Linke Rheinstrecke: Mainz-koblenz

They said the route is set in the 1980s or 1990s, but do those parked cars say '90s to anyone?

Other than that, it looks pretty good. Finally a german route I am excited about, I like old stuff.

 

Good point, but remember this is all WIP.

 

Very, very hyped for this one, The linke Rheinstecke is like the dawlish sea wall of germany in terms of popularity and scenery.
Express services will take about an Hour with possible stops at Bingen and Boppard, Local services about one and a half.
Also there is a lot of freight, possibly 155 layer, and a wide range of fast, semifast and all stops services.
If done well this will remove Dresden Riesa from its throne of the best german Route.

Also lots do do scenario wise, as the route today doesnt differ very much from the late 90s Version, so ICE1s, 101s and your usual German stock will fit in perfectly. Light Signals, PZB, and all you'd need for modern operation

Stations on the route:


And some scenic shots

 

They really need boat traffic on the Rhine, it's incredibly busy IRL, mostly freight barges but some pleasure craft, too.

 

Looks like another Day 1 purchase for me.

 

This sounds amazing, it feels like my begging for '90s routes has finally been answered.

I do have a few requests though

It would be nice to see the livery variety of this era be represented. An alternate orient red livery for the BR 103 (without the 'skirt' around the couplers) would be nice. I also hope the coaches for the BR 103 are a nice mix of 1st, 2nd and dining at the very least, in both Orient red, classic beige/blue and beige/red colours. The 110 could also use an alternative livery, as some were still operating in even the original kobaltblau livery into the '90s. Seeing beige/blue and cobalt blue liveries for the 110 would be great. It would also be nice to see the original mostly unpainted silberling livery with modern DB AG logo, as this was also more than a common sight in '97. Of course these can be made in livery editor, but never as good as the DTG versions due to licensing and material restrictions.

Lastly, I would really suggest adding in a backdated version of the BR 155 in Orient Red and possibily even the original bordeaux red livery with modern DB AG logos combined with some of the older freight wagon types in game to have freight traffic at least somewhat represented. This could be further enhanced with the BR 363 in blue/beige.

Don't want to be too demanding, but I do think this is some relatively easily achievable variety (as opposed to entirely new loco's and coaches, as this is mostly reskins) that would be needed to represent this era of railroading correctly. And I wanted to get these thoughts in as early into the developement process as possible.

Otherwise I'm really excited. Very interesting rolling stock on a beautiful and interesting route in a never before seen era (well kind of as niddertalbahn is set in the same era and will probably release before it) will make for a probably fantastic route!

 

WOAH! Over the moon with this announcement of course! SUPERHAPPY!

As @jolojonasgames mentioned:
The Br103 without the skirt:
And the Br110s:

 

Of all the content announced today, this is the one I am most excited for, coming from someone from the UK who loves historic UK content! The TSG route I am also very excited for.

 

I do wonder if we'll get the cab car (pic below) which the 101 should of had

 

Probably not, they were still relatively new and somewhat rare in 1997, and the BR 103 can't operate with them as it doesn't have the controls for it.

 

I’m actually not too familiar with the BR 103, but it looks stunning! Always cool to have trains with unique cab shapes (something I like about the baby bullet, for example). I hope they’ve learned their lesson from the 101 DLC and include all the wagons this time around.

The route will definitely have amazing views. The real life pictures shared above look stunning, but I’ve got to admit the scenery in the in-game screenshots looks rather average so far. Also wondering if there will be much variety since you’re essentially running alongside the same river at all times.
Still lots of time until the release, though. I hope the stations are interesting, they do something about the really bad TSW water textures and add lots of boats to the Rhein river. Interestingly, the line on the other side of the Rhein is basically visible throughout the entire journey. Wonder if we’ll see AI trains on there?

As a general question, what do you guys think about the route choice, especially compared to other possibilities in the region?

 

Nice news!

Small important details:

The "DB logos" do not match: The locomotives bears the old Bundesbahn logos, while the wagons bear the new DB AG logo (from 1994). The 110 as well as the 103 should also carry the new logo when the route is around 1997.

 

Going to be honest here, despite liking the BR 103 - and very much enjoy the 110 and n-Wagens on Bremen - I'm highly disappointed Mainz-Koblenz is not in a modern day era personally, especially considering Niddertalbahn is in 1992, and the last route - Bremen - wasn't completely modern either which already heavily featured n-Wagens. I like modern-day German routes because they feel more like an actual wider network and can use a lot of existing locos/content. That's just my personal opinion - so please don't moan at me!

 

I've stood on that Turm to take photos. It's such a phenomenal photo location with the trains passing between the towers.

Cheers

 

I thought the same thing, especially compared to TSG one where you could see some clearly 1980s VW looking vehicles in the back.

That said Matt specified it was 1997 so the rounded cars might not be thaaaat bad.

Cars/trucks and matching era/continent is something DTG needs to work on a bit when it comes to immersion in general though.

