Train Sim World 3 Stuttgart - Crailsheim Network

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by Herr_Hornbuckele, Mar 19, 2023.

  1. Herr_Hornbuckele

    Herr_Hornbuckele New Member

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    I think most people would agree with me or at least be able to follow my train of thought that German TSW Route DLCs feel very linear and don't represent the "network nature" of German railway infrastructure.

    For this reason, I propose the following:
    A DLC Stuttgart - Crailsheim but not as usual linear, but both via the north and south route to provide more gameplay options and variety, set around the 2005 to 2010 timeframe (so Stuttgart Hbf is still fully intact).

    Map:
    Unbenannt.png
    combined length: about 200 km
    not all stations displayed


    Route description:

    Stuttgart - Waiblingen:
    Leaving Stuttgart Hbf, the route crosses the river Neckar to Bad Cannstatt before branching off to the north and crawling out of the Neckar valley. It then runs through Stuttgart's suburbs until it reaches Waiblingen, where the route splits. For S-Bahn services the city tunnel should be modelled until Stuttgart Schwabstraße, both because almost 5 minutes of travel time would be shaved off S-Bahn services if it wasn't modelled and they ended at Bad Cannstatt and because it has got a fairly unique turnaround loop where trains can loop around for their return trip. It would also allow the implementation of all six S-Bahn lines and the properly busy main branch of the Stuttgart S-Bahn. The train yard at Stuttgart Hbf is adjacent to the route and would allow for lots of interesting shunting, especially since Stuttgart Hbf is a dead-end station. This section is four-tracked at the minimum and protected by PZB.
    Services on this section: S-Bahn, RE, IRE, IC, some freight

    Waiblingen - Aalen Hbf:
    After leaving Waiblingen, the "south branch" runs up the Rems valley, stopping at most towns and villages before reaching Aalen. This section is double-tracked and protected by PZB.
    Services on this section: S-Bahn, RE, IRE, IC, some freight

    Aalen Hbf - Crailsheim:
    From Aalen Hbf, the route follows the river Jagst north until it eventually reaches Crailsheim. This section is single-tracked and protected by PZB.
    Services on this section: RE, IRE, IC, some freight

    Waiblingen - Backnang:
    Alternatively on this route, you can leave Waiblingen to the north and cross the river Rems until you reach Backnang, where you enter the Murr valley. This section is double-tracked and protected by PZB.
    Services on this section: S-Bahn, RE, IRE

    Backnang - Crailsheim:
    From Backnang, you follow the river Murr upstream and upon reaching its end, cross over into the Kocher valley until you reach Schwäbisch Hall Hessental. From there, you cut east until you reach Crailsheim. This section is single-tracked to Schwäbisch Hall Hessental and double tracked from there on. It is protected by PZB.
    Services on this section: RE, IRE, freight

    Rolling Stock:

    DB BR 146 + n-Wagen

    The "south branch" to my knowledge is the only route in all of Germany which saw the 146 and n-Wagen in service regularily. Hence this route should definitely come with the 146 and n-Wagen which should not be a problem since both already exist in TSW, so they wouldn't be new vehicles. Especially the n-Wagen can practically be directly copied from BRO since those things are already marked as stationed in Stuttgart Yard.

    Bnrdzf 483 cab car
    In addition to the "Karlsruher Kopf" cab car we already have for the n-Wagen which should also run on this route, this route also saw services with the Bnrdzf 483 "Wittenberger Steuerwagen" cab car. If introduced here, they could also layer onto loads of other German routes set in similar time frames.

    DB BR 111 + 3rd gen Dostos
    The DB BR 111 is the successor to the DB BR 110 we know from BRO. It was built in the late 70s and early 80s and in the late 2000s was the backbone of RE and IRE services on both branches of this route. On the south branch, it also regularily hauled 3rd gen Dostos (more or less just a different cab car, similar coaches).

    DB BR 423
    For S-Bahn services, an adapted variant of the HMA BR 423 would be appropriate. It's more or less the same train, just says "S-Bahn Stuttgart" on the outside instead of "S-Bahn München" and has an interior more akin to the BR 422 in the game.
    If the route were set a bit later, around 2013-2014, the BR 430 could also be added for S-Bahn services. It is a variant of the BR 422, so not really a new train (i.e. not that hard to develop).

    Any of these S-Bahn trains need to be available in one-, two- and three-train consists. Whatever the reason may be this is not present on HMA where it should be like that too, please don't repeat this mistake here!

    DB BR 152
    For freight services, the DB BR 152 would be a breath of fresh air, however any freight locomotive currently in the game should do the trick as well.

    Services:

    S-Bahn:

    S2: Schorndorf - S-Schwabstraße (- Filderstadt)
    This S-Bahn service would be playable from Schorndorf to S-Schwabstraße stopping at all intermediate stops. It runs every 30 mins all day except late at night and early mornings and runs every 15 mins during rush hour.

    S3:
    Backnang - S-Schwabstraße (- Stuttgart Flughafen/Messe)
    This S-Bahn service would be playable from Backnang to S-Schwabstraße stopping at all intermediate stops. It runs every 30 mins all day except late at night and early mornings and runs every 15 mins during rush hour.

