I work for a class 1 railroad and since you asked, I will tell you. I will try to explain as simple as I can. When tracks exit from a mainline, especially into a terminal, great care is given since the switches and switch points need a certain geometry to work. The tighter the excursion the slower the speed. Ideally track layers would try to get to and from the main line as quickly and efficiently as possible so other trains may pass as soon as the line is clear. Your current setup wouldn't work as the passenger service would ideally like to get back to the mainline and up to speed as soon as possible to keep with the timetable and arrival at the next station stop. Also switches are usually on level grade as to decrease the chances of derailment. Your station is good where it is, but the switches leading off should be first the outer into the mainline and the inner into the outer. That would be best for the sake of realism. If you need any evidence, see google images of the railyards of Sunnyside in NY, Union Stations in Chicago and Washington DC and Philadelphia. The Tracks branch off a "lead". The Lead is as it sounds. The lead track the branches off the mainline to all other tracks

@Frodpsss

7 ай бұрын

I love this channel, not just because of those wonderful Cities Skylines videos but the community is just so good. You can find anyone from any country with any job. I just love this content, hope it never ends. ❤

@ethanfenderson7023

7 ай бұрын

​@StudyingToBecomeADoctorF. Iv learned so much from this community ❤

@AShadowboxsFSX

7 ай бұрын

Don't forget that 2.3% is pretty steep for standard gauge trains. I believe the steepest grade on standard gauge in the US is 3.4%?

@KhriztopherGamezHD

7 ай бұрын

Love your videos as always they are awesome. But your voice acting needs work 🤭 before people attack me. It's a joke.

@RosinaEmilyW

7 ай бұрын

I’d also add that the three crossings would be very questionable. You would typically want the lead line to be the only one crossing a road if necessary. I would probably have chosen to turn the right-side roads into a subway connection.

You correctly identified that you needed to place more vegetable farms because of low production, and then you placed another grain farm lol that's why you got another petro chemicals farm. Not sure if anyone else pointed this out so just letting you know. Thanks for the new episode loving this series!

@NuckElBerg

7 ай бұрын

Yep, I went into the comments just to point this out. Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed!

I like seeing the seasons change adds a sense of realism as the city grows older each year!

For the fire watching towers: you don't need to connect them to a road, they just need electricity. Also if you don't want to unlock and build the firefighting elicpter depot because you find it too expensive, the firefighters headquarter has the option to add the helipad, which will give you one helicopter

@confused47

7 ай бұрын

The road connection is probably more for realism than game mechanics - you would unlikely find something like this without a road connection. However, the road does also supply electricity, so solves two problems in one - the requirement for electricity, and the looks of not having something randomly placed without any access.

@SpottedCreeper

7 ай бұрын

It's true that the watch towers don't need a road, but CPP likes to put one in for the sake of realism (at least I think that's what he said in other vids he's done). Usually there will be some kind of dirt/service track that leads to a tower so I think that's why he puts them in. Nice tip with the helipad for the firefighter hq - I hadn't noticed that!

@joelfrigon-henrichon5696

7 ай бұрын

A watch tower could actually just have a trail connection.

40:40 The train station actually has an upgrade for a taxi stand inside of the footprint of the building

I massively prefer watching the seasons change while you're playing, helps give me a sense of how long things take

The voice acting is absolutely elite, god I love your content

@CityPlannerPlays

7 ай бұрын

thank you so much!

@marcusjones6098

5 ай бұрын

Phil is coming for that Emmy

🎉 Glad to see Chuckles getting a fresh start!

@destynnee

7 ай бұрын

Same.

@RandomPantsFoto

7 ай бұрын

lol....that voice he does, though. Phil, your kids must love story time!

@marvinneu7111

7 ай бұрын

Seeing Chuckles made me happy. Can't wait to see what CPP does with him in the future.

@CityPlannerPlays

7 ай бұрын

Got big plans! @@marvinneu7111

@EdwardClayMeow

7 ай бұрын

I hope at some point they create a parklife DLC so Chuckles can have his own amusement park.

That triple at-grade crossing is nuts. I'd tunnel that road to clear the rail lines.

@RandomPantsFoto

7 ай бұрын

All too common all over the US, though. See that sort of dangerous nonsense everywhere!