 

still work in progress so maybe the cars might get changed, who knows

 

The replacement of the old with the new logo was not immediate, quite some BR 103's carried the old logo until their retirement in the early 2000s

Edit: also, are you the same traindori I follow on Instagram, it truly is a small world

 

totally agree! This one is something very different from what we have seen in case of German content and it will be fantastic for sure! But I also do love the modern day German content and this route is one of the best ones in Germany! I always dreamed of driving the Br101 with an IC towards Mainz along the Rhine in this game and as I heard that this will only be possible in the scenario planner it was a bit of a disappointment for me :/
Therefore I have an idea:

Dear DTG, I would like to suggest two ideas I have for this route, as it really looks like this will be the best route for TSW so far:
1. Additional timetable without anything else.
Maybe it will be possible to add a timetable from 2017/2018 when the railway really was an IC paradise. As Matt said: Only a few things changed since 1997 and therefore it wouldn’t bother if there are a few things different from reality! But being able to have a real timetable instead of the scenario planner would make this route more than perfect!!

2. Add on pack with the IC cab car
This one would cost about 15-20€ and would include the following:
-IC cab car and restaurant car for Br101
-timetable set in 2017/2018
-route built like in that era (
like it was made with Isle of Wight by Rivetgames- small changes for a new train and a new timetable)

I would really appreciate taking those into consideration as it would make this route something really unique! And if you want to get some appetite for the more modern version of this route, here is a very stunning cabride from Koblenz to Mainz!

 

Anyone know whether it would be likely to see the 103 layer onto other existing routes, or are they already gone by those times ?

 

It should be on HMA as static scenery at Munchen Hfb at a very minimum.

 

It might sub in like the 110 does.

 

Cover art DB BR103 with the Lorelei Rock. The DB BR103 should introduce Deutsche Bundesbahn Sleeper Cars Couchette and Sleeper. When layered to ERA 7 german route 182 can pull them which it does here in real life as the 23:45 Koblenz 0:39 Mainz Hbf trip. This route should go to Frankfurt Am Main Hbf with Mainz Frankfurt Am Main Flughafen Hbf getting the DB BR420 roll sign equipped to Say S8 Mainz Hbf Offenbach Ost Hanau. That DB BR420 gets overtaken by the DB BR103 at some point between Mainz Hbf and Frankfurt am Main Hbf

 

If it does that, hopefully for 101 Services. 103s and dostos from ingame are from two different eras, unlike a 110 and Dostos were never seen together with any dosto Variant and technically incompatible. You might as well let a 66 sub in SoS.

 

Looks like I will be purchasing my first ever German route. I have just spent an holiday in the area (Rudesheim). My Hotel was right next to the station so spent most of the holiday watching trains while the wife shopped.
Am I correct in thinking this is the opposite side of the river to Rudesheim

 

Having just watched a Rechte Rheinstrecke cab ride, I must say it would have been epic to include both the Rheinstreckes in this route. Koblenz features a bridge to cross the rhine river and the routes can merge back together in Mainz.
Also, at some points the river is so narrow that you can see trains whizzing past on the other side of the river.

 

Yes, that should be me.^^ True, the world is small.

Regarding the logos: That may be the case with the 103, but otherwise all the locos were relabelled fairly quickly. In 1997 all sorts of color variants were out and about, but the logos were already pretty consistent. If I google for pictures in 1997, I hardly find any with old DB logos.

 

English please. It's a rule.

 

Oops, the automatic translation in Edge probably took over the German text. Now it should fit.

 

Honestly, if only one shape of Br 103 could be present, I would drop the skirts. It's also the short version they're making, so they should stop numbering at 103.215 since .216 and newer were all 70 cm longer.

 

According to the Wikipedia page, 1997 was in the middle of the swap from 103 to 101 pulled intercity trains. I feel like the 101 should be given a 50 % sub-in rate on this line. Does anyone know if any ICE 1 ever ran on this line?

 

It does, as the high speed line between Frankfurt and Cologne is Limited to ICE3&4s due to excessive gradients.
So all ICEs going south from the Ruhr area that dont have permission for or a free path on the Köln Rhein Main HSL travel over the Rheinstrecke.

Also if the HSL gets closed due to maintenance or accidents, all ICEs are diverted along the rhine.

And the ICE1 would already have been around there in 97, although not in that modern status that it is in game.

The rhine valley is one of the key north south mainlines in Germany and Europe, almost every German train in game could or can be seen on the route from the 90s onwards.

 

Extremely excited about this one. Iconic locos on a legendary route in one of the most varied eras in German railroading.

I doubt we'll get the variety of the 90s you're asking for. It's true, in no era were some many liveries running together as in the 90s but DTG will likely stick to one livery per vehicle.
Also agree with the 155. I was a bit let down when I realised that we're unlikely to get any freight traffic at all. It does leave the door open for a nice loco DLC but the 155 would be a good solution to have some freight.

I've been wondering about this as well. I believe the 103s had their skirts removed in the 80s.

 

50% would be way too much. At the end of 1997, there were 21 BR 101, and they were stationed in the North of Germany, and running on other routes. If it substitutes, the rate should be no higher than 5% if at all.

