It's time to bring back Steam! And not just any steam locomotive, but the essential German iron horse: the Baureihe 01. Due to the complexity of a steam locomotive, both in modelling and simulation, as well as driving it, this will be an Expert DLC. As the BR 01 had a long service life with multiple modernisations and reconstructions, all surviving BR 01s differ quite a lot from each other. For this DLC, I've chosen the 01 118, which was the only loco of this class that ran uninterrupted since its construction in 1934. Sadly, it retired from service in 2019 but is still in very good shape and also mostly represents the original state of the BR 01. Quick Facts: Constructed: 1934 Max. Speed: 130 km/h Construction Type: 2'C1' h2 Tender: 2'2' T34 Max. Boiler pressure: 16 bar Max. Power: 1648 kW Tractive Force: 150 kN Length over buffers: 23.94 m Height: 4.55 m History: The BR 01 was constructed between 1925 and 1938, with 231 units being delivered, of which 17 have survived. 01 118 was finished on the 18th of December 1934 at Krupp in Essen. After the acceptance tests in Braunschweig, it was stationed in Leipzig, where it remained until June 1940. 01 118 then moved to Halle until 1947. After the war, it remained in the possession of the new East German Reichsbahn and was stationed all over the GDR, including Eisenach, Erfurt, Berlin, Frankfurt/Oder, Wittenberge, Rostock, and Dresden. On the 27th of June 1978, the locomotive retired from regular service and was put into reserve. The "Historische Eisenbahn Frankfurt" railway preservation group bought 01 118 from the DR in 1981 and transferred it to West Germany, where it was used for historical rail journeys all over the country, including the 150th railway anniversary parade in Nürnberg. In 2010 01 118 required a new fire box, but the cost was too high for HEF, so they sold the locomotive to German entrepreneur and railway enthusiast Dr. Martin Viessmann. He allowed HEF to use 01 118 until the required grand inspection in 2021, but HEF retired the locomotive in 2019. It was then transferred to the private collection of Viessmann in Battenberg (Eder). Technical Details: With a 2'C1' wheel arrangement, the BR 01 is a Pacific locomotive. The two 600mm diameter cylinders propel its 2m big driving wheels up to a speed of 130km/h, which was only beaten by their three-cylinder sibling, the BR 01.10 (on regular services). The BR 01 was first constructed in 1925 and was the first member of the Einheitsdampflokomotiven, a standardization program implemented by the DRG. Due to the height axle load of 20t, which was higher than most lines allowed back then, the smaller BR 03 was built later. The stoker has to feed the 4.41m² large grate area with coal from the tender, which holds 10t of coal and 34t of water. With a total evaporation area of 247.25m², the BR 01 has a coal consumption of 1.17kg/PSe*h (kilograms of coal per effective horsepower hour), which is one of the best efficiency factors of German steam locomotives. After heating the firebox, the fumes travel through the 24 boiler tubes into the smokebox and are ejected out of the chimney. The steam now collects at the top of the boiler in the steam dome where the regulator sits. When the driver opens the regulator, steam flows through the valve into the Superheater, which consists of 106 smaller tubes which run inside the boiler tubes. Through this layout, the steam is heated even more, reducing the amount of water particles being dragged along and storing more energy in the same volume. After this section, the steam is guided to the two cylinders, where it is transformed into kinetic energy. The exhaust is guided into the blastpipe in the smokebox, which creates a draft from the firebox to the chimney and is also responsible for the iconic chuffing sound of the steam locomotive. The driving wheels are connected to the control valve of the steam cylinder via a Heusinger/Walschaerts gear. This complex arrangement of rods, bars and links controls the direction, speed and power of the locomotive. Also connected to the wheels is the lubrication pump, located on the stokers side of the cab. Other than Britain, Germany adopted the air brake much earlier. The dual-stage compressor is located on the driver's side, next to the smokebox. On the other side, we find the water pump, which is used as a backup to the water injector located in the cab. Next to the chimney is a small steam turbine used to generate electricity. This is used for powering the lights and safety systems of the locomotive. The following picture shows all the controls in the cab of a BR 01 (German labels): For further details on how a steam locomotive generally works, I can recommend this multi-part video series by "Great Railways" (other languages are available): The Steam Locomotive Included Rolling Stock: As we don't have any old coaches that would be fitting for a German steamer in the game, I suggest including the DRG Type 35 in this DLC. The DRG standard express coach Type 35 was a series of roughly 2000 passenger wagons built between 1935 and 1940. The Type 35 descended from the Type 22, which had a steel-wooden frame and the Type 28, which was completely built out of riveted steel. The Type 35 advanced this construction and was the first coach series to be welded together. This reduced the weight to only 39t, enough so that the Type 35 was fitted with the "Görlitz III leicht" bogies (dining and sleeping cars still required the "schwer" bogies). The Type 35 came in a few different variants, including all three coach classes, baggage cars, dining and sleeping cars. With an authorised speed of 120km/h, they were often hauled by the BR 01 on D and FD services connecting the major cities in Germany. Though in reality, they were and still are being mixed with other types of coaches in trains, they are a great choice for being included with the BR 01, as they are period accurate and were built in a large amount. Other Suggestions: Stadler Euro 9000 - Expert Residenzbahn (Karlsruhe-Stuttgart) Illawarra aka South Coast Line (Bondi Junction - Port Kembla)
DTG seem to have made it quite clear they are not touching steam again for TSW, other than the Thomas thing. And as regards “expert” mode, well they couldn’t even get basic steam operations working decently on what they already made!