@ThePedro8161

7 ай бұрын

​​@@RandomPantsFotonot really dangerous, there would just be gates between the outer tracks, and the other two tracks lead into a passenger station, so they aren't blocked long.

@tcniatcniatcnia

7 ай бұрын

yeah, if tunneling is too much I dont think that specific road is too necessary? you have another road up the block that fulfills the same purpose

@Someone36991

7 ай бұрын

Honestly the station should be halfway above Lincoln and halfway below Eisenhower. Unrealistic to change that now though

@justinwarthen

7 ай бұрын

It’s completely fine, I know of multiple like this in my city

I work for a railroad. The tracks would bridge over the road, but land on the other side on elevated solid ground of equal height. All the switches would come together on that flat ground then grade down from there. Great video 🎉

If you turn on developer mode on steam there is a tool that allows you to plop any building or prop in the game like plopable rico is CS1. This could be used when trying to build the gas station like in this video. Love the content!!!!

For your little truck stop, might be worth seeing how far you off the unique commercial building that’s a gas station/food stop.

Phil: 50% of the land area in this part of town will be parking lots. Also Phil: And the roads will be flanked by 6 lanes of sidewalks on either side.

@caramelldansen2204

7 ай бұрын

Pedestrian gang rise up!

loving the more story based format you’ve got going on in this series, keep it up!

If you just build one line Duluh-Bend-Nicolet bay, instead of two like you did, you'll get more passengers.

@aidianharlaar5471

2 ай бұрын

How did you get to developer mode

I'm newer to the CPP extended cinematic universe, I've only watched your tutorial videos pretty much. But I love this backstory and lore going on here between your series. It's pretty entertaining to watch a "story driven" city builder lets play.

31:01 Hello Phil there are 6x6 buildings!! You just need to wacka mole them if they pop up as 2 bldgs

Just so you know in the tooltip at 20:39 it said you DON'T need a road connection, only electricity, so if you want to change it to a path or something you can do that!

I really like the Magnolia County videos, I normally don't watch all the videos of other "city series" but I really like this one and I have learnt some things to use in my city as well. And I really like the story of the city, not just a city that is right next to a big highway.

The first "chuckle shuttle" nearly had me choaking on my dinner. Glad to see chuckles back to buisness

I would love to see a small community that super far away from the main city. And it should have some dirt roads away from it leading to just a couple of single family homes and maybe a small farm. Anyway love the content and the stories you’ve created.

@definitelynotobama6851

7 ай бұрын

I live in a city, but very close to rural parts of the county. It’s always nice to know I’m only ever about 15 minutes away from farm fresh produce.

I would love it if you could include some close ups in your city tours to get a feel for how the city feels like from the view of the residents!

@Ninjakatz-zl2du

7 ай бұрын

I second that.

@synthesis0001

7 ай бұрын

He has done that I think in the CS series but not in this series yet. It would be a great idea to get the city vibe.

Hey CPP, today is my birthday (no foolin) could we please get a graveyard? Magnolia county deserves a place where local history can be remembered, the dead can be publicly laid to rest, and goth teens will have a place to make out.

Nice use of the smokestack as a transition point in the City Tour

Personally I like the natural look, gives the city life. I also love that the timeline is much more reasonable. Only 2 years have passed in game since the start of the series, vs like 10 an episode in CS it felt like lol

Great episode. I like the fact that you’re going to take the time each video to pepper the area with more farms. That will really help further enhance the landscape on par with this part of the country irl. No comment on the visual settings personally; it doesn’t affect my ability to enjoy your content.

One of your best episode so far! The lore is amazing and the production level is so much better. Love the continuity between the multiple series! Would love to see some competition for chuckles as a form of a few bus lines/One or two historic streetcar lines

@Someone36991

7 ай бұрын

Streetcar lines > buses imo since buses get stuck in traffic because people feel the need to drive everywhere

@tcniatcniatcnia

7 ай бұрын

Depends. Sometimes a bus is better for a specific job and sometimes a streetcar is better. Buses can generally have bigger coverage and more flexibility but less capacity and less development potential. Also the reason buses get stuck in traffic is due to lack of dedicated bus lanes. Also trams generally also need dedicated tracks if you wanna avoid traffic. @@Someone36991

For the train station at the start. I think it would've maybe made for sense to elevate the entire station and then have the tracks on bridges both ways, avoiding the level crossings. It'd be expensive but I think having a line that's entirely elevated could be an interesting way of safely having these lines through built up areas. It'd also give more flexibility in how the tracks come out of the station and mean you're not forced to have 3 tracks merge into 1 immediately. Personal preference but I think it is realistic to have railways be either above or below the level of the surrounding terrain, which obviously helps with avoiding gradients.

