Im thinking about buying my first German route, I'm particularly interested in the class BR422DB & BR425DB. Any recommendations would be helpful, I'm particularly interested in routes that take about 40 minutes to an hour & 10 minutes to complete are one way trip, great scenery, plenty of traffic & are mixture of Express & Local Services.
Well seeing as are keen in the br422 & br425 I would recommend Haumstreckre Rhein Rhur as it includes both of those trains, however it is also a rather short route with most journeys lasting not much longer then 30 minutes.
You will get the DB BR 422 as part of this which I think you might like. It will be on sale in about 2 days time as part of the Steam Summer Sale. https://store.steampowered.com/app/...al__Hagen_Route_AddOn__TSW2__TSW3_compatible/
SKA is an excellent route! I looked back and I have put 4500 miles on it, by far my most travelled route. I would bundle with the 423 which comes with an excellent revised timetable. You can add MSB if you want even more layers. You can learn both PZB and LZB with this route.
The 423 for koln aachen is good, but to actually make it feel busy, you also need other dlcs such as main spessart bahn and rhein ruhr and the 101 dlc. Here is a spreadsheet on the different layers on german dlc that adds traffic and variety in services. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W5-ueaP4-UmdhZMKpdH0yTADmY4gNyMw_dRNi86G57o/edit?usp=sharing The 422 and 425 are both in rhein ruhr. Additional traffic comes from main spessart bahn and the 101 dlc for additional traffic types. Regionals, sbahn, freight, intercity (101 dlc). Most services are about 20 minutes with the longest being about 40. Not long, but it gives you lots of traffic. Riesa dresden. You get freight, shunting, regional express, regional bahn, intercity (101 dlc), intercity express (koln aachen 406) and sbahn services. There are a mix of short and long services and lots of great fun. Main spessart bahn is the main dlc that gives layers to other german routes so you want that. Bremen oldenburg with the different service patterns with different trains and other layers. Munchen augsburg. Even though you said you want a german route, there are several other routes outside germany. London commuter Southeastern high speed peninsula corridor: does look dated though harlem line
Riesa-Dreseden is a great route, but you may want to buy an number of other routes as well for more traffic. Main Spessart Bahn is a must have. You also will need some loco DLC, the class101 but this probably needs Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr to be playable, DTG is changing these requirements but I am not sure if this applies to all loco DLC. Most German routes tend to have longer driving times for full length services. Of course Niddertalbahn is a beauty to play. I recommend to watch at least a live stream, you can read the reviews and then choose what you like most. It is so personal.
RRO apart from some slightly shonky track laying is actually pretty good, with two distinct routes between Wuppertal and Hagen. RSN remains the granddaddy of the German collection, not as long as it’s Railworks/TSC equivalent but a decent and scenic run. DCZ worth a look and the BR612 is a nice train to drive. Dresden to Riesa also worth a look. Rapid Transit is the runt of the litter and not worth bothering with unless in a hugely discounted sale. Hamburg to Lubeck by all accounts is a bit meh. BRO still a bit buggy though the 110 is a nice drive and layers into other routes. West Rhine still has a few issues. Niddertalbahn is lovely but the slow pace might not be for everyone and the 628 engine sounds are not wholly authentic. Routes like Munich to Augsburg and Koln to Aachen are essentially for a quick blast with the ICE and nothing special. The thing about German routes is the more you add, the better layers you get and traction DLC like the BR101 and the G6 shunter (but not the BR204) are well worth purchasing.
I think Preservation crew has done an outstanding job with bringing up these older routes to TSW3 glory. What interests me on the Leipzig route is the frequent stops. Like Bakerloo line, I am enjoying it! I do want an iteration of the Berlin Leipzig route, one of the most well crafted routes ever.
The main issue with Rapid Transit for me, which is essentially a route I enjoy is the poor sounds on the Talent 2, the later one is much better, also the Dostos cabcar doesn't move either and a fix hasn't appeared yet. Koln Aachen with the new journeys pack and MSB installed for the freight is a very good route and a good route to run the EMU's on. It is my favourite modern German route alongside the two Dresden routes, although I find Dresden to Riesa in terms of performance is the worst of the German routes, there is some lovely scenery on Tharanter Rampe and the 612 is fun to drive. Hamburg Lubeck is good too although doesn't feature the EMU's but has a lot of complete runs on there and can be quite busy. I don't have the Bremen route yet. The two historic routes are very good in my opinion, Niddertalbahn is very detailed and you get a nice relaxed run, the scenery on Linke Rheinstrecke is very effective. The older routes, RSN, MSB, RRO and HRR still look good but I find them either too short or services feel incomplete in that they start and finish off map. Something like RRO is probably a good choice though for a first German route, especially as it is likely to be quite cheap in the imminent sale and perhaps a good route to learn the German signalling and safety systems on too.
The thing about SKA is that the original release, with the 422, was simply wrong; those S-bahn services IRL are run by 423s, which the expansion pack substitutes. (Historically this was because DTG already had a 422, from HRR, whereas the 423 wouldn't be introduced until München-Augsburg)
