iGod

After another long absence of me, a new entrey - hurray! In this update we are looking at one of the oldest nuclear powerplants in the country, Abney Hall. Build in the 1960's, it was the first nuclear reactor to provide energy on a commercial basis. In these days however, especially with recent controversys about nuclear power, Abney Hall is under constant criticism from all sides, the operating company is considering reducing the plants output. The powerplant is located near the small village of Winterfield and lies next to the sea and approximately 20 miles south west of Burton and 8 miles south of the NWA. It consits of 3 blocks (A,B & C), however, block C is undergoing a refurbishment and block A might be shut down in the coming years. The village of Winterfield however, has suffered from the power plant, mainly poplulation wise. Most people simply do not want to live next to a power plant and the population of Winterfield is decreasing since many years. Soon, this might be a ghost town. Abney Hall, with blocks A, B & C (from left to right). The construction of a new cooling tower has just begun near block C. A close up of "central" Winterfield. It once used to be a town on the uprising of the entire euphoria of nuclear power during the 60's but now it is more of a shadow of itself. Being located right between and Airport and a power plant, it is only desirable for people who have not got the money to move away. The only nice thing here is the pebble beach opposite the town hall. An overview of Winterfield and Abney Hall. And now we move on, just a few miles north of Winterfield and about 10 miles west of Burton is the town of Berkley and the North West Airport (NWA). NWA is the 10th busiest Airport in the country with around 6 million passengers in 2010 and the 2nd biggest airport in the county, after Abbey-Upon-Tyne International. It is located directly on the coast and just a stone throw away from the small town of Berkley. Berkley itself is a town with a long history of being a farming and fishing town. However, in 1966, the county decided that a new airport was needed to connect the growing city of Burton on a international level. A new motorway alongside with railway tracks were build along the coast and into Burton. However, this had positive as well as negative impacts on many small seaside towns, such as Berkley. The town itself has no direct connection to the sea anymore, however, it is very well connected to the rest of the county and the nation as a whole with about a train leaving every 10 minutes from the Berkley Station. The town of Berkley with Terminal 2 in the backround. Due to the landscape, there was no possibility to have a trainstation at the terminal. The only way to get to the airport is by using a shuttle bus from the Station to each of the terminals. Terminal 2, build in the 1990's for international and bigger planes. The old Terminal 1, now mainly used for regional and flights into the bordering countrys. A AirFrance machine waiting for takeoff at the Taxi whilst a BA flight from Berlin is just landing. The name NWA simply comes from being the far North-Western airport in the country. In this picture, you can see that the town is, due to the railway, the motorway and the airpot, cut off from the sea. Comments and ratings are, as per usual, welcome and appreciated. Feedback: NYCisbig: Thank you for your comment. TekindusT: Thank you too, it is always good to hear from you. RL really takes its toll at the moment, my CJ updates will sadly become more and more sporadic I think... armpit43: Nah, it isn't that Crewe, I just took the name.

Here is my Nuclear Powerplant of my CJ Abbey-Upon-Tyne. Abney Hall is the oldest Powerplant I got in SC4: With 3 reactor blocks it supplies pretty much most of my region.

Poshbakerloo...great minds think alike! Here are some signs taken off my CJ Abbey-Upon Tyne. The first one is a destination sign as found in pretty much any station in the UK (and my CJ too): This is a destination sign in the underground stations of Abbey-Upon-Tyne

