Greenacre

[Simpson]

Hi Matt !
2 incredibles pictures in this page 9 my friend. They are super, as well 

[Jmouse]

Another good daily, Matt - you're really on a roll!

I see a middle-class neighborhood here that's a notch or two below the median. The little park brings a much-needed break, though. Without it and the school grounds, the photo would suffer for the omission. Once again, you've ventured successfully into mixing industry in with the rest of the environs, too. Guess school - and the nutty professors - are out for the weekend?!

I know what you mean about long freight trains, but the few things I learned about the different types of cars plus the graffiti makes the wait more interesting. And those two trains on the left give new meaning to, "Reach out and touch someone!"

Looking forward to another scene tomorrow...
Joan

[Pat]

Matt good news indeed about the stations, so if I understand right will you also be revamping the large and medium too? Anyways a nice canal area there and also I like that double train shot there!!!!

[Albus of Garaway]

Great picture! You know how I love rails...

I'd love to see some pictures whenever you get the chance. I personally have an HO scale model railroad based on a section of Santa Fe tracks in Streator, Illinois (Outside Chicago).

[threestooges]

Replies:
-bat: Thank you very much bat. Glad you liked it. JBSimio's schools make it much easier to make things look good.


-Guillaume (Sciurus): Yes, that's a school in the center there. I know it's an odd area for an elementary school, being next to a freight yard, but the faculty are excellent. As for the traffic jams. I'd like to avoid them, but when a freight train goes through... well those roads are pretty much blocked for a while. Other than that, it's pretty easy going.


-David (Simpson): Glad you've liked them. Hope this one meets your expectations too.


-Joan (Jmouse): This pic-a-day thing really keeps the pressure on, but I've made it this far. The school is indeed out for the weekend, otherwise the area would be swarming with kids. Attendance is only around 200 right now, but it's expected to increase as the industry becomes residential. I'd like to learn a bit about graffiti and the meanings, but then I might be afraid to bike along some of the areas I do now. As for those trains... yeah, just keep your hands and arms inside and everything should be fine, though there usually is fairly little room between trains on most dual lines. Always good to hear from you. I have a texturing question for you next time you're on MSN.


-Pat: Yep, things are in progress, and a pic has been posted already in my BAT thread. Thanks for the comment about the canals, and I love the fact that there are at least three trains in the pic at once. I got lucky when I took the pic that they were there.


-Albus of Garaway: Glad you enjoyed, and it sounds like you have a nice setup. Is it geared toward switching, or does it also include a full loop for running? HO is a good scale with plenty to offer. I'd like to go with G-Scale when I do finally make a full layout, but that comes with time, land and money. My N-Scale is middle steam period. I have a 2-6-0 Mogul for the Northern Pacific that I may attempt to re-letter to either Virginia & Truckee or a custom road name and some various rolling stock of V&T, NP and other various lines. I'd like to re-create mainline operations of either central or southern CA. I'd love to see pictures if oyu have them, and I'll try to get a few of my stuff.


Going back once more to the Westport area, partly to meet with the town council there on the zoning issue that was raised. I'm surprised to hear the environmetal claims considering the local power source (21).



At the northern point of Westport, just as the city begins to climb the hill, the power company decided to take advantage of the prevailing winds that would sail up the hill. This modestly sized wind farm provides enough power to keep the tower going, and is one of the cleaner (if not cleanest) facilities in Greenacre. There is also a small park and community pool at the top of the hill just off the wind farm. It's completely a local spot. Very few tourists would look for a park by the power plants. I'll be busy with this meeting for a while, but you've been to Westport alreayd, feel free to go have a look around. I'll catch up with you when things are done.

[paroch]

Hi Matt,

Some great OSITM dailies there.  That station with the palm trees is very nice and bequtifully placed.  The GLR is looking good, the canals and the Via Rail all add up to make Greenacre the place to be this month.

I'm liking this tour more and more.

Paul

[Sciurus]

Nice wind field

Guillaume

[Battlecat]

Two excellent updates in the past couple days I see.  That's a pretty cool wind farm there, nice detailing with the dirt access roads.  I also really like the canals that are slowly being decommissioned in the previous update.  I think a some cities would try to convert them into some sort of recreational area, but in the case of Greenacre there appears to be no shortage of green space.  I'll be interested to see what happens to this area!

[Jmouse]

Matt, you continue to give a lot of thought to detail, and that makes your layouts stand well above the average. The tractors, water towers and dirt paths are a clever addition to the scene. The park is a good idea as well - kind of reinforces the "clean energy" concept we associate with wind power.

You make me wish February had 31 days...
Joan

[Pat]

Hey Matt you gotten yourself a good windmill farm there!! I do hope its windy enough to keep the lights on  You know it that some group is going to come in here and complain to you that wind is not the way to go still...

[art128]

And now a windmill field 
These are greatly done my friend.

[threestooges]

Replies:
-Paul (paroch): Hello again Paul! Glad you're enjoying things so far. I've been trying to cover most of the island this month. Hope I'm doing a good enough job. Out of curiousity, what exactly is Via Rail? Hope to see you soon.


-Guillaume (Sciurus): I could probably add something to it, but I'm not sure what, it was a new thing for me to try. Glad you liked it.


-Battlecat: Thanks! John's (Darmok's) dirt paths are an excellent set of lots. They've seen quite a bit of use around Greenacre. The future of the canals from the last pic isn't certain just yet. They no longer carry goods, but they do add something to the area. They may get converted as time goes on. We'll see. You're right though that Greenacre has no shortage of green space. I hope they keep it that way.