@ThePedro8161

7 ай бұрын

The most realistic option is usually the cheapest when it comes to railways. So to be honest, other than all the retaining walls this station seems pretty realistic. Plus if it were any higher either the grades would be too severe (the 2.3% is already considered mountain grades) or he would have to use an absurd amount of eminent domain, which is expensive.

@jave2274

7 ай бұрын

i woul have lowered the whole thing with a tunnel on the other side

@a_boat93

7 ай бұрын

@@ThePedro8161 Honestly it was a tough location to begin with. I know I probably wouldn’t have done it that way but I like your point as to realism due to the cost involved. Any other option would be really expensive.

@ThePedro8161

7 ай бұрын

@@a_boat93 It's funny, in real life you see situations like this a lot. Places that seem like they were the worst place chosen for the project and that somewhere right near by would've been 1000x better. Sometimes it's the only choice they had, or what they got with what they willing to spend 💸 Also, there are places that made sense when they were built but don't anymore.

I like the fog personally. It's good to have different moods as you see the city.

On the climate settings, it might be nice to have the settings match up to real life, kind of like what you tried to do with Clearwater county. I acknowledge that it'd mean keeping it in winter at the moment, though, which might maybe not be the funnest thing. Alternatively: Australian weather. Keep it at opposite the current season for maximum chaos.

"I just want to have purpose again." -Chuck "Chuckles" the clown

I would love to see winter in this city. Its on lake superior after all. We need the bonechilling midwestern winter

Perhaps the Grand Hotel and the large fancy fountain could serve as the main tourist attractions for this city... or rather, when this town grows into a city.

am i the only one that just praises the #sun

Nothing makes me smile more than the circus-esque music in the more frustrating timelapses. Give a laurel and hardy vibe.

I work in station design and level crossing removal projects. It does not make sense to remove only 1 level crossing and maintaining the other, it defeats the purpose of a level crossing removal. I would suggest to remove the current level crossing on the right and severe the road connection (cul-de-sac it). Usually, from what I see in past and other projects, this old road would then be turned/linked into a new carpark or a bus interchange/hub. In other cases, it would be turned into a pedestrian space with a new retail TOD. On the other hand, the road which has been grade-separated (left) would then be upgraded to accommodate a larger traffic capacity. Usually, these type of urban fabric redevelopment comes with new shared user paths, parks and playgrounds. See Melbourne Level Crossings Removal Project for examples on station redevelopment, road reorganisation, and precinct improvements.

The Bob Ross of city planning. Keep killing it!

When you upgraded the road by the "gas station" area, it renamed it. I liked the "Progress Street."

This has big 'dad reading to his kids and being asked to "do the voices"' energy and I am really here for it. Personally, I think I would have done the train station at the lower elevation, lowered the tracks, and bridged the roads over it. I always tend to prefer bridging roads vs trains because in my mind that's going to be less expensive in the real world (and minimize grade changes for the rail). It would also let you keep those connection tracks on the ground level, which again seems way more maintainable IRL? e: thinking about it more: I am not a Civil Engineer, but I suspect you'd always prefer to cut/remove earth than build up, because of compaction/stability. If you build up when you grade you've got to do a lot more work/spend a lot more time ensuring that you have a strong bed that won't shift over time, wheras if you cut to the lower elevation you just have to shore up the sides.

In the US, freight always has priority over passenger service for rail lines. Jameela would not care less about sharing her lines with passenger service since it would theoretically not impact their frieght service. This is the main reason that passenger trains in the US are terrible with timeliness and service options.

I don’t know if you noticed, but instead of doing the vegetable farm, you did the grain farm at the end.

The street under the retaining wall after the grade separation is one bumpy, wonky ride from the looks of it!

I personally like keeping the seasons as they are, it's nice to see them transition through the year.