In this update we will have a look at Crewe. The town is laid in a rather boring part of the region. Located at the foothills of the Reddish Hills, it is mainly sourrunded by farms and forests. Except for the occasional group of tourist who would visit the village and the location just west of Upminster and the Abbey-Upon-Tyne International Airport nothing seemed to happen in this town. That is until recently, rather than just being happy the way the town evolved (around 2% unemployment and nearly 0% crime) the majors decided to take a drastic step. Realising that the location near the airport and the M24 South as well as the location in the middle between Burton & Abbey-Upon-Tyne perfect for developing the town further, the city officials soon began to work out a plan to drive the city to economic succes. Unlike other villages, Crewe soon began to lower corporate taxes dramatically and a number of firms start to settle there. These days, Crewe also gets called "The European Silicon Valley" because of the number of High-Tech firms which settled here or opened up branches and European headquaters of overseas companys here. The negative is obviously that the town lost a hughe amount of it's charm. Glass highrises are competing with the single storey shops in the old town centre. Also, by nightfall, the town is virtually dead since most of the workers commute from Abbey-Upon-Tyne, Burton or the surrounding villages such as Blackley and Ardwick. The village now gives home to a rough 18.000 inhabitants and is divided into 2 boroughs: Crewe & Anchorage. It also has it's own football team: Crewe United Football Club and 2 rugby teams, Crewe Rugby Union FC & North Tyne Rugby League FC. The trainstation and Crewe Church in the old city centre. A broad overview of Crewe. At the, so to speak, end of the town you can see the Bronston Towers & Rylers Project, 2 housing projects build during the 60's & 70's. The majority of inhabitants in Crewe is very middle class though. Cuttin right through the town is the A56 - a dual carriageway that connects Abbey-Upon-Tyne with Burton. An important road, especially if the M24 is clocked up again. A night shot of Crewe, facing the west and looking upon Crewe Comprehensive and Bulls Head Park. These are all the new, and some old buildings located right next to the historic core of the town. Many people say that these buildings just seem out of place in such a small town, but the council is the opinion that - if they generate money - they are fine. The 2 towers in the middle are the newest addition; the dark one being the European Headquaters of a well known american software company whereas the white highrise houses a quite big german insurance company. You can also see a branche of IBM as well as Chase Banking. A nightshot of the same buildings. Since in the 2000's, the companys try to make the buidlings beeing more representative, but most corporations sticked with the normal attitude towards their buildings as the cluster of office buildings on the right shows. In the backround you can see Bulls Head Park. This is the japanese pavillion and a WWII statue in Bulls Head Park. This park was laid out when the first midrises were errected to have a sort of green part in the village centre that would give employees and residents the benefit of having a border between the residential area and the high rises that would not disturb the peace of the town and where they can all go to relax. An overview of Anchorage, including the Crewe Centre, a shopping centre (only 30 minute drive from Abbey-Upon-Tyne: Take the exit Upminster at the M24 and follow the A56 towards Fieldhouse!) and the stadium for Crewe United FC and the rugby clubs, the Greyham Forest Stadium. Since for most residents of Anchorage the actuall town centre is to far away, they prefer Gibbet Street, a shopping street located near the Greyham Forest Stadium. In the Greyham Forests, and towering all over the village is KBL1567, the 3rd tallest building in the country and the highest communication tower in the country. Just a shot from the countryside. Along the A254, which goes through the Wilbrahem Valley, the Crewe Cloister is located. And here is an overview showing the entire town. Comments and ratings are, as per usual, welcome and appreciated. Feedback: blakeway: Thanks a lot. k50dude: Thanks. It just seems that features which are purely eycandy, such as golf courses, get quite often neglected in city building, so I tried to change that. tigeria: Thanks man. finlay: Glad you found it. It is a really good website and has some quite good stuff on it. n_wilson: Thanks as well!

*sorry, spelling mistake - I meant big city, not bad city.

Nice work building such a bad city but it has no english feel to it whatsoever. That is neglegtable but a few plugins would definatly make the city a lot more appealing. Anyway, nice try.

Very good work, and realyl impressive and realistic airport.But I must say that I second Pod61, for these numbers of passengers is one runway not enough, but anyway, really great work.

Very impressive. Good use of the OMCo lots! 5/5.

Wow, the 1st picture looks amazing - although the Nuclear Power Plant is a bit missplaced in the city centre. Good work.

@Vlasky - Thank you for appreciating the Germans :D - Great tutorial here. Good work!

Welcome to "Glennkill & Hammersmith". Two suburbs outside the city limits of "Burton". Whereas "Glennkill" used to be a small village, "Hammersmith" was created during the 70's. "Glennkill" is just a small medium sized village with around 14.000 inhabitants and "Hammersmith" counts around 6.000. The village is also home to the "Royal Saltworth Park Golf Club". "Glennkill" was founded in 1850 as a religious community outside the "City of Burton". With the industrial revolution the industry began to expand outside the boundaries of "Burton" and into the village of "Glennkill". After that the village began to grow until it reached todays size. To provided room for the evergrowing population of "Burton", the city council soon began to errect highrises and council estates near "Glennkill". The position along the M24 and the "North East-West Mainline" did help the town to develope fast. During the 1970's, along with "Hammersmith", the "City Council of Burton" also decided to extend the "Burton Underground" until "Glennkill". All these factors helped to make "Glennkill & Hammersmith" the community & town it is now. A broad overview of the main city core. "Glennkill" can be seen to the right and stretches past the motoway. Pretty much all the buildings left of the church resemble "Hammersmith". The town centre of "Glennkill" at night. Not much has changed in the core of the village since the 19th century. Most buildings along the main road are still in the original state. The industrial area around the old classification yard. There used to be massive cotton mill here, long time ago, but now the hightech industry took over. The westside of "Glennkill". You can also see parts of the gold club here. This area is a little bit more wealthy than the rest of the town. "Hammersmith" and the "Hammersmith Station", of the Underground Line 6 coming out of "Burton". And here is the overview of the town with the M24 and the "North East-West Mainline". Comments and ratings are, as per usual, welcome and appreciated. Feedback: TekindusT: Thank you mate and ye, it's good to be back. The Abbey can be found here: https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=23450 k50dude: Thanks for your comment as well. I see that TekindusT answered your question already but here again: https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=2676 Simsamerica: Lol, go for it! And thanks for your comment. Glad that you like it. kolnikov inc: Thanks for your comment but I disagree. In the UK, especially in the north Elevated heavy rail can be seen in a lot of citys, most notably Manchester & Leeds. CTMandR: Thanks for your comment. ImVhOzzi: Thanks mate - especially for the word play Schulmanator: Thanks for commenting. Other entries: finlay: Hey mate, thanks for your comment. I found it on some Japanese city and I will PM you the link once I found it again.

