Ashtabula

[homefryes]

Welcome to page 2!

David (dedgren), thanks so much stopping by and for the kind words. I do love the culverts; and, yes, we do need half and quarter sizes, for sure. In addition to swampy areas, I'd also like having shallower creeks as well. I'm not versed in off-set lots or props. As for the smooth roads, this has always been something I've strived for, and I'm pleased to finally be sharing this with the community. Thanks for noticing!

Additionally, I have a question for your and the broad audience. What are you using to make your fantastic maps? I can do most anything I want with the means I have at my fingertips except for one thing: railroad tracks (the line with cross-hash marks). Looking for something I don't have to pay for. Any suggestions are most welcomed.

Dustin (thundercrack83), please don't apologize. You have your own wonderfulness going on, and I'm just glad to have you stop by every so often. Visit again soon, and I'll likewise stop by your neck-of-the-woods soon. And I want to personally thank you for your fantastic idea of a logo/border for the pictures. Mine is subtle, and I'm quite pleased with it. Let me know what you think!

2.1 – Saybrook-on-the-Lake, more countryside

I don't have much else to say about Saybrook-on-the-Lake at this point ... just pictures to share. These are all from city date 30 August 0004*. I have left room for Ashtabula to sprawl over into the northwestern portion of this village later on, so just as with Ashtabula, I will eventually be returning to Saybrook-on-the-Lake for further development. Meanwhile, enjoy the following.

*need to verify at home later


2.1.1 - Ninevah Rd.


2.1.2 - Substation on Cemetery Rd. near W. 10th St.


2.1.3 - Residential neighborhood north of W. 10th St. near the Ashtabula border


2.1.4 - Carpenter Rd. at Cemetery Rd.


2.1.5 - Wade Ave.


2.1.6 - Tryon Rd. - one instance where I was able to plop utility poles on the property and in the farm field


2.1.7 - Tryon Rd.


2.1.8 - Merchants & Brooks Rds.


2.1.9 - Wade Ave.


2.1.10 - Carpenter Rd. at Renko Rd.


2.1.11 - Cemetery Rd. - another instance of poles plopped on a farm and fields


2.1.12 - Zoom out on W. 10th St. & Cemetery Rd.


2.1.13 - East of Center Rd., south of Carpenter Rd.


2.1.14 - Red Brook between Carpenter Rd. and Wade Ave.

Next time I will be moving on to Plymouth (for real). See you then!

-- Don

[warconstruct]

splendid countryside ! good job 

[Battlecat]

Looking great!  Love the rural development and how you've placed your power poles.  Keep up the great work! 

[Jmouse]

Hi Don! Excellent start you've made on your MD. Your planning abilities eclipse most I've ever seen (if you're one of the precious few exceptions, you know who you are! ) The rural areas are just beautiful - laid out to perfection right down to the small details.

I've been out of the loop most of the week, but now I've found Ashtabula and plan to be a regular visitor. With your work already showing great promise, it will be fascinating to watch you re-create a RL area here.

Keep up the good work...
Joan

[danielcote]

Beautiful Farmland!

[meinhosen]

Don,
That is some really amazing work.  I think that you can start putting your recreation levels next to someone like Mr.Beer (from Simtropolis).  I love the work you've done with the power poles and substations- I've been experimenting with your sets with on and off success (the lack of success comes from my playing style... your BATs are very well done).  And I'm a big sucker for creeks, farmfields, and open land - all three of which you've done exceptionally well and shown thus far.

Now I'm going to have to get off the exit next time I pass through NE Ohio and explore around the real Ashtabula.

Great work!

[homefryes]

warconstruct, thanks; I'm glad you like!

Battlecat, thanks; the poles do make it difficult to develop along that side of the road. When I'm able to entice some r§§§ to the area, I can get some 3x4 residential lots in, and they usually have room for my poles.

Joan (Jmouse), I've seen you around a lot of MD's, and I'm so pleased to have you stop by here!

danielcote, Thank you, also, for the kind words.

meinhosen, I may have to venture over to ST and take a look. The name sounds familiar, and it's possible I've seen his work, but it's been a long, long time since I've been there. Thank you for the high praise! Keep in mind, if you do venture off I-90 and take a look around, it isn't going to look quite like this! For one thing, as I mentioned in my intro, the size has been reduced by about 25% to fit better in the game, and my region is based on maps from before interstates. But in real life, there are some really nice areas; along the rivers is the most picturesque. See below for one of the newest tourist attractions which is convenient for a quick look as you're passing by (it's very close to SR 11 & I-90).

3.0 – Plymouth: a river, ridges and three covered bridges

I forgot to capture a shot of the tile loading! Darn!

