As we know that DTG are working on at least one steam-era route, I thought it would be worth opening a discussion around the different types of activities and services that would be relatively unique to this type of route. A discussion around gameplay rather than the technical nuts and bolts, if you see what I mean. Some initial ideas: - Collecting a locomotive first thing in the morning from the shed and preparing for the day by filling with water and coal - Pick up freight services! These mixed freight trains would run once a day or so and were emblematic of the bucolic, slow-paced nature of some steam-era branch lines. Running between marshalling yards, they would stop at each station to deliver and pick-up wagons from the yards. I could imagine such an activity being split into many parts - collecting the initial train, driving to the first station and doing a spot of light shunting in the yard before pulling up in a siding or goods loop to end 'part 1' and let a passenger train pass before continuing down the line. This could nicely break up an activity into 3 or 4 parts spread over several hours while still including prototypical waiting times, and would have the benefit of giving the railway some life with the ever present moving around of wagons. Some more info available on this superbly detailed website (for railway modellers, but aren't we somehow a different side of the same coin?): Railway Freight Operations - Train Formations (igg.org.uk) - Frequent water stops and loco changes that wouldn't be typical in modern settings And a final, slightly more 'out-there' suggestion - life on the railway in past times was significantly more 'manual'. Might be nice to have a small change of pace to spend a few minutes loading milk churns from a country station platform into a Siphon G wagon, box van or even just a guards van behind the locomotive on one of the aforementioned pick-up freight services? Manually swinging the water tower arm out and pulling on the chain when the pipe is in the tank rather than just clicking a button? As I mentioned in another thread recently, Train Sim World is, thanks to the ability to walk around on foot, a far more immersive sim than TS20xx - so some railway-adjacent manual activities perhaps would be an interesting addition. Appreciate I am being a total armchair developer here, but how difficult would it be to add the ability to pick up items and take them from A to B, and including this as part of a service? Or perhaps briefly cleaning a locomotive before the day begins? Doesn't need go full House Flipper, but I hope you can understand what I mean - I suspect Unreal Engine would be well-suited for this sort of thing too. I would love to hear your suggestions too.
I think you would want to accelerate the prep time for a steam loco as, from what I've read, it could take several hours to get steam up to the point where the engine was ready for service. In fact the crews working on the main line rarely started from scratch, they picked up a loco that was already prepped. In the UK there was a strict "link" (seniority) chain for drivers and fireman and it could be years before qualifying for express work on the main line. I'm not sure if it's still in print but I have an excellent book in my library called "On The Footplate" by John Drayton who was a GWR (later BR) fireman then driver and it provides a fascinating insight into the working life of a steam engine crew. In steam days, many low priority freights spent a fair bit of time tucked away in loops or sidings waiting a path, which I don't think you'd want to simulate in game. One interesting feature which I wonder how DTG will simulate is that many freight trains in the UK at least were unfitted, i.e. no continuous train brake. So you were reliant on the locomotive brakes and the guard in the van at the rear to stop the train if required. Train speeds were much slower and as you state, loco changes more frequent. Thinking of the S&D or the Highland Main Line (if we get either) the heaviest trains had to be double headed (piloted) on steeply graded sections. Again there was no multiple working or radio comms between the crews, it was all done by route and traction knowledge plus whistle codes.
Hence I think collecting the loco from the shed 'pre-steamed' rather than lighting the rags ourselves would be more realistic - or perhaps temporal realism can be sacrificed to allow the player to get more fully involved in the locomotive preparation? I don't have a strong opinion either way on that one though. Fully agreed on the note of the brake system. I may not have made it entirely clear above but my proposal to simulate the waiting time for low priority freight trains would simply be to split the activity up into several different services (similar to how services that reverse direction on BML have a Part 1, Part 2 etc) - thereby not necessarily requiring the player to complete it all at once over 3-4 hours with large waiting periods. Would keep the railway looking alive as well instead of just having many empty sidings everywhere or a lot of static consists, which are ok but no replacement for the flow of wagons up and down a line over the course of a day.
A real patience-strainer for most players: it took hours from cold iron to raise steam, and the firelighters came in at 3 am for a morning service. As things are, DTG won't even give us cold electric startups! They walk us through it in the tutorial- and then never again.
I think local freight pick up and drop off is a significantly new game play possibility. Along with managing unfitted wagons. even played as short sections with waiting times in loops removed, it would be a major addition to the game and one I would look forward to. brake van’s hand brake could be represented by having a separate key combo on the keyboard, or as an extra brake option accessible by controller.
For the European routes go back to 1970s-1980s Riesa-Dresden Tharandter Rampe Dresden Chemnitz in that time timetables for Deutsche Reichsbahn DDR lists Chemnitz as Karl Marx Stadt. Coaches are Reko wagen Locomotives New Builds (neubau lokomotive) and Rekolok 65.10 DR 18 201 Historical background for this is that East Germany still retained steam locomotives upto Reunification of West and East Germany official end of steam is 1988. West Germany end of steam 1974
-My ideas for steam-era or modern steam routes (and locos) in the US: -PRR Horseshoe Curve with M1a/b 4-8-2, J1 2-10-4, H10 2-8-0, K4 4-6-2, S1 6-8-6 Turbine, and T1 4-4-4-4 Duplex -B&O Sand Patch with EM-1 2-8-8-4 -SP Donner Pass or Tehachapi Pass with AC-series Cab Forward 4-8-8-2 -ATSF Cajon or Seligman Sub with 3751, 3765, and/or 3776-Class 4-8-4, 2900 4-8-4, 5011-Class Texas 2-10-4, 3400-Class Hudson 4-6-4, and others -SP Coast Line with GS-Series 4-8-4s -NYC Water Level Route with 4-6-4 Hudson, 4-8-4 Niagara, and 4-8-2 Mowhawk -DM&IR route with M3/M4 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone -C&O route with Allegheny 2-6-6-6 and Greenbrier 4-8-4 -UP Steam-era Sherman Hill with Big Boy, Challenger, 4-12-2, and 4-8-4 FEF-1/2/3 -Milwaukee Road route with A-Class 4-4-2, F7-Class 4-6-4, and S3-Class 4-8-4 -Durango & Silverton RR with Narrow Gauge 2-8-2 Mikados -Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RR with 2-8-2s and others -Cass Scenic RR with Shays, a Heisler, and a Climax -Strasburg RR with N&W #611, Great Western #90, and others -N&W route with J-Class 4-8-4, K1/K2-Class Mountain 4-8-2, Class A 2-6-6-4, and Y6b-Class 2-8-8-2 -Grand Canyon RR -White Pass and Yukon RR -Possible restored steam loco DLCs for existing or upcoming routes: -Nickel Plate Road #765 (2-8-4 Berkshire) -Pere Marquette #1225 (Berkshire) -ATSF #3751 and #2926 (4-8-4s) -SP #4449 (4-8-4) -UP #844 (4-8-4) -UP #4014 (Big Boy) -UP #3985 (Challenger) -Milwaukee Road #261 (4-8-4) -C&O 614 (4-8-4) -Grand Canyon RR #29 (Consolidation) and #4960 (Mikado) -SP&S #700 (4-8-4) -PRR #1361 (4-6-2 K4)
