Out Now Niddertalbahn: Bad Vilbel – Stockheim, Out Now!

This route makes me want TSG to create a Japanese route because the scenery and foliage is so incredible

 

I was just thinking while driving it that it reminds me of cabrides I watch of Japanese little DMU's on single track lines.

 

TSG did such a great job on this and has set a new Standard and have to say has blown dovetail games out of the water with this route can not wait to see what TSG will come up next to be up fron i would love to see them do the S Bahn Frankfurt

 

I think that is true to life. I remember reading in a German forum that what 628 lacked in acceleration, they made up for in braking power with some really biting brakes.

What electrical brakes?

 

What an oddly mean-spirited thing to say. TSG making a good route means Rivet should stop making routes altogether? You can just not buy Rivet content if you don't like it you know, I've no idea why anyone would think fewer third parties making routes for TSW would be a good thing.

There are lots of nice things about the routes Rivet makes, in both Island Line 2022 and Edinburgh-Glasgow they have introduced the modelling of interior spaces like signal boxes and stations, both of which are done well, and considering the criticism of Rivet's earlier routes for TSW was 90% about poor scenery, they've actually come a very long way since then. I don't see how saying "just give up" really encourages any improvement in this game, just seems like a very bitter and spiteful attitude to have, and fairly distasteful to use a thread that is positive and celebrating a good route DLC to pour scorn on others. But you do you.

 

Sorry I meant magnetic brakes.

 

I think magnetic brakes are the emergency track brakes similar to trams or some of the European coaching stock. They drop a magnetised shoe on top of the rail head which literally puts the anchors on. Presumably only used in extreme circumstances to avoid a collision or striking a person, etc.

 

My first thought on starting a run was, this route is inspired by UW techniques especially Forest Rail.

 

Sorry can't hold this back. Yesterday when playing through a NID scenario, I actually noticed this poster again! I'm sure there are some who say it's just a collectable. But since Easter is coming up, a few Easter eggs are very welcome.

 

Yeah, that had me too but I just thought to myself, wishful thinking.

I'm loving this route, I lost hours to it just chilling last night with a beer. My other half was watching and said you can almost smell the summer from the screen, it reminded her of her summers growing up during the 90s in Wexford.

The TSG team should be very proud of what they have achieved in this project.

 

This is by far the best route yet! I am so happy how the 628 came out. Yes there are some minor things I would love to be improved. But the scenery is amazing, even on my old graphicscard, the train drives perfectly, the light is amazing.
What I miss is really only small things. For example I miss the compressor sound. I've been uncountable times on this train and every now and then the compressor kicked in and made this unforgettable sound. The overall engine sound is quiet good, but it could be improved.
So thank you TSG for this route. Outstanding job! You really set the bar, where every route should be in the future. This is what I want!

 

A BR 52 from TSG, fancy that!
Would be the last kick I need to having me convinced of purchasing TSW3.
Ludmilla, Niddertalbahn, aaaand .... well, dreams come for free.

 

That would be the icing on the cake. Day One purchase especially if TSG can achieve better steam physics implementation than DTG seem able to.

 

I hope for no day 1 refund as well, again

 

Downloaded with trepidation given the comments on the last few routes but really impressed. Despite the slower pace, it feels well engineered and looks impressive (Xbox series X). My only gripe is with the zombie passengers (sheer quantity for a line of this scale and also their odd behaviour), but that’s a wider issue across the game.

 

Does anyone know how to turn on PZB/SIFA in the non-motor car? The valves in the motor car don't seem to do the trick.

Edit: Nevermind, now it seems to work, they are behaving a bit weird though, as they were in the on position visually, but said "off" when hovering above it.

 

If you are on console it is a known bug which is already fixed, but no release date for the patch yet.

 

You could always use the keyboard controls. 'ctrl + ent' and 'shift + ent'. I know it's not ideal but that should work.

 

Nope, I'm on PC. The workaround seems to be:

• Turn on PZB/SIFA valves.
• Insert reverser in the motor car, and put it to forward
• Reverser in the motor car back to 'off' and taken out
• Insert reverser in non-motor car, and put it to forward

That does the trick for my, but is a weird workaround

 

The 52 wouldn't be a good pick; DB didn't like the Kriegsloks and retired them as fast as they could be replaced with something better; the last 52 was taken out of service in 1962.