A little Ohio history lesson: before Ohio became a state in 1803, much of the northeast portion was a territory of Connecticut, and was justly called The Connecticut Western Reserve [linkie]. There are many references to this found elsewhere, such as Case Western Reserve University [linkie] in Cleveland and Western Reserve Transportation Authority [linkie] in Youngstown, to name a couple. There are also many, many instances of municipality names that reflect directly on New England and England, such as Andover, Windsor, Trumbull, Plymouth, Saybrook and Sheffield. One of my favorites is Wooster, Ohio, in Wayne County. It's pronounced the same as Worcester (Mass.), derived from Worcestershire, England, I suppose. I guess the settlers liked the name but hated the spelling, so they opted to simplify it! But I digress.....

Back to Plymouth. As the title of this update suggests, we will experience lots of terrain variations here. The Ashtabula River enters from the east (from Sheffield), winds back and forth and exits east into Kingsville. Then, in real life, a portion of the river is the dividing line between Ashtabula and Plymouth Townships about 2/3 of the way from east to west. The township border then follows a creek for a short distance before following straight lines south to what is now the intersection of Garrison and Jefferson Roads, and then west along Garrison Road beyond its terminus at Ashtabula-Austinburg Rd. Of course I can't duplicate that in the game, so the northwestern portion of my Plymouth is part of the real-life Ashtabula Township and city.

Since I had already done a dry-run of this quad, I didn't plot out my grid with signposts. I skipped ahead to just plotting my network out.


3.0.1 - Transit network plotted out with signposts

In my dry-run for this quad, I was really pleased that I was able to duplicate some of the real-life features, such as the railroad crossings over Main Ave. (State Route 84) and under Plymouth Ridge Rd. (State Route 83) just a short distance apart, with only a minor change in gradient.


3.0.2 - Rail over Main Ave. and under Plymouth Ridge Rd.

I am also pleased with the way the rail follows the minor gradient from Plymouth Ridge Rd. to its crossing at State Rd., and then its curve south to more level ground ...


3.0.3 - Rail grade with FARR (fractional-angle railroad)


3.0.4 - Rail crossing at State Rd.

... and farther south to where Plymouth Station will go.


3.0.5 - Future Plymouth Station

Another nice gradient is the railroad underpass at South Ridge West (State Route 84) near the Saybrook Township line not far from the overpass at Woodman Ave. Today, this portion of the rail is now gone and an improved bicycle/walking trail now follows the old railroad grade.


3.0.6 - Rail under South Ridge and over Woodman Ave.

In real life, W. Prospect Rd. (US Route 20) does not zig-zag through this portion of the city ...


3.0.7 - W. Propsect Rd. at West Ave.

... but using FAR (fractional-angle road) here would prohibit most of the street crossings (because orthogonal street/FAR intersections have not yet* been created), which would be less realistic to me.
*though I think I smell something good cooking over at David's (dedgren's) place!

We also have 21st St. (State Route 84) and the railroad crossing the river near each other. The real-life rail crossing is the site of the worst railroad disaster in American history [linkie].


3.0.8 - title

Another note about Ashtabula County is that it is very proud of its covered bridge heritage [linkie]. To close out this update, I'll feature three of the covered bridge crossings at the river. The first one, State Rd., is now the real-life site of the longest covered bridge in the United States [linkie]. It was once the site of a much shorter covered bridge that was situated lower in the gulf, somewhat like my depiction.


3.0.9 - State Rd. Bridge

In real life, the river crossing on Plymouth Ridge Rd. was also the site of a covered bridge at one time. Since then (and before I was born), a bypass to the north was built, and the covered bridge no longer exists. My depiction is closer to the road's original path.


3.0.10 - Plymouth Ridge Rd. Bridge

Finally, the crossing on Dewey Rd. is where we find Olin's (or Olin) Bridge [linkie]. This real-life bridge is the only extant covered bridge in the county that is named for a family. I happen to be distantly related to this family. The bridge has been renovated, and a museum stands nearby at the old family homestead. Here's my depiction:


3.0.11 - Olin's Bridge

More from Plymouth next time.

-- Don

[Youcefk69]

wow  impressive work 

[JJsa]

Hi!!

I must say, that the way you "prepare" your cities/region is amazing!! A brilliant work on planning, almost real!!

Just, Brilliant!!!!! 

[homefryes]

Youcefk69, thank you for the encouragement!

JJsa, thank you; I'm glad to know the realism is coming across. That's what I'm striving for. Come back again soon!

3.1 – Plymouth, power grid and trees
I just have some final pre-development pictures to share this time; the transit network is done, the power grid is in place, and some trees are planted.


3.1.1 - North river crossings


3.1.2 - West Prospect Rd. (US 20) at West Ave.