You really have to admire chuckles ability to switch horses ij mid stream and hid hustle. From a park owner, to an attempted politician to a taxi company owner!

if you have railway lines near or going through suburban areas, it’s realistic for there to be fencing/walls around the trackor the track being slightly elevated so animals or people don’t go on the track. you can maybe add an asset of this?

@BattleshipOrion

7 ай бұрын

Maybe where you're at, but if you look on Google Earth, the common stations are either just platforms, or old train stations, with no fencing, or barely any (only for along the parking lot). A train will take out an elk, and a grizzly, and not care until it meets a something larger than a pickup with trailer, people, and animals are not issues...unless said people want to forever sleep...in that case if you (anyone who sees this comment) are thinking that, please get help. You are worth it.

@advancify_

7 ай бұрын

@@BattleshipOrion i’m talking about the tracks and not the stations. i’m from india and we here have a lot of train infrastructure and i’ve noticed there is a wall around busy tracks..

@ThePedro8161

7 ай бұрын

@@advancify_ You don't really see many fences along tracks here unless they're blocking sound, separating the tracks from a park or it's a really busy pedestrian area. I wouldn't expect to see a fence here, people should know to stay off the tracks and railroads don't particularly care about animals.

@w.porello8601

7 ай бұрын

There's also no fences in the game yet you can place 🤦‍♂️

@daz184o_o6

7 ай бұрын

yeah it's the same in europe, there'll be fences along railroads near any urban areas

great video as always! i personally like having the seasons and precipitation, as i think it adds more life to the builds. the little eesny details I really appreciate, i think it adds to the city and area overall.

I love how you use characters and add a bit of roleplay and lore to your cities, it makes watching your videos more engaging and fun. Also the character art is really good.

I love the "we don't want to share with passenger trains" drama. As someone who frequents Amtrak's Cardinal and Metra's Heritage Corridor (Chicagoland), that hits close to home. Both are limited services because of freight windows.

Only thing bugging me was the train crossing over the road, thers like 4 of them seperate and you can get caught in the middle, right now its fine but as soon as you have more trains and more usage its gonna get hectic

@Franimus

7 ай бұрын

IRL there'd probably be just one gate around the outside, to prevent that

The effort and editing and style in your video is just top tier

For my money, I like the variety that comes with weather and seasons. You can't really appreciate how good spring looks without the cold of winter. Night time is too much, but rain and such is welcome in my book.

Ngl, that line tool for the trees is really satisfying to watch lol

Beyond being a pro in CS you're also a great storyteller. Thanks for the episode and the series Phil. I wish you success ❤❤❤

cool fact here. You don't need a road to your fire watch towers. Just a low voltage power line

I love the idea of adding a farm or two every episode. I’d also say you can add plenty more “orchards”. If you plant certain bushes in tight rows with the line tool you could even make vineyards. Re: industrial park, you could try adding small stone quarries amongst your factories. The stone quarry texture would help it have a “pavement” feel.

I love how the phone number in the docs is for the Naval Observatory Clock. I was worried for a second because it wasn’t a 555 number, but then I recognized it from when I had an analog watch!

Yay Chuckles!

Phil: "Oooh 2.3, that's a good grade!" Trains: *"Father, why must you punish me?"* 😂 You could name the street connecting to the station from Amity Lane to Station Road or Station Street.

“I just want to have a purpose again” absolutely slew me.

I prefer having the fog and climate time. it just makes it feel more like a living and breathing place, rather than a 3D build plan haha

As a driver of a car, buildings close to the tracks worry me. I imagine cutting off sightlines of the tracks until you're right on them could be a bit dangerous! I love the build though!

That' phone number is not for Johnson Aaggregates, it's for the US Naval Observatory.

Nice to see the mods creeping back into the game. I’m holding out until the official forum is launched but they look fantastic. Once the community starts creating assets we are in for a treat.

First engagement!!!

Good tip for rail and other long transportation structures like highways: if you use the complex curve tool, click straight ahead, then click on the rail/highway you’re trying to merge and then drag out your connection, you get a really really nice curve and junction that flows perfectly

As someone who went to school at UMD (Duluth, MN) I'm so happy to see that you changed the train color to maroon! Go bulldogs!

If you're adding taxi stands, you definitely need one in your down town/high street area. Also, I wouldn't be scared of having industrial near housing, it is pretty realistic. Looking specifically at towns in the South Wales valleys. As it is, this town actually feels like a commuter town to me, where people live because it's cheep, but it's easy to get to work in the big cities on the train. This also makes the lack of offices make sense. I see more heavy industrial here rather than large office complexes, lot's of small residential areas with several industrial estates of varying size, but with good access to the main train line.

