If anyone from Dovetail is actually reading or even interested in our feedback, it's also time you sorted this LOVE out... First run on the new route and you still can't get the end summary to correctly display the route name. Outstanding, as Paladin Danse once said.
14 km with the 140 on Maintalbahn is a feat in itself and should have been worthy of Platinum! Sorry Vern, I had to
Just finished my second run with the 140 and this time the summary showed correctly. I know it's more of a core issue, another one DTG either can’t be bothered or don't know how to fix but flagging in here more likely to get noticed (hopefully). Anyhow the 140 is great the route, well, a bit average. Track laying as you enter the yard at Heibronn seems very shonky, doglegs and reverse curves through the points. Not very scenic and of course not very long either. If DTG insist on bringing out these similar style German routes and charging £30 for them, at least have a minimum of 50 miles/80km running length.
Hmm, I guess it's up to personal taste. I rather enjoy the route. Basically for the same reasons why I like Main-Spessart. I enjoy finishing my services in one sitting, and we already have many routes where full end-to-end services take 1,5 hours or more. Having routes with full-length services of under 1 hour is not a downer in my eyes, as long as the route is fun My main criticism about the scenery is mostly that all the many yards along it are way too empty. At least a bit more window dressing in form of static freight wagons would have helped a lot.
Not sure if I should post this in the Frankfurt-Fulda feedback thread, the Passenger Announcements feedback thread or here, so I'll go with here. I just took the Wittenberger cab for a spin heading from Frankfurt to Fulda, RE 4502 early in the morning. Got Platinum even with the safety-systems-not-counting-bug, yay me! After leaving the last station ahead of Fulda, Neuhof, I heard something I hadn't heard before on this route: an announcement! The announcer welcomed everyone aboard the RE to Fulda, as if the service just started. And when approaching Fulda, another announcement came, announcing Fulda and the (correct) side of exit. This opened a whole can of worms for me: Have announcements been added retroactively for Frankfurt-Fulda? If so, why didn't I hear any between Frankfurt and Neuhof? Also, does this affect other vehicles on the route too, or just the Wittenberger cab (and probably the Stuttgart-Heilbronn 111 if used there)?
I read the reviews here and on steam. This route will highly likley purchaises in december 26 on a 85% sale. If i want empty train yards, i can just go back playing tsw2. Now with tsw 6 and a huge marketing campain devs were not capable of make it feel alive?? Very very disappointing. Why all the effort just to deliver an unfinished product. So Dtg takes shortcuts ans expect me to drop money on this? Just didnt work for me. Didnt buy a single tsw 6 dlc yet.
Train malfunctions also occur on older routes (tested on BR294), and it's possible that the announcements are directly dependent on the trains, as this is the version for TSW 6, even though the route is older.
I'd go with occam's razor on this one and expect simply that there is a train that ends in Fulda on either DLG or SHN so they had to add that word to the system, and that the announcement system just dumbly checks if it has all the pieces to stitch together an announcement and plays it if yes. Which if true is fun, because it would mean they added yet another layer of unnecessary searching algorithm running in background when not needed, degrading performance for another bit.
Might well be true... I just did a test on the old Dresden-Riesa route. Announcements work just fine there, as long as I use Stuttgart-Heilbronn's 111. Would love to corroborate that by trying it on Kassel-Würzburg or Tharandter Rampe, but neither the 111 nor the n-Wagen layer into them... and I don't have Dresden-Leipzig, so I can't test it with that rolling stock.
The route is growing on me, particularly the gradient changes which can catch you out particularly driving something slow to respond! I still think the route should have been longer but mitigated by the thought of all the work which must have gone into Stuttgart itself. One thing though, approaching Stuttgart on one run, I was routed into P14 which is a dead end terminus platform. However the last vorsignal I had was a yellow/green for speed restriction not two yellows as one would expect approaching a buffer stop or stop signal. Is that correct in this instance or has something been set up wrong?
Slow 30 km/h is a valid signalling to enter dead end tracks, but most/all the signals that should show 30 km/h are dark in game. There is a lot of signalling issues in Stuttgart.