3.1.3 - State Rd. at South Ridge East (SR 84)

The next three pictures show my first crack at crossing the river gulf; however, I was not happy with the result. I fired up the BAT and worked on a better solution, which I will share in the next update.


3.1.4 - Utility poles at river


3.1.5 - Utility poles at river


3.1.6 - Utility poles at Plymouth Ridge Rd. (SR 83)


3.1.7 - Jefferson Rd. Substation


3.1.8 - Utility poles at Jefferson Rd. (SR 46)


3.1.9 - Utility poles at Plymouth Rd.


3.1.10 - State Rd. at Plymouth Rd.


3.1.11 - Plymouth Rd. / Plymouth-Gageville Rd. / Brown Rd.


3.1.12 - State Rd. at Jefferson Rd. (SR 46)

-- Don

Edit: Woo-hoo, my 128th post!

[metarvo]

This is a very nice use of the rural roads, and the power grid is also well done.  This is a great example of planning, Don.  Good work! 

[rooker1]

Fantastic MD.  I love the amount of preplanning put into everything.
The river and the bridges that pass over it look great as well.  Actually everything looks really good and I can't wait to see some buildings. 
Keep up the great work,
Robin 

[thundercrack83]

Hi, Don!

I've been in Texas and Oklahoma for the past few days, so I've been on sporadically, but I just had to stop in here to Ashtabula and comment on the ever-growing and just outstanding stuff you are doing here! Your road and rail network look absolutely stunning--I know where I will be coming for rural inspiration!--and to say that the power lines are a "nice touch" is a gross understatement. It adds a depth of realism that I simply cannot get enough of, my friend!

I'm always keeping an eye on things here, and I'll be looking forward to what you have for us next!

Take care!

Dustin

[Nexis4Jersey]

Interesting , I'll definitely will keep my eye on it , i love the planning u put into it!

[Sciurus]

It's just impressive , the preparation of the city before the devloppment, it's so American

Guillaume

[Jmouse]

Hi Don! Sorry for my temporary absence - had some computer issues to deal with.

You've done a great job of laying roads on that hilly terrain. Hope you'll share some of your techniques with us one of these days. I'm anxious to see how you finish off Ashtabula River - you've already made some excellent bridge choices.

A lot of experienced players start out with a transport and utility system in place as you're doing, and it's always interesting to watch the development unfold. I always hope I'll learn a thing or two, but it hasn't happened yet! Guess it's like reading a book about tennis - it's helpful but no substitute for getting out on the court and actually playing the game.

Looking forward to seeing a lot more of your work here...
Joan

[homefryes]

Wow ... I noticed after my previous update that we were approaching 1000 views, and as I'm starting getting ready to post I see we're at 1136 views! I certainly appreciate the interest and am humbled by all the great comments and words of encouragement!

metarvo: Thanks, my friend. So far, I have attempted to mimic real life as much as I can. There is really no substation in Plymouth, but of course my substations provide the power for the quads. The other variance from real life is that there were 3-wire subtransmission lines running down Jefferson Rd. (to Jefferson), but I opted not to create these, as I already have plenty of utility poles to sift through in my menu!

Robin (rooker1): Thank you for the great compliments! Development is on the way.

Dustin (thundercrack83): I'm so glad you stopped by amid your busy schedule. I hope this update won't dissapoint. I love the utility poles, even though they take a LOT of time to place. But it's worth it, IMO.

Corey (Nexis4Jersey): Thanks for the kind words. Come back soon!

Guillaume (Sciurus):

It's just impressive , the preparation of the city before the devloppment, it's so American

Well ... yes, it is! This area of the US was well-planned, and many of the roads do create a grid pattern. What's nice, though, is that we now have FAR/R to represent the roads and rails that don't follow the grid. I remember my older cities and regions, and how grid-specific they had to be. Being able to mimic real life (as much as possible) is really proving to be a fun challenge! Thanks for coming by.

Joan (Jmouse): Computer issues - UGH! Had that with our desktop PC a couple months ago. Finally died a horrible death (luckily it was the motherboard and not the hard drive, which I have successfully pulled and it's in tact! *whew*). I'm hoping I can do more with the river as development on the new ploppable water [linkie] progresses over at 3RR. I will have to show *more* of what I do and *how* I do it; maybe it will give you inspiration. You'll have to wait on that, however, as I am working well ahead of my actual postings (I am already well into Saybrook, which is my next quad to share). So when I move on to territory that I haven't yet tested in, I will try to share more here. It will probably be 2 to 3 weeks from now. But that doesn't mean there won't be anything to see here in the mean time.