@SineN0mine3

2 ай бұрын

Unfortunately your cims will be made unhappy by air pollution pretty quickly if you zone regular industry near them. One way to work around this is to use small zones, 2x2 and 3x3 industry buildings usually spawn without smoke stacks and don't seem to make air pollution. They still make noise and ground pollution but as long as you don't zone the residential right on top of the industrial the cims don't usually complain.

Chuckles! Don’t know what to think. Poor guy is going to have the same problem here. There’s going to be a lot of development.

America city planner: parking lots are my favourite use of ground space, I will prioritise them over every other possible amenity.

The zoning between the train station and W. Magnolia would be best served with commercial. Places to eat, relax, or burn time while waiting for their departure. Additionally, no residents want to hear horns and bells all day and night.

I think it makes more sense to create train lines that go through your station, as most likely an Amtrak line would go from Duluth to Nicolet Bay or something rather than having 2 individual lines to Bend. You could call it the Superior Line or something more creative. Love the new and old series

Is it just me, or while futzing with the tracks, you severed Magnolia from the other side of the railroad-and then never reestablished the connection? I think that might be the source of your crime issue (and why that building a few blocks away burned down while you were developing the land adjacent the station on Magnolia). Service vehicles are having a harder time getting there, going the long way around! Speaking of the futzing, can I just say I absolutely love the motif of the "please hold" music playing while you fast-forward through iterations of laying things out? Absolutely perfect choice of tune for that. The whole bit just cracks me up every time.

a good example of a train station with a lot of cool bridges is the station of Mechelen, Belgium that is in full renovation. There are old bridges and new ones. And there is a rood running under the station!

OHHH I love seeing Chuckles coming back. Makes sense too since it's all in the Superior region

I love the natural, ever-changing feel that CS2 brings -- LUTs included! Messing with fog makes sense for visibility, and precipitation for youtube bitrate, but hopefully keep mot changes to a minimum!

I feel like that large tree in the middle of the 3 way intersection in the new industrial park would be a sight line nightmare in an area with large trucks.

🎉 The Chuckle Shuttle seems like the best taxi service known to man. Also I appreciate the story telling in this series (that also goes for all of your past series). The storylines give the towns a sense of history and that really adds a lot to the series and makes it feel more realistic.

Not sure if anyone has pointed this out, but with the line tool you have the ability to randomly rotate trees and bushes. It's a nice way to break up the pattern and make it look more natural. It's the dice button on the tool menu.

At grade crossings in the middle of the city always remind me of when I lived in Lincoln (UK) where there are two right in the middle of the city. Whenever a train came through the High Street would be at a stand still. Unfortunately there are no height differences for bridging so the section of the high street was pedestrianised and a new loop was put in to link to flyover bridges either side of the city centre. Must of been quite the challenge for the planners!

I would like to see the at-grade rail crossing near the station turned into a pedestrian road instead. Nice to see Chuckles again, and I can't wait to see the expansion of Johnson Aggregates.

This build is great! to help with realism you could think about adding a row of both small and medium sized dense shrubs on the north and west facing edges of all of the farms which is known as a shelter belt, it helps protect farms against wind erosion. Most farms in my area use hawthorn as they also grow fruits for the birds to eat rather than eating the crops.

Oh god, that was one hell of a jumpscare! Didnt expect Chuckles moving here, damm

You know, Phil - I hear the waiting is the hardest part. 🙂 I love the idea of you slowly surrounding the city by adding one square of farmland with every episode. Sure, some of it will eventually be urbanized but in the interim it definitely will add to the overall feel of the area.

Consider making that pedestrian path down from the station into a pedestrian road. The neighbourhood deserves it!

"I just wanna have a purpose again"... Well damn, that was suddenly both relatable and dark 😅

While I don't work with trains, I feel like the tracks would realistically all meet a built up berm (rather than three elevated sections with gutters that could collect trash, water and foliage).

