is supposed to play a role in a "How to make RR stations" - tutorial - but shhhh, this is still a secret

That's it for today!

Have fun!

Bernhard

[PhilsCafe 8]

Hallo Bernhard!

The catenaries look much better now, indeed. I like the more solid look of the poles, that must be the world-famous German steelwork. I like the look of the whole setting, especially in combination with the framework of the overpass.

Also great job with the industrial layout in Petersberg. The dirty and manufacturing buildings are a very nice touch. Great BATs.

Take care!

- Phil

[Benedict 3,119]

Wow, that's some incredible rail construction - looks amazing!

[Nardo69 51]

Hello to All

It took some time, but here's the second half of the map I began before the OSITM - specials.

As always before we start:

@Phil's Cafe: Thanks for the compliment my friend!

Yes, I prefer the steel catenaries, too, even though the concrete ones get more common as they are cheaper ... Andreas played a bit and put them on GLR where they look rather nice though.

About the dirty / manufacturing industry, I never was a fan of I-HT - too clean, too boring. I like it a bit dirty, just has more live in it ... and a bit of pollution is not a problem in SC$ IMHO!

@benedict: Thanks for the compliment my friend!

Now that was a short reply section ...

Okay, let's go in medias res: This is

Update 18.2: Wolfenstein

Wolfenstein has nothing to do with the Egoshooter but is in fact one of the oldest settlements in Urland with roman sedlements (a Villa Rustica) from the 2nd century AD. It was mentioned first time in 873 AD when it was given together with the land and a nameless castle to the Ritter Wulf von Stein (that's where the name comes from).

For your Orientation here are two overviews:

The castle was regarded as a fairytale until the two wind power plants have been built where the basement of an old burgus and the remains of wooden palisades made between the 9th and 11th century AD were found during the excavations.

The "Von Stein" - Dynastie didn't last very long, the last male died in 1009 AD and the village went under a lot of reigns. The land was divided around 1350 and for more than 500 years there was a border between Wolfenstein and Silberstein. 1889 Urland became part of Prussia, and that was time the border disappeared for good.

However during the planning an d construction of the railway line the border still existed which had the consequence that each of the small village got their own railway station even though they were situated so close to each other. Technically both railway stations belong together, the exit signals of Silberstein are the entry signals of Wolfenstein, and there are no Exit signals in Wolfenstein toward Silberstein. The Signals in Wolfenstein are only served when the freight station is used, otherwise they always show approach to cut back personal expenses.

Overview and closeup of Wolfenstein. Parts of the Walls of the church St. Hubertus are roman wall as the preceding building was built directly in the old Villa Rustica.

Interesting thing is that the railway is still the shortest connection between the two villages, due to more than 500 years of separated by a border no one ever thought of connecting the villages directly with a stree

[The Big Z 103]

Looks awesome! I really like how you blend the rural and small town atmosphere! Great job. Keep it up.

[Almighty Nienaber 3]

great to see a new update!

[Nardo69 51]

Hello to All

The fifth update on this page ... wel, I hope you have a fast line, good patience or both ...

Here is another one from me, a Mini Update from Riedelshofen. Hope you like it, it's (mostly) about railway signals ...

But as always before we start:

@The Big Z: Thanks for the compliment!

@Almighty Nienaber: Thanks for the compliment!

Now let's go in medias res:

A station on a electrified two track main line that serve a small suburb of a big town with some commerce, industry and some houses (almost) in the green.

The above picture shows the first try of signalizing, the latter the final try with a special TE Lot for both catenaries and signals.

I would like to focus you attention to the different kind of signals:

- at the freight station the outside track has only a shunting signals as now train is allowed to enter that track from outside

- both platform track have exit signals

- the main track has only exit signals on the right side as trains in Germany (and in the German version of SC4  ) usually use the right track

More of this is coming soon in my "Thoughts" - thread ...!

"Further on upon the (rail)road" - dedicated to one of the best guitar gods ever - Eric Clapton - you find that automatic block signal.

The first pic your joy, the latter for analysing it 

The block signal shows green (= HP1 = approach) most of the time, it switches to red (=HP0 = stop) after a train passed and until the train reached the next signal then turns to green again. However, this is only allowed if the following block of the railway line is secure, i.e. no open level crossing!

If there are level crossings the block signal shows = stop red until an approaching train first closes the automatic(!) level crossing(s), then the signal turns green = approach.

The approach signal on the other side belongs to the entrance signal of the railway station shown above.

A small station at a secondary railway line in an industrial area. The next station where the small railway line splits from the above shown main land isn't far away so that the exit signals are combined with the approach signals of the following entrance signals.

The entrance signals of the above signal from different vews. The approach signal belongs to the next station wihich is locatred on the next map.

And a last picture - this time without railway ...

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[un1 41]

Really, really nice!! It looks so cool, now that is what I call a railway...

Is there a company name for all of those??

[The Big Z 103]

It looks great. The railroad, and your choice of buildings make your CJ very realistic. The road layout is great, too. I'm really enjoying your CJ! Keep up the great work.

[ky72x 13]

C'mon people! CJ's like this definitely need more replies.

Yeah, I just had to say that. I've been experiencing the exact same thing lately... and I know there are others (like The Big Z) who have had pretty slow business as well. It's a big shame that people don't comment in (very good quality) CJ's that have have been updated that day, only obtaining a few replies, whereas instead they comment in a (okay quality) CJ that's been updated a couple days ago that's already had 10+ replies. I really don't know how that happens, or why they can't support the ones who need (and deserve) it.

Anyway, this is some really great work, Bernhard! I've seen plenty of it over at SC4D, and I've come to expect a lot of great building from you. Excellent rail lines, the added trees and bushes along the sides make it look wonderful. Nice placement of the water tower in the first picture. It blend with everything pretty well. All of the development looks great as well, from the farms to the nice W2W blocks of retail and apartments. And while it tends to be overlooked, it's one of the things that I pay attention to the most: traffic levels. From what I see, it's perfect! Looking forward to much more from you.

- Kyle

[DougOZ 0]

wow!!! i'm definitevly in love for it!!! looks great, very realistic rural CJ

[Benedict 3,119]

Great update, I love the steam train!

[lucky7 73]

Wow, die Bilder schauen echt super aus, nicht nur im letzten update, sondern auch in den