 

Yeah I just looked it up and the Köln - Frankfurt High Speed Line wasn't even completed until 2002, so I think (and hope) this Linke Rheinstrecke will feature a very busy timetable.

Really? The page for the 103 reads that they were brought back into service in 1998 because of the Eschede train disaster, so somewhere between 1996 (introduction of the 101) and 1998 (revival of the 103) they must have mostly disappeared right? Anyway, I think this route will be lots of fun.

 

It's more complicated than that. The 101s had major reliability issues in their early life and the 103s were kept in service because of that. Then Eschede happened and the 103 had to jump in there as well. The thing is, the 103s were never officially retired, they always stayed in service to jump in when needed (in increasingly smaller numbers, obviously). Heck, until recently, 103 254-7 still pulled the occasional regular train and was operating for DB Fernverkehr.

 

Not that many 103's were out of service by 1997, if I recall correctly the revival of the 103 was only like 4 engines. Most 103's stayed on into the early 2000's, because they were put on the InterRegio services and some AutoZug duties. The 101 was still quite rare in 1997 as lux said.

 

I have to admit that I am also more a fan of modern German content. However, this route and also the era is special and I am looking forward to it.

If you check historical data from 97 (which, I believe, the timetable is set in), you will already see 101s around. They came online about 95 and many of the ICs and ECs on this route were already partially taken over by the 101. I would certainly hope that we will be able to drive the 101 as a sub for the 103 on certain trains.

Also, there were ICEs around here, as well. They were mainly ICE2s, however, I am sure the 401 will do just fine as a layer (at least I hope so). There were not many ICE services a day, though (maybe 6, or so).

Talking about fast services, in 97 you still had the IR (InterRegio) around, which were also hauled by 103s, however, had a blue paint scheme, compared to the ICs. Its going to be interesting to see what DTG is making of these "new" train categories, as all of them somehow look unique. Also D-trains were still around, which I presume could be run by a 110. However, in 97 there were only a few left and they were all night trains with sleeper cars.

The biggest worry I have, especially with this era is that it was extremely colourful and I am not sure that DTG is up to making lots of different colour schemes for all the wagons. It was not seldom that an IC drove around with its locos and wagons painted in three different era schemes. Only one of them exist in game today. And those trains never looked the same. Also, ICs drove around with IR wagons (which were usually older IC coaches re-branded with a different interior) and visa versa.

Talking about paint schemes, the same goes for the regional traffic. They did not homogeneously drove around in mint green. However, I do not really have lots of data for this time and region. I would hope that they find a nice layer for the 628 in there, as I believe the RBs to Worms, which was / is diesel driven, drove from Koblenz to Bingen and then turned right, off the main line. Maybe the 628 only drove Bingen Worms, though.

As for cargo, which was hinted at by Matt in the stream, apart from the V60 & V100 shunting, I do not really see other possibilities in this time period, then the 110 and the 155.

Fun times ahead, lets wait and see...

True, but they were around. You would therefore sub only a small portion of the 103 services.

 

I am hugely looking forward to this. 1997 is a good choice as Verkehrsrot was just coming in to replace the (magnificent) 1990s liveries so there's plenty of layer potential. I cannot wait to see those red and pink coaches!

 

Quick search revealed this site. It has lots of pictures of Koblenz Hbf in 1997. Like this:

 

My main question is: how are they going to manage the visible parts of the right route? One of the joys of this line is seeing trains on the other side of the river

 

The mixed colour schemes is where Livery designer comes into its own. While in other repaints it can be a flaw (you never get white and red Dostos in the same train), it fits the randomness of n-wagen around this time. You get mixed rakes on Bremen - Oldenburg and it looks cool.

 

Nice resource, thanks for posting. And just to complete the picture, this is the site I am using for the historical data of the long distance trains:
Database search — Datenbank Fernverkehr (Database long-distance trains) (fernbahn.de)

 

This route looks very promising! Judging from the preview, a top 3 for me..

But, spend some time on the mountain regions, blend the trees in the scenery (instead of a floating cardboard tree without shadow) It really makes a big difference.

 

From Wikipedia:

The first 101 was delivered in 1996, and in 1997 there were not many yet. So a very low chance of substitution would be ok.

The ICE1 we have is definetly in the wrong era for this. So I hope not.

 

I also hope that a lot of value is placed on the landscape design. There are many old castles and vineyards along the Rhine route. Maybe you can paint a few ships again, like in BRO. In any case, there is a lot of shipping traffic on the Rhine too!

 

Agreed on the 101, but I believe the timetable is set in 1997, is it not? According to this, the ICE is a plausible layer, as it was running this line as well?!

 

In 1997 the ICE had a slightly different livery:



We have this paintwork in the TSW3, which is still up to date:



Similar to the BR110, the ICE1 would have to be adapted for additional layers.

 

OMG I just remember that 103 took over a lot of Interregio services in this era. So what if they are building these special coaches for this route ... I would approve that!

 

Verkehrsrot was introduced in 1996, so it just about fits.