Route Length: ~100 km (62 miles) Rolling Stock: New - BR 159 Stadler EuroDual - (Could also do BR 250 Blue Tiger, BR 285 TRAXX Diesel, BR 346 V 60) Existing - BR 185 (185 640 & 185 641, modified for 25kV operations) - BR 642 - Shunters Gameplay: Regional, freight, shunting Scenery: Steep gradients, limestone quarries and processing plants, flat plains, forested foothills, Halberstadt Hbf Licenses: HVLE, DB Time Period: 2026 Similar Add-ons: Main-Spessart Bahn (steep gradients, freight branch) Ruhr Sieg Nord (freight) Why this route: This would be a scenic and operationally interesting route, and the first German DLC to feature three distinct power systems (15 kV, 25 kV, and diesel). It includes a short stretch of electrified track from Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof to Magdeburg-Buckau, then switches to predominantly single-track, non-electrified main line to Halberstadt. The route would then branch off towards Blankenberg, and continue along the Rübelandbahn (which features gradients as steep as 6.1%, and is electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz) to the Fels-Werke (limestone works) at Elbingerode. For passenger services, the RE31 service would begin at Blankenburg and head to Halberstadt, where it would couple to RE11 from Thale. You would then drive the combined train to Magdeburg. These are normally done by a BR 648, but these could be swapped for the similar BR 642. For freight services, locomotives would haul limestone from the limestone works, along the steep gradients of the Rübelandbahn, to the marshalling yards at Halberstadt. The mix of different power systems would allow the BR 159 EuroDual to show off its multiple modes of operation. The BR 159 would also be useful as a substitution/layer on future German routes featuring freight services. Rübelandbahn map BR 250 with hoppers Steep gradients at Michaelstein Halberstadt Hauptbahnhof Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