I spent about 6 hours playing this route. I didn't touch any passenger transfers, only cargo. A couple of questions. 1. Sometimes the BR140 appears with a heavy container train in PZB 0 mode and the brakes in passenger mode. Perhaps I did something wrong, but if the switch is in passenger mode, the compressor doesn't engage. And after a couple of braking attempts, stopping is only possible with emergency braking. I tried the same drive with the BR155 replaced, and it appears in PZB M mode with the brakes in cargo mode. And he has no problems with braking. Did I do something wrong? 2. The BR363 is a strange choice as a shunting locomotive. Yes, it performs admirably when handling passenger cars or making short runs around the station. But sending it on a 500-ton train? Okay. From Kornwestheim to Heilbronn – you can believe it. We're driving downhill, practically no traction is needed. But the return trip with carriages is pure torture. Uphill, the speed is barely 20 km/h. It's just too much for him. Why not use the BR294? I'm talking about the journey mode, where you can't change locomotives. And shunting operations in the Kornwestheim container park too heavy for BR363. Sixteen loaded container cars need to brake on a 1.4-degree slope, 10 meters from the red signal. Then they need to move off down the same slope in the opposite direction, uphill. BR294 was under a lot of strain. Is it even possible to complete this timetable (I don't remember the number, but it starts at 00:50) on route 363, especially in the rain? Considering that I finished route 294 at 02:32, and the next one starts at 02:50. I have some questions for him too. I didn't get a platinum medal, even though I only lost one point due to less-than-precise braking. 3. I haven't gone through the entire shunting timetable yet, but are there any flights to the plant nearby Ludwigsburg? Overall, I really like the route. It's a bit short for freight transport, but that's not a big deal.
This is yet another German route where the speed dictated by the signalling is not enforced at the signal but at the actual infrastructure location (junction, points etc.) on the ground. Can someone from DTG or the German route building team please explain why this continues to be the case? And why are none of the local services, 423, 425 etc. in the Journey Mode?
In tsc the speed limit is active from the signal, strange why this isn't in tsw. Timetables are not always possible to follow right now if you want to drive like the way it should.
I think Vern because the 423/425 layer in from other routes. So if you dont own them you dont them on this route.
I'd really hope for some DBBR 143 layers with the upcoming updates. I was not sure initially, but I had it confirmed that this loco was also in Stuttgart at that time and came to Wurzburg, hence via the Frankenbahn. Would be great, though Kind regards.
Same in Zusi (2 & 3) and other German sims such as the old Loksim. Maybe I'm just being OCD but this is supposed to be a simulation and it should simulate the signalling practices correctly. Think you're right on that, but surely to god the 423 and 425 are so old they could just have bundled them anyway and put in a local segment for the Journey.
Yea would make sense if I suppose they have seen that has extra work to be done. And the 420 is out soon I suppose so they make you buy that for the local runs.
Query for the modding community: Is anyone working on a general livery-replacement mod that will get this route in-era rather than all-Verkehrsrot? This is 2000, it should be mostly mint and Orientrot with splashes of Ozeanblau.
They may not have been running there in 2000. AIUI, the 423 is just a placeholder for the 420, and the 425 wasn't even in service, or just barely.
I like the BR140 more and more, but it’s so cramped on this route... It’s a shame there are so few replacements for other routes.
Was going to post on similar lines. It really needs to get a global layer replacement for those goddang awful screeching 185's on each and every German route in the game! As much as I'm finding the Frankenbahn has grown on me, I can't help thinking it deserved a much better and longer route for its debut.
I have no issues with the route, but is it really that hard to add the BR140 as a replacement for the same left-hand Rhine? It would fit perfectly. I understand that this seems like nitpicking, but if you are launching a short route, then at least add rolling stock as a replacement for other routes. The route might get boring for me, but I can entertain myself on the old routes with new rolling stock.
Starting a run in Timetable with the 463 cab car, what step am I missing to get the train moving. All switches including the brake key are in the correct position but when I try and Run Up nothing happens? Does something need to be set up in the loco too?
Could be I will have to check later as the wife about to drag me off the PC! Maybe something to do with the KWS/ZWS switch in the loco at the rear but which is it and which cab needs to be set up, the end coupled to the stock or the outer one? Hopefully someone can answer this for us but to be brutally honest, if I'm starting as taking over a run in the cab car there should not be any need to tinker around with the propelling loco.
Vern, can you recall which service exactly that was? It has been mentioned here already that the Wittenberger cab might not work properly with any other 111 than the Stuttgart-Heilbronn one in the rear. Myself haven't had any trouble using it on Frankfurt-Fulda though, and I guess it gets coupled with the 111 from that route there.
Sorry for double post, but I found another signalling issue. Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but: When approaching Ludwigsburg from the south on the S-Bahn lane, the speed drop to 90 km/h at the entrance signal is not signalled at all.