They are well-known on the museum and heritage/railtour circuit because so bloody many of them were built during the war and remained in service in Eastern Europe for decades.

 

This route is absolute stunning! I had a nice view first rides! DTG Lukas Thank you and youre team!
The lightning and environment is also really stunning!

 

I just have to write this down...currently 38 steam reviews, 100% positive

 

I have to add another positive review. The route is very nice. The German countryside was a very good idea.

 

You see this on some of the stations on NID. These stations dont have an ASig (Ausfahrsignal). In the real world a train may only leave this kind of station when dispatcher gives the verbal go ahead (regulated through RIL408 0331 2 h, for those that are interested). I guess this is what they have simulated with this "artificial" green, which only appears on the HUD.

The Signal behind the station is not an exit signal. It is placed behind the switch and does therefore not protect the switch.

 

On PS5 the horn on the 628 is far too loud inside the cab. It is the same volume as it is outside yet all the other train sounds are much more quiet in the cab, as they should be. This means it is not really suitable to use the horn when playing as it is far louder than anything else. It’s a shame because sounding the horn is a big part of driving this train. It could do with being about half the volume it currently is to fit better with the rest of the sound.

 

Wow!!! An actual user's manual -- and an excellently thorough one at that. Are you noticing this, DTG? Remember the days when you provided manuals? As the old Lone Ranger intro used to say, "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear!"

 

I don't have any meaningful feedback beyond what others have said, so it's just to record one more happy customer voice for the benefit of the Developers, who might read this. I expected very good stuff of TSG, and it's perhaps even better. Great work!

Ah, I will add one thing, already mentioned too, but deserving a highlight.
Manual. There is a manual. It's also a good manual. TSW (unlike most TSC stuff) used to have good manuals. Then it stopped having any. In a complex simulator. It's unforgivable, and here it is: evidence that it can be done.
[Runs back to the cab]

Edit: I see that a few seconds ago a fellow simmer also noticed the manual thing - but I hope the message is taken seriously by DTG.

 

...of course there are other steam locomotives, but the BR52 is one of the most frequently built and also one of the best-known steam locos, with more than 7000 units. As a freight locomotive, it could haul trains of up to 2000 tons on the flat and based on the BR50. Since they were built from 1942 and intended to be used to transport troops and war material, they are actually war locomotives or Kriegsloks. But afterwards, now scattered all over Europe, they were repaired and even built on to help rebuild. Irony of history. Nevertheless, it's a steam locomotive that shines today in front of special trains and conveys a real steam feeling.

 

...still not switched to TSW3. Well then it's about time. The menu navigation alone is much more user-friendly!

 

I just did a walk starting at Stockheim, to take in the scenery. It was super relaxing. Then I took a screenshot. And another. And another. And another. When I arrived at Heldenbergen-Windecken, an hour had passed without me noticing. Never had this with TSW before. These are some samples, all PS5.

 

It’s an excellent route. I’m more than happy to have it. On my Series X I’m hardly seeing any stutter and the distant scenery looks excellent. It captures far more atmosphere than other routes.

Aside from the PZB issue in the non motor unit. The only real bug I’ve found is a spelling mistake in the instructions in the Hugging Trees scenario (4th from last is Inser Reverser Key)

Really excellent work. Much credit to TSG. I had high expectations and they’ve been exceeded.

 

Interesting... Wonder if this is covered in one of the Journey Mode elements. It does present a SPAD risk to the unaware - I tend to play the game with the distance to next signal on but the aspect off. Maybe this is a case where practical necessity over-rides absolute accuracy and they should have put signals in.

We have a similar if not quite the same situation on the Highland Main Line in the UK, where the crossing points at Moy, Schlod and Tomatin only have exit signals on the loop, the through lines simply have the home signals on approach.

 

Agreed. My DTG live screenshot count on this route is probably already in the three digits after just two end to end services. The amount of unique areas and textures is stunning. The distant scenery is also breathtaking even on PS4.

