[update 3: Linke Rheinstrecke] Hud-less Driving In Germany: List Of Station Distances

Update 3: Added station distances for Linke Rheinstrecke. Document link at the end of this post.

If you're new: What's this and why is it useful?

On German routes, you can have the ultimate immersive experience and turn off the HUD completely without prior route knowledge. How? Look for these signposts next to the track. They tell you how many kilometres away you are from the beginning of that particular track. Real German drivers have a detailed list of important distance markers in front of them, showing the lacations of speed changes, signal blocks, stations etc.

My simplified list gives you the station distances for all German routes so you'll know when to start braking with the HUD turned off. Print it out, use it on a second monitor or put it on your phone so can check the list on the fly.

Example: You're on Ruhr-Sieg Nord driving from Finnentrop to Hagen (east to west). The count starts at Hagen, so the numbers decrease as you go along. Letmathe station is as Km 21,0 - so when you pass the 21,8 marker, you know you have 800 m left for braking.

The count can suddenly change when you cross a junction, for example when you drive an ICE on Dresden-Riesa, where you use the northern bypass. The count changes for the short connecting track, then again once you join the bypassing track, then it changes again. This is usually no problem for judging the braking distance. One instance I found where this is a problem (on Tharandter Rampe), I added the "old" distance in brackets.

Linke Rheinstrecke

I've just finished checking every station on foot and modifying some of the official distances I found on Wikipedia. I felt that at some stations, the listed marker was too far towards one end of the platform, for example, making it less useful.

Another issue: my system of using bold for IC/ICE services, italics for RB services only and normal font for stations with RE in addition to RB services hit a limit on this route. Some IC services stop only at Koblenz and Mainz, others stop at Boppard too. So always check your list of stops with "T" at the beginning of a service if you want to keep the HUD switched off throughout and don't want to miss a station. Because I didn't check every single RE and RB service (it's only been two hours since the Steam release, after all), the same advice applies.

If you find any mistakes, please post them in this thread so I can correct them.

Link to document on Google Drive

Gute Fahrt and happy driving!

 

Wow, what a great job!
The distance to the next stop is what keeps me from turning off the hud to make everything feel more immersive. By printing this out I'm going to be able to keep it in front of me all the time and it will be a great help.
I only see that the Koln-Aachen route is missing?

Thank you very much for sharing it!

 

D'oh! I was so fixated on the perfect two pages that I forgot I hadn't re-integrated Köln-Aachen...
I'm leaving for a holiday in a few hours, but when I come back, I'm gonna update this post with a new link to a (less beautifully arranged) document.

The idea for this had been floating around inside my head for a long time and because of said holiday, I decided to finally do it. Glad you like it, it really is so much more immersive.

I also don't care about DTG's stopping points anymore unless I'm forced to - ahem, Meißen branch - but rather use the H-signs like a real driver would, indeed would have to (tbf, the game's stopping point often coincides with the correct H signal). And if there are none, I follow the real-life example I saw in various documentaries and do what they call "serviceorientiertes Halten" - stopping where it's good for the passengers if train length allows for it..)

 

Excellent Job but in the Case of Riesa-Dresden you might need the Hud to get the Dispatcher message since some junctions cause you to run 5-20 minutes late

Spoiler: Do the Last Chapter in the Freight Journey DB BR363

You are stuck in the Chemical plant yard for 20 minutes then go. Therefore Hud on for dispatcher message. Then off

 

Wow you guys are hardcore! I sometimes drive without the bottom-right part of the HUD, so relying upon the locomotive instruments for the gauges, I leave the top-left for the distance to next stop and the top-right for the upcoming speeds and signals, but without the actual signal aspect. These represent the driver’s route knowledge which I simply don’t have, and allow me to jump in to any route and have a satisfying experience.

 

Bumping this for the updated document.

 

Bumping thread for the new update.

 

Great work, BIG Thanks!

 

Bumping thread for new update.

 

The problem with removing the HUD is that you lose the gradient indicator. That's the only thing I really need since it's difficult in a sim to spot inclines from the cab.

 

Fair enough, though real drivers (apparently) don't have one either one German locos. I find that watching for "strange" speed drops/increases works for me.