Hi all, between Maintalbahn and the US freight vs. passenger discussions going on, it seems like there has been a lot of talk about branch lines, and "unique" gameplay provided by different routes. This got me thinking about how a route could provide gameplay that's actually unique and different from anything else in the game right now. I believe this proposal manages that. The Route (C) OpenStreetMap contributors The Badische Odenwaldbahn was a main line linking Heidelberg and Würzburg. It was built in the 1860s using an inconvenient route between Heidelberg and Neckarelz (top right of the map above) via Meckesheim (left of the map) with fairly steep grades to avoid Hessen. Already in 1879, a much flatter alternative route through the Neckar Valley was opened, and the old Heidelberg to Neckarelz line lost most of its importance. It de facto became a secondary line. In 1902, a branch line was built, from a junction station north of Neckarbischofsheim to Hüffenhardt. While the main line was a state railway, this branch line was always privately operated. The Meckesheim--Neckarelz line's bridge over the Neckar river was destroyed in 1945 and never rebuilt. The line was cut back first to Obrigheim, then by 1971 to Aglasterhausen. The whole line was planned to be closed down, which would have meant the end of the Hüffenhardt branch as well. SWEG, the operator of the Hüffenhardt branch line, leased the Meckesheim--Aglasterhausen track from Deutsche Bundesbahn starting in 1982 to save their operation. They started operating a more efficient and attractive service, managing to increase passenger numbers and turn the route's fate around. Today, the line to Aglasterhausen is back with DB and has been electrified, while the Hüffenhardt branch was closed except for a summer weekend service in 2009. I propose setting the route in the early 80s when SWEG operated it. Operations SWEG ran passenger trains between Meckesheim and Aglasterhausen hourly most of the day and half-hourly at peak times. Traffic on the Hüffenhardt branch was less frequent and not at regular intervals, but with some trains running through to Meckesheim. SWEG kept wagonload freight alive to pretty much all intermediate stations for quite some time; freight traffic included agricultural and forestry products. There was also a spur to a military depot at Siegelsbach on the Hüffenhardt branch which was regularly served by freight trains. Essentially, it's shortline gameplay - picking up freight wagons from DB at Meckesheim and moving them to different locations along the Aglasterhausen and Hüffenhardt lines - but with Niddertalbahn-style passenger gameplay too! Vehicles (Ulrich Klumpp, CC BY-SA 3.0) The primary vehicle used on the route is the Waggon-Union NE81 diesel-hydraulic railcar, seen in the above image at Helmstadt in 2004. These were brand-new in the early 80s. They were designed specifically for private operators in Germany, who needed trains that were similar in comfort and efficiency to DB's 628s. They were slower, at 80 to 100 km/h depending on the exact version, but much stronger, with two 250 kW engines. This allowed them to pull freight trains outside of rush hour, when fewer units were needed for passenger service: (Tobias Deichfischer, CC BY-SA 4.0) For heavier freight trains or increased passenger demand, they can work in multiple, and there were matching cab cars as well. The NE81 can handle all passenger and freight traffic in this route. Esslinger Triebwagen and MAN-Schienenbus also worked on the line, but I'd consider it a complete package with just the NE81 and would rather see the dev time be used on some period-correct freight wagons. Tl;dr Meckesheim to Aglasterhausen and Hüffenhardt would be a combined 38 km of branch line through the scenic, rolling-hills, Kraichgau region of Baden-Württemberg. It would finally provide some non-DB German trains, as well as unique and interesting gameplay similar to a US shortline, with fairly modern-style passenger service and using passenger railcars to pull the freight trains. This would include single carloads of agricultural products to and from individual stations with lots of shunting required, unit trains of wood loaded at Hüffenhardt, and serving the military depot at Siegelsbach. The route is also a completely self-contained operation, including SWEG's workshop at Neckarbischofsheim Nord. This, and the route's fairly short length would allow and encourage players to stay in-game and play multiple services in a row using the same vehicle, which might in this case turn out to be an early morning passenger train for schoolchildren immediately followed by a heavy freight train! I believe that would be completely unique gameplay in TSW, and adding some much-requested variety to German content.