It seems like Vern was having issues with the KaKo, the 463, which is news to me. The route comes with its own version of it with, finally, fixed headlights even, but it wasn't advertised and nobody really knows what it's doing in there. Not complaining about it's inclusion since it's an updated version. I've driven it myself on this route and had no issues. It's also completely underused as it only shows up in scenarios, never in AI trains in timetable mode. Haven't paid that much attention to journey mode yet despite having almost completed it. Anyway, I agree with you, the 111 must be the culprit. They should add era tags to the substitution system so this doesn't happen again. Also the SHB 111 has the wrong decals for this era on it. There's the full UIC number on the sides, the works. Naturally it should be decaled period appropriately and therefore shouldn't substitute onto newer routes. IIRC the Mittenwaldbahn loco doesn't substitute onto routes like Frankfurt Fulda. Could be wrong but also can't check for another day since, due to huge power outages in Berlin, I have to flee to relatives in another state and won't arrive there until tomorrow afternoon.
I think the service was RB19872 accessed by choosing the 463 rather than the 483 from the cab car line up. It doesn't specify which variant of the 111 is included on the train, but if someone wants to give it a quick test and let me know the outcome.
Hard to say... Ballpark I would say 7/10 thus far. It's a nice route as far as it goes, particularly at night, but much too short. The 140 is good but as discussed above some of the layers are odd and causing issues and we really need the illusive 420 to liven things up a bit.
Vern, the problem with that service is that it's a combo of Dosto cars and an n-Wagen cab. Simply put, there are two different methods of data transfer between loco and cab: KWS and the newer ZWS. The 111 and the Wittenberger cab can do both. But the 463 cab is KWS only while the Dosto's are ZWS only, so they won't ever communicate Hence this service requires the Wittenberger cab to be able to function. I'd go with 7/10 as well. Its a shorter but quite pretty route, and knowing the original, the scenery has been recreated quite faithfully. Areas like Heilbronn Hafen or the Ludwigsburg industrial area could use some fine tuning though. The 140 is a great loco and fun to drive, the Wittenberger cab is a good addition to the game and with hopefully see more widespread use in the future. What's holding the route back are the numerous signalling issues, and the ever-present "passengers-travelling-to-yard" and "passengers-on-the-tracks" bugs. I think when the 420 is out, the route might go up to an 8/10 for me
By the way, I picked up the train at the depot on BR363. Surprisingly, although the lights were on in the carriages, there weren't a single passenger in them.
That explains it then. Will make sure I use the 483 and not the 463. You would have thought though, whoever set up the timetable and its layers would have flagged as necessary to ensure if the 463 on the consist as the cab car it only includes compatible coaches. So once again, over to DTG and/or the route authors to sort this out, please, if anyone is actually reading this thread I an official capacity.
Yeah, it's quite a mixed bag. On some trains it works, but on most it doesn't. For example, check the Dosto consists in the sidings just north of Stuttgart Hbf. They are usually filled with passengers. This issue is so old and happens on so many routes, that programmers should have developed a knack for avoiding it by now... not to say fixing it I think that's due to the 483 being built as more of a sub-variant of the 463 ingame, hence both being in the same menu too. Makes the game think they're interchangeable, which they are not... at least not completely. If you switch the 483 for a 463 in a pure n-Wagen consist, it will work just fine. The loco is already set to KWS then, too. I've done a whole run from Stuttgart to Heilbronn in the 463 already
It sounds to me they should never have bothered with Dostos on the route, period. We have enough of the wretched things on the other German routes already.
The 'Camel'-trains are a usual thing on the route, but they need to be driven from the WiKo and not the KaKo. The only problem here is again the subbing system that does not allow to fine-adjust what can go with what. And that the KaKo runs with the SHB 111 in KWS from start was a needed ugly (code wise) addition to the loco itself because these consists were made for the WiKo and set to ZWS by default. All those German possibilities were not designated when the subbing system was integrated i guess. But extending it now to work with all those possibilities would probably break other things massively.
Just had a look at the non-existent signal/sign for the 60km/h speed reduction ahead of the Pragtunnel, where the track is changed from left to right. I found a video where you can see that in reality there is neither a signal nor a sign too. So either this is documented in the Buchfahrplan/Ebula only or this is a routing that doesn't exist in reality. Come on, DTG it's time to fill all these empty Ebula screens !!! P.S. is anyone interested in "Buchfahrpläne" for this route ? I'm currently working on these...
The BR 140 has been advertised as being equipped with a „einlösige Bremse“. In fact, the very same „mehrlösige Bremse“ as used on the BR 110 is simulated.
Are you sure? The "einlösige" type should react as followed: once the brakes are released the sequence cant be stopped until fully released. But braking more stepwise is possible. So with the 140 you can release the brakes from 3.2 bar bp to 1 bar?
When I release the Brakelever only partially, so does the brake. I can release the brake partially, so it‘s a „mehrlösige Bremse“.
I noticed that too. I thought the brakes would behave like those on American freight trains, but no...
