Southern Germany: Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munich

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by JonnE, Apr 16, 2020.

  1. JonnE

    JonnE Well-Known Member

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    Hello there,

    One of my favorites IRL and in MSTS1 could be a great addition to TSW as well.

    Okay, maybe not in full length (>200km), but maybe some parts of it - I'll try to show:

    Part 1: Stuttgart - Ulm
    This is the longest part (~100 km) but probably the one with the most beautiful scenery and lots of possibilities.
    The route starts at Stuttgart Hbf, which currently may be known for the 'Stuttgart21' project where a new undeground version is built. Currently in use is the old but good 16-track terminus station with branches in all directions.
    Up towards Plochingen the local S-Bahn joins the line along the Neckar valley. Afterwards the line turns east towards the Fils valley where Göppingen (home of märklin) and Geislingen are passed. After Geislingen with the 'Geislinger Steige' one of germanys steepest railway sections starts and after reaching the highlands of the 'Schwäbische Alb' Ulm is reached.

    Speeds are reached between 70 and 160 km/h.

    Part 2: Ulm - Augsburg

    A short track through a rural area. Highlights are the bridge over the danube in Ulm with a nice view of the old town with the Münster (worlds highest church) and maybe the entrance of Augsburg.

    Speeds between 70 and 160 km/h (again).

    Part 3: Augsburg- Munich

    Maybe the most interesting part for TSW. Could be tricky because speeds up to 200 km/h are reached and LZB is in use but there is lots of traffic and from Mering to Munich S-Bahn action as well. Also there is a huge freight yeard in Munich - Laim and with Munich Hbf one of germanys biggest stations is reached. Could also be a bit tricky though.

    Rolling stock:
    Now this makes it interesting. Almost every german rolling stock for TSW which is currently released could be used:
    - the 146 and Dostos are used for RE services between Stuttgart and Ulm.
    Sometimes there were 143 in Service as well, although this was a couple of years ago...
    - the 425 can be used for RB Stuttgart - Ulm (simplified) and RE Ulm - Augsburg. Blasphemy speaking due to 423s in use in both S-Bahn areas this could be an opportunity as well... :X
    - 185, 155 and 204 would fit for freight services
    A problem could be the 182, those Tauri are only in EC services via the austrian ÖBB.
    Also the 422 are not common, the 442 might be used around Augsburg and Munich, I don't exactly know about that.

    So what rolling stock could be added?
    Assuming there are 1-2 new models each route I would suggest this:
    - BR 101 with IC coaches
    - ICE 1 (BR 401). Actually all types of ICE can be seen in all parts of the route (I remember seeing 4 different types of ICE in 4 services last year :) ) but this is the oldest and most popular type.
    Other possibilities are the BR 111 (for Dosto), BR 120 (for IC), BR 152 (for freight) or the ICE 3 (BR 403).

    Service types are:
    S-Bahn Stuttgart - Plochingen
    RE / IRE / RB Stuttgart - Ulm
    RE / RB Ulm - Augsburg / Munich
    RE Augsburg - Munich
    S-Bahn Mering - Munich
    IC stops are: Stuttgart, Plochingen, Göppingen, Ulm, Günzburg, Augsburg, München - Pasing and Munich Hbf
    ICE stops: Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg, München- Pasing and Munich Hbf

    I hope this text could give you some detail why I would like another german route which is not situated in the ruhr area. :)
    I'll try to find some pictures as well but typing this text in my smartphone nearly took me one hour so I would like to postpone this a bit. :D

    Cheers!
     
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  2. JonnE

    JonnE Well-Known Member

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    Okay, this took a while, but nevertheless lets try:

    Lets have a look at the map first:
    [​IMG]
    The line above is what we will be looking at, the line below is the upcoming High Speed line (which will be a roughly 10 mins faster).

    First we start in Stuttgart Hbf - mainstation:
    [​IMG]
    As you can see nowadays the construction works dominate huge parts of the surroundings.

    After a small tunnel the line passes Bad Cannstatt, which may be known as the home of the german Bundesligaclub VfB Stuttgart and the area of the Cannstatter Wasen.
    The stadium can be seen out of the train, though it's in a very densely built area it's not easy to find some nice pictures of it including the railway line.
    The line also passes some sidings of the local Mercedes motorworks and continues in 4+ tracks layout towards Plochingen.
    [​IMG]
    On the bottom right you can see the S-Bahn maintenance buildings.

    The line now continues in 2-track layout with speeds mostly between 130 and 160 km/h throughout the Fils valley towards Göppingen and Geislingen.
    [​IMG]
    Here we can see an IC stopping at Göppingen. Afterwards the line changes it's urban character to a more scenic one as we climb up the hills of the Schwäbische Alb.
    [​IMG]
    This picture is taken about 10 km before Geislingen, which was a former IC stop as well. Because of the steep ramp some freight services needed a pushing loco like we can see on MSB as well. Today this is not very common anymore unfortunately but still happens sometimes.
    [​IMG]
    Nevertheless a picture of it - what you can see is a BR 194.
    The ramp after Geislingen is through a narrow valley with a road next to it.
    I think it has a radiant of up to 2.25%.
    [​IMG]
    Afterwards some small towns and villages up the alb are reached. Amstetten is nice to mention, since it's the terminus of 2 museum steam railways, one of them beeing narrow gauge.
    Here is a nice video of the part between Geislingen West and Amstetten:

    Because of countless hiking trails some nice trainspotting points can be found afterwards:
    [​IMG]
    And after about 15 mins later we arrive in Ulm.
    [​IMG]
    The DoSto Cars on the bottom left are from our line. Today, the construction works for the high speed line dominate the sight of the station:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    (again, maintenance and huge freight yard on the left, Filstalbahn on the right).

    For now, I would like to finish with some pictures of the bridge over the danube, where our journey towards Augsburg continues.
    [​IMG]
    The footway on the bridge was probably my first trainspotting point as a child. :)
    Nowadays some noise protection walls are disturbing the view. :/
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    The historical skyline of ulm.

    That's it for now - I hope I can find some time to show the other two parts of the route as well!
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2020
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  3. Ps4Player

    Ps4Player Well-Known Member

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    Really would love that one!
     
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  4. SHINO BAZ

    SHINO BAZ Well-Known Member

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    Now this route sound good,and very fitting since my families last name is ulm.
     

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