Hello, what are everyone’s favorite German freight routes? Already have KWG, thinking about getting Frankfurt-Fulda, but open to suggestions. Requirements: TOD 4, and preference given to length. Thanks!
Riesa-Dresden with BR 193 add-on. But Frankfurt-Fulda is extremely cool from a freight perspective as well.
Frankfurt to fulda 99% of the jobs are only short trips there are a few full length trips. Other good routes ruhr sieg nord and mainspessbarn and mannheim.
You requirement of TOD4 lighting makes it much harder. The better freight routes are imo the old ones like RSN and MSB. For both routes you can get additional freight locos too, for even more services. Koln - Aachen has freight services too if you own RSN and MSB (original and new journeys timetable) or KWG (revamped timetable). Riesa - Dresden is remastered, so it has TOD4 lighting and has freight. I do not have that much knowledge about the latest routes, as I prefer to play non TOD4 routes.
Salzburg-Rosenheim has some great freight runs and has a pretty decent distance (89 kilometers). Semmeringbahn is shorter, but provides more of a challenge up or downhill (with the wonderful OBB 1116). The last one is Austrian, but still very good
Just bought Mannheim yesterday and it seems like one of the best routes for german freight. You get the mountain pass which feels like a well done mix of Main Spessart Bahn and Tharandter Rampe, then you have the straight forward line which still is everything but boring, especially as its split in two sections, and at last you arrive at Ludwigshafen before going to Mannheim Hbf. I noticed only 2 issues one the route, being a poorly done street at Ludwigshafen Mitte and a really noticeable lighting issue in a tunnel between Neustadt and Kaiserslautern. Have not tested it yet but i heard many freightservices get pulled on the side to let a faster train pass by, which would add much to the experience. Shunting seems to be also a rather big thing, even tho it doesnt come with a shunter and you need to have it from another route. If you favor freight runs then i suggest you collect routes with wagons layering across most/all other routes. Not for the route but Ruhr Sieg Nords loco addons bring you two exclusive freight wagons being the Uacns (363 dlc) and DB Falns (155 dlc). The 363 will also make shunting layers on most routes playable and the 155 is a really good loco, which you could also get from Bremen to Oldenburg which offers the best version of Laaers we have in game, as it features colored cars instead of plain grey ones.
Thanks all! Very disappointing to hear that Frankfurt-Fulda mostly has short runs. Leaning toward Salzburg due to length. Have heard many good things about Dresden Riesa, but have concerns about short runs. TOD 4 is a requirement because I like playing at night and don’t like the night lighting of older routes. Otherwise, I’d love Tharandter Rampe. I’ll reframe it this way: interested in runs that are 1 hour minimum. Actual length is less important than end to end time. Thanks!
I almost never play at night, but I believe Riesa - Dresden was praised for it's night lighting. I'm not sure if this was only before the remaster or also after, but I'm pretty sure some people of the night can tell you
If I remember correctly, already the original (pre-ToD4) version had some advanced night lighting. Matt saird during the presentation stream that the reflective signs (e.g. hectometer signs or the signs that show a signal is imminent) are visible much earlier at night. I think that this former advantage is no longer relevant, as Riesa-Dresden has ToD4 since TSW4, like the other ToD4 routes. In terms of service length, it is true that the freight services are relatively short, due to the overall high speed on the route. So if you want uninterrupted runs of over an hour, this is probably not the ideal route for you. For me personally, the advantage is that there is much going on and you can jump into a new service after finishing one run at Dresden or Riesa. It is sad that they did not make the route Dresden to Leipzig, like in TSC.
Are you confusing Frankfurt-Fulda with S-bahn Frankfurt? It's not really correct, depending on your definition (and objectively incorrect if we take "99%"). I just checked the freight timetable on FTF and counted 22 services (out of 72) that exceed 45 minutes (arbitrary cutoff). A further 5 services exceeded 30 minutes, and the remainder are between 15 and 20 minutes (short skips between Offenbach and Hanau or Flieden and Fulda). I'm pretty sure this is less than IRL, but the issue is that the line between Frankfurt Ost and Hanau Nordseite (via "Mainhattan") is AI only unfortunately, and afaik this is the main freight line between Frankfurt Süd and Hanau. Nonetheless that's still a decent (albeit on the low end compared to other routes) number of lenghty services, some even taking 90 minutes going all the way from Offenbach Gbf to Fulda.
There are more short services than long ones (as I wrote above), but by your "99%" I thought you were confusing FTF with Frankfurt S-bahn which only has some short services between Mainz-Bischofsheim and Wiesbaden (iirc). 30% of the services on FTF are "long".
I haven’t played any German routes for at least 3 years. After this though I might just give them another go.
How is Mannheim in terms of runtime? Length looks a bit short, but the scenery looks really good. In terms of visuals, how does Mannheim compare to Salzberg? I do like forested, windy type scenery with hills & rivers & such. Thanks
Salzburg is actually one of the most beautiful routes in my opinion. With the neutral sections you have a few things to do, the variation is insane when you have all the required add ons and it is just a beautiful route with mountains, lakes, forests and open fields. I actually have all the German routes and like TOD4 a lot; these would be my proposals for you: - Salzburg-Rosenheim - Frankfurt-Fulda - Mannheim-Kaiserslautern - Semmeringbahn (Austrian though)
Thanks all! Just picked up Frankfurt-Fulda to start, TSW 5 deluxe edition was on sale for $14 and I have an interest in WCML with mods, so the price was right. Salzburg, Mannheim and Semmeringbahn do sound good, so I’ll prob pick those up also when they’re discounted 50% off or more, or part of a bundle. I only buy TSW when it’s at a hefty discount lol…
Mittenwaldbahn is pretty nice. Then again, I really like the OBB1020 and 365. As said, RSN is good bit dated. Maintalbahn, Koblenz and Nittertalbahn aren't too shabby (the 218 is fun)
the thing with Bremen-Oldenburg is that most freight runs are also only ~30 minutes- and almost all of the longer runs do an intermediate stop at Hude for no reason as no train passes them. This is quite an immersion breaker as you have to stop to complete the „mission“ but it’s just so unrealistic :/
I drive the freight services on FTF for now and yes, there are short services but at least 30% of long services
Do not forget about Koln Aachen! Despite the length is the same as before, now it has much more traffic, so you have some yellows and reds! Furthermore if you use "Free Roam",... you will have your extra train, and signals. I am enjoying it very much. It is a pity it does not have 3d clouds!
I named Koln - Aachen already, but SKA comes by default without freight and also has not the by OP required TOD4. To have freight you need additional layers, RSN and MSB (original and new journeys timetable) or KWG (revamped timetable).
I like freight runs with adverse signals and DRA tops my list for this. Between the TSW1-2 and TSW3-5 Awesome Services spreadsheets, there are nearly 20 DRA freight runs including 1 GOAT.
Yes, you are right about additional layers. In my case, I have so many routes, as I started with this sim, so many years ago.