Finally found the time again to get to some SimCity…hurray for me! Today we just have a little look at random views of the City. First up is “North Hill” and “PetorowitschPark”, named after a famous Russian writer who once lived in the city. In the park you will find two monuments, first the “Lady of the North”, a statue to symbolise how the city welcomes everyone who stays in the harbour after a journey from the sea. There are also some old temple ruins which can be visited. Second most important development is the expansion of the old Airport. “TynesideInternationalAirport” got extended and is now turned into an international hub as well as a destination for regional planes. Main feature of this new airport is the face that all traffic is going through tunnels to each terminal, same as the railway which cuts in a tunnel all the way underneath the airport. And the third new developments are the “Riverside Projects” at the M78 in "Hulme", one of the newer boroughs in "Abbey-Upon-Tyne". Simply does what it says, provides housing to an affordable price near the city centre…kind of. Let’s have a look: “North Hill” and “PetorowitschPark”. At the right you can see the "Lady of the North" This is "Tyneside International Airport". At the left of it you can see the M7 and the "Wesson Intersection", connection the M7 with the M78. The terminal at the left is the new Terminal 2 for international destinations. Terminal 1 on the right is only for regional flights. At the North of the Airport you can see the entrance for the Airport Tunnel Network which connects the Terminals with each other and the citys road and motorway network. A close-up of Terminal 1. This is the only place in the whole airport where the roads actually come to the surface. "Hulme" and the "Riverside Projects" in the morning light. The M78 cutting right through the centre of the "Riverside Projects". Since space is precious, city planners tried to make as much use of the area underneath the motorway as possible. There are shops, parking lots and garages which can be rent, which is a good idea since it is quite advisible, especially at night times. The crime rates here are actually not that high but this area can still be seen as a crime hotspot. A random shot of the downtown at night. At the bottom of the picture you can see "Lime Street Station", terminal for some metro lines. The borough of "Brick Road" and the main classification yard. Hope you like this little update. Comments are, as per usual, appreciated and welcome!

