Delta Route

[magickmaker]

This is a thread which I'll be using to post images of my current project, a former payware version of the C&G railroad in Greenwood Mississippi. Originally set in the 1950's, (the payware version still is), the freeware version is smack in the heyday of steam, and is built to represent a period some time before WW2, but after WW1. No specific time is set however.

(Pictures will be pending in a few days.)

NOW WITH PICTURES!!!!

 

[evan123]

Why do people post threads like this, but then they don't post any screenshots.

 

[magickmaker]

Because you jumped the gun on that one. I have to decide what, of the some 150 pictures I have already, that I will start posting. Note, it says

"Pictures will be pending in a few days."

Meaning that it will be a day or so (probably early tomorrow) before I have the pictures sorted out. Please be patient, there's a TON to sort through. Some are build shots, showing how it's developed, some are finished, and some are repeats where I've changed details.

Ok, here goes. Please read the captions on these, they're important. If you see a double pic, the caption may tell you the reason: CLICKABLE THUMBNAILS!



This is a future expansion. I have a bit more research to do on this area, but it looks like this will be a rather highly detailed Rural area. When I start phase 2 of the route and work back from Greenwood to Columbus, this will be the last few miles of flat land before you reach the hills of Carrol county.



This is the interchange with the Illinois Central railway. The stations are only place holders to remind myself to update them. In my research, I found that the C&G station (the smaller brick one) is in the wrong place. The size is right, but the construction wrong. The original was wooden. The houses in that area are rather accurate, and show a feature of southern cities. IE: the "Black" side of town. (Note: during segregation, and well into the 1990's, most Southern US cities had neighborhoods which had a high african american population. Typically they were the worst, most run down section of town, and ALWAYS on the "bad" side of the tracks.)







Downtown Greenwood. It's not perfect, but the best I can do with what I have. There are several details still lacking, such as sidewalks and driveways. In my research I also found that the roads, at least up until the mid 1940's, were dirt and cobble in places. Thus, these current asphalt roads will be replaced. In the distance, you can see the three smokestacks of my first MAJOR mistake on the route. It will be fixed.



"wright" station power house. When I started building this, I always remembered the power house as being this odd squat building that supplied supplemental power for the city. I assumed that it had always been this, and built it thusly (as you see here.) I have since learned that this assumption was wrong. This power house, at one time, provided power for a large ice cream factory that was located on the property. I will be modifying this scene to reflect that factory. The buildings will be moved around some, and much of the coal loading details will be removed.



Greenwood High School, original building. Built in the 1920's, I got this location just about correct. It had to be compressed slightly, due to my misunderstanding of how the roads worked in the area, but oddly I seemed to have gotten the original 1920's orientation correct. The road on the North side (left to the viewer and near the cooling tower of the "power plant") was diverted in the mid 1940's and the housing block along that area demolished. This allowed for expansion of the school. Also, much of that northern wooded area was taken up by the old ice cream factory.

 

[magickmaker]

More pics.



The 1950's style homes here always looked great in the test pictures of the route, but in the end they weren't the right styles. This type of home wasn't found in Greenwood, at least as far as my research shows. These homes will be replaced with something more reflective of the city, both the location and the period. Also, the roads will be made dirt, in place of the current asphalt.



This is the cotton Gin industrial area. Most of these silos date from the early 1920's, through to the current (2000's) era. The power plant, however, was built in the 1940's, and will be removed. You can start to see the plowed cotton fields in the distance also.



This is the cotton field area. Since there wasn't a perfect match for a cotton field, I had to use paint and some fudging with details. The track in this area is raised above the field on a levee, which you see crossing in front. More details will be added in future, with possible crops being planted. For the 1920's version of the route, this will be done BY HAND. Expect to see large swaths of people working this field.



Crossing the Yazoo River. Paint ends here, though much of it remains to be fixed. The river bed here needs painting, and some details will be added. The cotton field on the other side will be detailed, as will the three county roads. There may be an easter egg or two in this area, so keep your eyes open.



Itta Bena. The county road on the right crosses a simple wooden bridge that parallels the former wooden trestle. In the 1930's, this trestle would be the scene of an accident when it gave way under a short train. Several boxcars were dumped into the lake below. This lake, at one time, was part of the Yazoo river, but has now become an "Oxbow" lake. Several crossings such as this will be found on the route.



Downtown Itta Bena. Some of these buildings will be replaced with pioneer type wooden structures that more represent the era and area. The streets weren't paved until the 1970's.

 

[magickmaker]

Progress note: I've decided to continue building through to Morehead, and then just come back and deal with the issues then. Depending on how things go, there may be a payware tie in (not mine) to this route in a few weeks. However that remains to be seen. I'll have updated pics soonish though. I plan on working straight through to the junction and then coming back and finishing the details. The rough stuff like now will hold till then.