Before I get to my update, I thought I'd take a moment to give my region a more indepth explanation. I realize that my region view in my opening post is not easy to read; additionally, I have discussed how my SC4 region differs from the real-life county due to SC4 constraints. So I have made this image to help explain these variances as well as allow you to see the names of the quads (which are pretty much impossible to read in the opening post). Also keep in mind that I've reduced it by 25% from real life (half the width and half the height) to give me quads that are approximately 2.5 mi. (4 km) square:


3.2.a - Region overview and comparison to real-life map

The black lines and text indicate the real-life boundaries and names, and the green lines indicate my region's quad boundaries. The two quads in green text, as mentioned in an earlier post, have no real-life counterparts, although the names themselves are not fictional; and my Conneaut occupies a smaller portion of land than its real-life counterpart.

3.2 – Plymouth, farms among the hills
It took over 15 years to develop all of the farms, but I finally got it (mostly) filled in where I wanted. As mentioned in my earlier update, the northwest corner of Plymouth is (IRL) an extension of Ashtabula city, and will eventually be filled in more with residential, commercial and light industrial. Right now, besides some low-density residential, I have the Black Hole waste management facility there.

As alluded to in my previous update, I had to take a short break from development here to do a little BATting of a series of 4 "mini-towers" for my utility wires to cross the river gorge. I tried using my utility poles to scale the slope, but it just seemed too unrealistic; and in real life ...


3.2.b - Subtransmission tower along Plymouth Ridge Rd. (courtesy of Street View at Google Maps

... there are towers here at the gorge to carry the subtransmission lines across. So in an ongoing effort to imitate life as much as I can, here are the towers in place:




3.2.1 - Subtransmission towers mosaic at Ashtabula River

For more information on these towers, please see my development thread [linkie].

We'll move on to Saybrook next. Meanwhile, enjoy these random pictures of Plymouth:


3.2.2 - Black Hole trash facility near Woodman Ave.


3.2.3 - Ashtabula River north


3.2.4 - Plymouth Ridge Road Covered Bridge


3.2.5 - Intersection of Seven Hills Rd., Beck Rd. and State Rd. at tracks


3.2.6 - Rail curve (east of State Rd.)


3.2.7 - Plymouth Rd. (west of State Rd.)


3.2.8 - Howard Rd., Runkle Ave. and Seven Hills Rd. intersection


3.2.9 - Plymouth Station


3.2.10 - Plymouth Rd., Plymouth-Gageville Rd. and Brown Rd. intersection


3.2.11 - State Rd. south of Carson Rd.


3.2.12 - Morgan-Meaney Rd. at tracks


3.2.13 - Southwest township


3.2.14 - Central township


3.2.15 - North township


3.2.16 - Northwest township (extension of Ashtabula city)


3.2.17 - Subtransmission towers


3.2.18 - Subtransmission towers, north end


3.2.19 - Subtransmission towers at river crossing


3.2.20 - Subtransmission towers at Plymouth Ridge Rd. (SR 83) and crossing tracks


3.2.21 - Subtransmission towers, south end

-- Don

[meinhosen]

Don,
I'm continually impressed every time I stop here.  It took looking back over your pics a couple of times to realize the level of detail that you've put into everything you do... from naming roads and railroads (including RR subdivisions... that took some dedicated research...  ) to your eye for detail when it comes to transitioning power lines for different types of terrain and usage.

Very well done!

[Sciurus]

It's very beautiful, I love!! But one question: how can you use differents fields than SC4? Could you tell me please where you found them and how you use it, if it's plop or grow Thanks for the answer,

Guillaume

EDIT: I saw there's a city which is named Pierpont. And near my village, (20 km), there's already a city which is named Pierrepont

[homefryes]

You amaze me ... yes, you there, stopping by for a visit ... maybe commenting, maybe not. In the past 3 days since my last post, there have been over 100 views! Thank you all so much. I am humbled, indeed!

meinhosen: thank you so much for the kind words. I was glad to have found the old topographic maps (from the early 1900s) from which I am able to get much of my information. Of course, many of the railroads have changed hands multiple times since then, but it's fun to see the old names.

Sciurus: thanks for the compliment. I do believe all of the farms were downloaded off the Lex, and they're all growable. You can do a broad search on "type" alone, and pull up all the wonderful farming lots out there. They really do add a nice amount of variety, don't they? On Pierpont, I tried to find the origin of the name for the township and village in Ashtabula County, but found nothing. I don't know if it's tied to another place with the same (or similar) name, or if it's tied to a person (found some people with the name in my search, but didn't note any ties to Ashtabula).

3.3 – Plymouth, a mosaic
While I'm working on some other stuff (maps in particular), I thought I'd show a north-to-south mosaic that I put together. That's all for this time around.





















3.3.1 - Plymouth mosaic

-- Don