I’m going to have to agree with the post that noted the horn is very loud, in the exterior camera at least. It think it’s personally fitting and reasonably realistic, but I do risk waking up my whole household everytime I sound it. To be fair, it sounds realistically quieter from the cab view (at least on PS4).

 

The manual credits Daniel Barnett and "TrailDogRunner1909" with Scenery and 3d Modeling: three cheers!

Hip-hip-hooray!
Hip-hip-Hooray!
Hip-hip-hooray!

For Daniel and TrailDogRunner are jolly good fellows....

 

One lovely tiny detail I noticed: cars seems to travel at normal (i.e. reasonably high) speeds outside towns. Perhaps I just failed to notice things, but I believe that in all other routes traffic seems to be very slow, whereas here I was overtaken by a considerable margin by cars, while travelling at 60 km/h.

 

The more I use this route, the more I'm falling in love with it. Just done The Shape Of Things To Come scenario in Journey mode and started the next one which is a night time drive from the 928 trailer car, which sounds great. Night lighting looks okay, too.

I hope this is the first of many projects to come from TSG and more diesel operated, rural and branch lines both in Germany and other areas covered by the sim.

Once again many thanks to Maik and his team for giving us something really special to enjoy.

 

It's really fantastic!

Not much more to add- still haven't gotten through the whole route but the scenery and atmosphere are top notch.

Please support TSG and this high quality route if you can.

 

I think this is also the case outside the villages at Linke Rheinstrecke, but cause you‘re travelling so slow here, it’s far more obvious. But it’s a really cool detail, I love this very much, too! Great route at all. Hope they can deploy the Sifa/PZB bugfix soon, that is currently the only drawback for console players.

 

A small comparison of the seasons on the Niddertalbahn. I used Lindheim as a reference, at 10:00 am on three different months with clear blue skies. Still impressed by the richness of detail and the effort put into this route.
It may be the weekend, but the praise was worth the effort.

 

Even the audio touches are great on this route.
I was walking alongbtgectraxks by some tennis courts and you can hear a game of tennis being played even though there is no one there.

Nice little audio touches like that really set the route off.

 

Yes, with that many changes according to the seasons, it nearly feels like 3 different routes.

 

Stunning. Will have to check it out in the winter later today for sure. Also worth noting the immersion in the rain is amazing, wipers actually move smoothly and realistically.

 

I'm not active on the forums but I thought I'd give it a visit for this opportunity...

I'm Raphaël, and I'm the authour of the Niddertalbahn's manual, with the help of Lukas who provided me with the material to put in it, using Just Train's U-Bahn Frankfurt DLC for Train Simulator Classic as an inspiration.

I just wanted to say thank you for the few people who have made note of the existence of this manual. It was long, but fun to make, and I see that it has made a positive impact by, hopefully, being as informative as possible. Thank you for your feedback and for supporting all the creators involved in the creation of this route.

 

They also seem to use a different road system, which looks incredibly realistic with the black/white poles at the side of the street every 50 meters. The car animation is also so much smoother. And by the way, there are some areas (such as at Stockheim) where you can explore the surrounding neighborhood. Cars will smoothly stop if you block their path and honk at you! They even have a nice revving engine sound when accelerating.

 

Great job with the manual! The detail in there is incredible, it goes above and beyond the other TSW manuals by even providing info on the timetable, layers and special features of the route such as the level crossings.
I’m currently in the process of writing a few papers for university, so I know how time-consuming all the research and coordination with other people can be. Lots of respect!

 

AI trains are using horn

 

Saw it too! If i remember correctly there was also a poster with a BR 23 or 52 (was hard to tell) on there, but with that poster, it quite clearly is a 52! Hopefully its indeed a teaser and not just a posted

 

Yess indeed! Really cool new feature in TSW by them

 

It feels like a Japanese route at times. One of the most unique routes in the game so far.

 

Nice indicator for the popularity of the route are the trophy percentages on PS4:

• Linke Rheinstrecke “DB BR 103 Training module completed” - 0.2% of players (1.5 weeks after release)
• Niddertalbahn “DB BR 628 Training module completed” - 0.7% of players (less than three days after release) !!

It’s good to see that great quality is getting rewarded by the overall playerbase, and not just by our little “bubble” we have in the forums.