This has become my go-to series ‘must-watch-on-release-day’. Loving every moment. 1) On the fuel station, you were right to go 3x3, but I think the taxation for them comes under the “vehicles” section of the commercial property (not the petrochemicals slider in industry that you lowered. 2) As a Brit, I enjoy the dull & miserable look to seasons… they feel natural and cosy through association

You are one of the most entertaining creators on here. I just love the story telling, and sort of putting yourself in the shoes of people trying to live and work in the cities you're building. It just adds another layer. Following a person or family in the game can be interesting, but putting a realistic story to it just makes it even better.

"You're gonna make a killing, Chucky." Not sure why, but that seems like a poor choice of words.

the way I gasped when Chuckles showed up like a celebrity cameo 😂

A long time ago, I stayed at one of the MIT dorms for a summer camp. I noticed that the train tracks are literally right next to the dorm. as close as those buildings are to those track. the wall facing the tracks has no exits or entrances. if there were, you'd literally walk out of the building into the tracks. the only exits are on the other 3 walls of the building. so i think it's realistic to be that close.

I had such a crazy week that I couldn't watch the latest episodes, but in the other hand I can binge those now and not limit myself to just one 😁

It was then that Chuckles realized his one great truth: you can never outrun your past. But, maybe, you can out-drive it.

@wecluse

7 ай бұрын

Chuckle Shuttle's motto: you can never outrun your problems, but you can always out-drive it

Hello! Great video as always! I have some recommendations as a railroad enthusiast for railroads that can help with future infrastructure in the area. 1. It's important to avoid level crossings in the area. Especially on the main line that crosses the map. They are dangerous, depending on the amount of rail and road traffic. The heavier the traffic on one or the other, the more dangerous and complicated it will be to manage flows on either infrastructure. However, where there's no choice, you can leave them until a new road has been created to bypass the level crossing, and then cut the road afterwards. On the other hand, on secondary lines, level crossings make all the sense in the world; you're not going to build big infrastructures for 2 trains an hour. Historically speaking (and I'm speaking mainly for Europe), level crossings have always been very common, even on rail lines heavily used by both freight and passengers. It often happened that a town was cut in two by the tracks, and so there were many level crossings. Once cars and trucks began to take up more space (especially after the Second World War), the risks for users increased considerably. The dismantling of industrial tracks (for direct wagon loading in factories and then return by locomotives to the main station marshalling yard) already made it possible to eliminate a large proportion of small level crossings. As for the roads on the main lines, governments either created bridges or tunnels where possible, keeping the original route or cutting the road and rethinking the road system. This had a major impact on towns and villages, because very often there were level crossings on either side of the station. 2. For switches and entrances to freight and passenger stations. You have to avoid bottlenecks to get to the platform. It's preferable for each platform to have its own access road. After that, it all depends on how the tracks are used. A little-used platform can have a single-track access connected to another single-track access elsewhere. In the case of the new station, it would be necessary to have a double track that exits the main line and then separates into a single track for each double platform at least. I hope I've made myself clear, and I'd like to thank all those who took the trouble to read me! Have a nice day!

As a train driver I would say that your station and tracks seems reasonable and realistic, especially for this specific location.

The rail station has 2 through tracks (no issue with these) and 4 passenger platforms. I believe that normally you would have a pair of up tracks and a pair down. Each pair would go into a single (as you have them), but they would then merge to a double before joining the double main - you have them all merging to a single before joining the dual main - this restricts station access to one train from either direction, rather than allowing a simultaneous arrival and departure from either end. Since this is not a major town (yet), it would be more likely that the intercity train would pass through in both directions, rather than all terminate here.

As Chuckles is the only sane character in any of the CPP lore, I tentatively celebrate.

Great build! Looking at the train station the pedestrian bridge seems a little odd since there's no way to get down to the path that runs under it. In terms of accessibility IRL you might see a staircase on one side along the front retaining wall and an accessible ramp switchback on the other. Alternatively in euro-world the whole path might be ground level to an entrance with faciliites like shops, lockers, etc on the ground floor and elevators to platforms above. I'll use my imagination - can't let perfect be the enemy of good!

For your consideration, though this is my first watch-through, so apologies if it's already been noted!: Some of those farm fields may have one large lone tree in them (or maybe more depending on the size), especially if they're Old farms, these trees let the workers before mechanical tractors have some place to take their breaks that's not in the blazing sun, as well as shade for livestock.

I find the Complex curve is really your friend when placing train tracks.