We still stay in "Burton". But this time around we will have a look towards the western end of the city. Due to the 1972 Olympic Games hosted by "Burton", the city experienced a sudden growth. Businesses who were formerly unaware of the city wanted to come to get their share of the cake. And with the businesses came the people who needed living space. What we can see now is the methamorphose of a former industrial & railway town to a bustling city. Today is just a broad overview of the development the city took during the past years. After the olympic games, the city decided to build a convention centre for the industry & businesses. The "BICC (Burton International Convention Centre)" is build at the old railway maintenance yard. Here, they also did build the first TV-Tower for "Burton". it is now mainly used for radio stations & as a tourist attraction. The Stadium of the "Burton Football Club" in "Whitington Park". The park is a great are for the people of the surrounding boroughs to realx as well as for tourists to visit the highest building in "Burton", the new TV-Tower ("Aurora Tower") build in the 80's. This picture also gives us the possibility to follow the M24 South. It passes "Whithington Park" and continues towards the west, underneath the railway and connects "Burton" with some of it's suburbs and the south of the country. "Whitington Park" from another angle. The M24 south heads to the right while going southbound (upwards) at the "Crumpsall Intersection", you will end up at the A35. On the left of the M24 is the borough of "Crumpsall". A poorer neighbourhood with council estates and high unemployment rates. Heading on the M24 towards "Burton", you are bound to end up at "Camille-Jones-Square". A bottleneck in terms of traffic which is now beeing renewed. The idea is to build a sort of underground motorway intersection which is supposed to let the traffic flow without any traffic lights. Also, the space created could be used to create a park for the people in this borough. In addition, 2 new office towers and a park are beeing build to raise living quality in this borough which really struggles with the amount of traffic coming through here every day. "Burton Victoria Station", one of the 2 main stations in the city. Just off "Victoria Square" and "St. Peters Church", this station is one of the architectural highlights of the city. Beeing build over 50 years, constantly renewed and changed it now is finally finished. 10 platforms, located on 4 levels and trains leaving at least every 3 minutes. Outside, the statue of "General Prestwich" welcomes the cities guests. Just of "Victoria Station" is the "Burton Metropolitan University" located, formerly known as "Burton Polytechnic". The university is located on both sides of the "Kearsley Avenue". On the right, the oldest building: "Swinton Building", once a museum and now the main teaching facility. On the left, the newest of the 2 buildings: "Eastwall Building". The halls of the students are, unliek the ones of the "University of Burton" located all over the city and not on one campus. An image which was actually supposed to be included in the last update. "Baron Cross", the big railway junction in the east of "Burton". At the bottom you can see parts of "Picadilly Station", the largest station in the city. A nightime picture of the two suburbs next to the M24. On the left "Newton Heath" with the ruins of "Worsley Abbey" and on the right "Wythenshaw". And last, but not least, a overview of the city centre at night. Comments and ratings are, as per usual, welcome and appreciated. Feedback: dudkis: Thank you very much for your comment. I think I might have accomplished my goal now JGellock: Thank you as well. k50dude: Thanks mate. TekindusT: Cheers for that. I must confess that it is also one of my favorite pictures. YorkshireLlama: Well, it is all about West Yorkshire. But ye, I know what you mean. I tried to create, again, a british city but I really wanted to be a bit more continental this time. Especially with W2W buidlings since they seem to fit more. Sadly, most of the W2W buildings on the STEX or other fanpages are German, French or Eastern european. Thank you for your comment - and I tried to work on the council estates. Jamondread: Thank you! Cisco2: Ah, I wondered if someone would realise. Even though trying to create realistic cities I also try to creat functioning citys. This means that, in order to grow, I need to place an airport in every city which somehow seem to really attract wealthy sims. It is very strange... Thanks for commenting.

Impressive work. May I request a German city? (Pregerably Munich..) You doing quite well in recreating citys! I can't wait for more. 5/5

This looks fantastic, great work! Just a tiny clue to let the pictures look even better, with "g" you can disable the grid. And could you provide us a link of where you got the dirt textures from? Again, great work!

Ok, after a long and intense holiday, I came back to re-build the "City of Burton" again. I did choose another layout than intended and another building style. Still based on any UK city, it now has some strong continental-european influences - but not porkissimo even though his bat's are amazing. So, let's see how the city developed so far... One of the many middleclass suburbs in "Burton", "Bombay Green". Due to it's number of schools and the "St. James Hospital" being located here, this suburb is very attractive to any inhabitant of "Burton" The "M97" cutts right through the suburb of "Arlington". Next to the "Burton City Airport", the main power lines from the "Burton Nuclear Power Plant" are deliviring power to the city. The southern end of "Arlington" with the overground & underground stations. "Briarfields", once a complex of buildings beeing build for the athlets of the '72 Olympic games hosted by "Burton" is now one of the cities crime hot-spots. Located near the industrial estates, it soon became more of a working class area after the Olympic Games finished. "Bishops Square", the most central place in "Burton", the "Burton Cathedral" is located. This cathedral marks the point when Burton went from a village to a city. it is a beautifuls sight at day & nighttime. The highrises beeing build here were only erected during the 1980's & 90's. For the "Burtonians" it was a strugle at first, seeing their city getting 'destroyed' by these new buildings but soon they came to love them and they are now a part of the skyline no one wants to miss. This is the main shopping area, "Marple Road". It is no coincidence that "Burton" is also refered to as "the city of a houndred churches". In this picture you can see two; "St. Julian", located right on "Marple Road" and "Ladbroke Church", located in "Willsden" on the right. In this picture you can also see the first highrise ever beeing build in Burton, the "City Tower". Once the highest building in the city with a 107 metres, but now just small compared to the new highrises being build just west of it in "Ladgrove". Comments and ratings are, as per usual, welcome and appreciated. Feedback: TekindusT: Thank you for your comment mate, I tried to create some sort of a 'real' heavy industry harbour. ImVhOzzi: Thank's for your comment.