-Joan (Jmouse): The tractors were a lucky bonus from John's (Darmok's) rural path lots (the ones you see lining the scene) and the water towers were a fortunate matter of necessity. Though Westport gets much of it's water from the canals, these help give it some decent pressure. Not entirely sure how the pool and park ended up by the power area, but you're right about the clean energy thing. People don't mind a swim next to these things too much.


-Pat: The breeze coming in from the coast is enough to keep the blades turning, and the lights aren't showing any signs of dimming yet. If they wish to complain about wind not being the way to go, I suggest they take that up with the power company and the Westport Council. However, I think these things will be there for some time to come.


-Arthur (art128): Glad you enjoyed it. I've been trying to show a variety of things from Greenacre, I figured that would have been something different.


This month seems to be rapidly drawing to a close, and with it comes the deadline for this little project. A few more pics ought to do it and then we can get back to our usual touring. Just up the bluff from the Driftwood Building (13) is the S. Quentin Quale park (22).



The S. Quentin Quale Park, or as it has come to be called by locals "Squintin' Quail" Park, is a relatively quiet place for locals to relax. The sounds of the fountain do much to drown out the sounds of passing traffic, and local residents can be found taking advantage of the giant chess boards (pieces are also available for checkers too). I ought to talk to the Westport Council and see if I can convince them to put one in somewhere over there. I think they'd really like that.

[thundercrack83]

Once again, Matt, I've missed some updates here in Greenacre, and once again, you've made me pay dearly (in a great way!) by having so much wonderful stuff to catch up on!

I am so very sorry I haven't been here as often as I'd like to be, my friend. It's inexcusable, and I will try as hard as possible to break this habit.

Take care, Matt!

Dustin

[Battlecat]

Those giant chessboards are so much fun!  I wish we had a couple somewhere around here.  Nice update!

[bat]

The S. Quentin Quale Park and Windmill field are looking both really nice! Nice work on these two pictures!
Looking forward to the last five pictures of this month and of course to the updates after the OSITM-month.....

[Jmouse]

Hey Matt, haven't I told you once or twice before that I really like your parks? The setting is perfect for this one, too. There's a rather eclectic mix of buildings but in this case, they look pretty darn good together. I've seen that chess park before but never used it. Might give it a try, though, now that I see how good it looks in game.

Later...
Joan

[Pat]

Matt I think you have your niche there with the parks my friend!!!  you know how to place them and set up just right so it looks damn good!!! this park is no execption, great job!!!!  BTW I did put a squash to the rumor mill about the wind farm, believe after this weekend that poor sim aint happy with me after seeing my point on it lol 



if you catch the fog pattern idea lol 

[LE0]

Nice mix of buildings

[threestooges]

Replies:
-Dustin (thundercrack83): Always good to see you my friend. I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying the catching up process. Nothing wrong with not having time to post (I would have liked to drop a line in Marathon a few times now, but not enough time to write a detailed message the past couple of days) so I know where you are coming from. I'm curious to know, after having gone through a fair number of them recently, which has been your favorite so far? Hope all is well, and I'll see you next time.


-Battlecat: I know what you mean. I've seen the full size ones maybe once or twice. Great little things to mess around with if you can find someone to play. Glad you enjoyed.


-bat: Glad you enjoyed. I can't believe how fast this month has gone. It'll be good to get back to the full updates here in a bit. I have some interested stuff planned. Until then, take it easy.


-Joan (Jmouse): You may have said something once or twice (but that's not to say I don't mind hearing it again). The chess park is one of my favorites from the pack. I've used it in a few areas (or more) but I just like how it fit in here. As for an ecclectic selection of buildings, it really is. I'm still getting the hang of urban building, but I kind of like the hodge-podge look of this. Gives it a sense of development over time I think. Or something like that.


-Pat: A niche? I don't know about that, but they are fun to make, and when you're given good stuff to work with, it makes things that much easier. Glad to hear you're taking care of things on the Westport front. When I heard that guy tell me his complaint 'was all wet', I didn't realize he was speaking literally. Can't say I disapprove of the approach though. Sometimes the direct method is best. Glad you're liking things so far.


-LE0: Thanks. A number of them are actually Maxis designs. They did a good job on a number of these things. The custom ones aren't too bad either. Glad you liked them.



I mentioned this a few pages back, but there is a theme tying a number of the OSITM posts together, this update is one of them, and so was the last one. If someone is able to figure it out by the end of the OSITM period the council has authorized me to work out some sort of honorarium (a.k.a. gift). What exactly that will be is still ebing determined, but if you're interested in giving it a shot, happy hunting.


Today's update brings us back to the Shelter Island area (yes, we've been here a few times now) but the area in this pic is the northern most part of the overall Mustang Harbor facilites (23).

This area is the Captain Jeffery T. Spaulding Wharf, named for and old adventurer who used to live in the area. He was a big supporter of the port's creation, so they named this section of it after him. This is one of the cruise ship ports in the area. Not exactly the most glamorous being near a garbage processing dock, but people rarely notice it when they board the ship. By that point, they're usually involved in the ship's activities/cast off party, that they don't even notice it as the ship departs.

[art128]

That's a nice port there Matt, you used the great pieces to go on it my friend.
Also, the park is great too.

Arthur.