Well, sadly enough the file for "Burton" got corrupted so until I rebuild/build the city again, I'll show you some more rural scenes of "Tyneside". If you want to go north from "Abbey-Upon-Tyne", you might take the M7 eastbound through the village of "Kircaldy" before it turns north. "Kircaldy" is a small town located where the river "Tyne" meets the Sea. The main industry of the town are the big shipyards. But the majority of people who live here work in "Abbey-Upon-Tyne" which is just a 30 minute train journey or around 40 minutes by car. If you take the car or train to "North Kircaldy", you can have a drive over the longest bridge in the country. So let's check it out then: Here is a little Map of "Tyneside", showing the majority of the developed areas. A overviw of "Kircaldy". Here you can see the two largest bridges in the country, both crossing the river "Tyne". "Sedbergh Bridge" is the Motorway bridge build in 1987. "Kendal Bridge" is the railway bridge which was build in 1954. Here are the shipyards at the riverside. Some of the biggest ships which are now on the sea have been build here. A close up of southern "Kircaldy". The beaches here are all rocky and not sandy. Comments and ratings are, as per usual, welcome and appreciated. Feedback: Paulobergonci: Thank you for your comment. Ye, I really like them trees to - they simply look better than the Maxis one. TekindusT: Thank you for you comment too. I really like building such districts because they can crop up in every city and just look kinda real. www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm - NDEX ITS Portsmouth Tower Block Set1 - ill tonkso www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm - NDEX ITS Portsmouth Tower Block Set2 - ill tonkso Jamonbread: Thanks mate. Ye, night shots are cool but even now I still find some bats in my citys which don't have nightlighting and can destroy the entire picture. But I will see on your CJ how you get on with them night shots. Patricius Maximus: Thanks foor your comment Retep Molinari: Love this comment. JGellock: Thank you for your comment. The trainskin can be found here: kurier.simcityplaza.de/details.php - SFBT Regionalbahn - Kenworth (the installer should be in english as well) dudkis: Thanks for your comment

Great update again and great use of the NWM and cool storyline with the football.

In this little Teaser I will show you the "City of Burton". 400.000 inhabitants in the city limits and around 1,2million in the greater area. It is the 2nd biggest City in "Tyneside" and 4th largest in the country. The city itself is a major transport hub. Here, the "M24 South" meets the "M3 West" as well as the "M98 South East". It is also a major railway hub due to many railway lines passing through the city. So let's take a look at some of the teaser pics: One of the suburbs of "Blackley". "Alton" with the "Alton East Park", a park where the sims can participate in any kind of sport and many school in the area carry out their training sessions for the Football & Rugby Teams. "Farrington Industrial Estate", the oldest and biggest industrial area in "Burton". Also showing some of the different kinds of mass transport existing in "Burton". Unlike "Abbey-Upon-Tyne", this city is mainly industry than a commercial producer. "Bishops Square", on of the main squares in the city. Besides on of the many churches, you can also see the National Library and the city hall here. "Brookland Estates" right next to the "M97", a motorway which only connects the centre of "Burton" with the north of the city. Comments and ratings are, as per usual, welcome and appreciated. The city is still in development, so any ideas on what to do better are appreciated! Feedback: Jamonbread: Thank you for your comment. I know what you mean, looking closer they do look a bit artificial and pointy. But then, they are supposed to be some sort of small rock islands, so you won't find a lot of details on these I suppose? Blakeway: Thanks for your comment mate. Glad you like it. kingdiz_55: I didn't knew about them power poles. I know about the wood ones but then I always do get the black holes when I use them. Thank you though for the hint. I will see how they work with my CJ! eufl: Thank you mate. I am glad you like it and would like to read more comments of you! CHR: Thank you for your comment as well. But I disagre with your. Yes, they are repetitive but my CJ is very UK influenced and if you have ever seen a UK suburb or town, that is what they look like. If proof needed: Manchester - Fallowfield, and yes - this road carries on for a few miles:

Nicely done again. Looks really nice, especially the second picture. But is it just me or is the post on the exit ramp in the last picture actually on the ramp???  Anyway, great work again

Again, great update nardo. Awesome use of the railway bridge over the river. - Aber jetzt fangen die Ortsnamen an a bisserl schwitzerisch zu klingen ...

You really caught the mediteranian feel in this city. Looks fantastic.

Very nicely done. Good integration of the church and hotels in the forests.

The lake looks very realistic and great work on the suburbs and how they seem to have developed along the shoreline of the lake. Great use of the NWM as well, I still can't/won't use it in my CJ because it just looks to american. Haha, ye I found the university actually by accident. It is a shame that there is only this one "proper" modular Uni... anyway, back to why I'm here: Great work again.

If you've ever been to France there are quite a few stations, not metro, but railway stations in the middle of nowhere. Especially on the Marseille - Paris TGV route there are stations which build far away from any town or city just because there were room for the new high speed tracks.