    S1: (Kirchheim (Teck) - Plochingen - Esslingen -) Bad Cannstatt - S-Schwabstraße (- Herrenberg)
    This S-Bahn service would be playable from Bad Cannstatt to S-Schwabstraße, running every 30 mins usually and every 15 mins during rush hour.

    S4, S5, S6: (various different places - Ludwigsburg -) Stuttgart Hbf (tief) - S-Schwabstraße
    These S-Bahn services would be playable from Stuttgart Hbf (tief) to S-Schwabstraße. Mainly these are interesting because these lines are main users of the Schwabstraße loop. Frequency is the same as with the others.

    "South branch" RE, IRE, IC and freight:

    RE:
    Aalen Hbf - Stuttgart Hbf
    This RE service runs between Aalen and Stuttgart, stopping at all intermediate stops between Aalen and Schorndorf and between Schorndorf and Stuttgart Hbf only at Waiblingen and Bad Cannstatt. It runs hourly and was run by 146s or 111s with n-Wagen or Dostos.

    RE: (Ulm -) Aalen Hbf - Ellwangen (- Crailsheim)
    Synchronized to provide a connection to Stuttgart Hbf there are hourly RE services which would be playable between Aalen Hbf and Ellwangen. Every two hours, one of these trains runs all the way to Crailsheim. These services were run by 628s and 644s, so probably subject to a Niddertalbahn-Layer, Loco-DLC or similar.

    IRE: Aalen Hbf - Stuttgart Hbf
    During rush hour, this service compliments the Aalen - Stuttgart Hbf RE with hourly service so during rush hour there's IRE/RE services running roughly every 30 mins. It stops less frequently, so it is a bit quicker than the RE. Rolling stock is the same as on the RE it compliments.

    IC: (Karlsruhe -) Stuttgart Hbf - (Schorndorf -) Schwäbisch Gmünd - Aalen Hbf - Ellwangen - Crailsheim (- Nürnberg Hbf (- Leipzig Hbf))
    IC line 61 runs along the south branch, calling at all stations mentioned above. Schorndorf is only serviced by one train per day which runs all the way to Leipzig. During construction work on the "south branch", these can be diverted via the "north branch". Because this route would be set before 2018, these trains would be run by DB BR 101 trains from the 101 DLC and possibly also DB BR 120 hauled trains, should that loco ever come to TSW. Possibly, the DB BR 103 could also substitute some services.

    Freight: Crailsheim - Untertürkheim
    I'm not sure in how far this is even a thing, but I imagine freight trains coming from Crailsheim which are southbound from Stuttgart onwards would run via the "south branch" and branch off just before Bad Cannstatt for Untertürkheim (just around the corner).

    "North branch" RE and freight:

    RE: Stuttgart Hbf - Schwäbisch Hall Hessental (- Crailsheim (- Nürnberg Hbf))
    This RE service runs between Stuttgart Hbf and Schwäbisch Hall Hessental hourly, calling at Bad Cannstatt, Waiblingen, Winnenden, Backnang and after that at every station. Every two hours, the train runs on to Nürnberg Hbf which would mean playable until Crailsheim. On weekends, most of these trains originated only in Backnang instead of Stuttgart Hbf. This service is exclusively run by n-Wagen and 111s as well as possible substitutions (no 146s though).

    Freight: Crailsheim - Backnang
    The main Stuttgart freight yard is at Kornwestheim, which is reached via the Murr valley onwards from Backnang. This means freight services in 99% of all cases would be playable from Crailsheim to Backnang where they branch off irl (also that route is less congested so no precious capacity is wasted). There's also possile routeside industry on the "north branch".

    Stuttgart Yard:
    There should be some shunting services in Stuttgard Yard as well as some stock and loco moves. Especially since Stuttgart Hbf is a dead end station, trains without cab cars which there were and still are some of, can provide interesting shunting services because they need to have a loco attached on the other end and after they depart, the loco left behind needs to be moved out of the track.

    Layers:

    Player controlled:

    S-Bahn:
    Once released, the TSG DB BR 420 should be able to substitute all S2, S4, S5 and S6 services and some S1 and S3 services as well. Before the introduction of the DB BR 430, the 420s ran most S2, S4, S5 and S6 services.

    RE/IRE:
    For RE/IRE services, the BRO DB BR 110 could layer in here on both but mainly the "north branch". So could the Karlsruher Kopf cab car, should it not be included with the route any way.
    Also the BR 143 and BR 112 could substitute the 111s and 146s of most RE/IRE services.
    The Niddertalbahn BR 628 needs to layer into this route in a red repaint to provide RE services between Aalen and Crailsheim.

    IC:
    The DB BR 103 from Linke Rheinstrecke could substitute some 101s from IC trains (the earlier this route is set, the more realistic this is).

    ICE:
    If any ICE T or ICE TD make their way to TSW, they did run trials on the "north branch", which could be provided as layers. Also ICE 1 and ICE 3 trains could be layered in for stock moves in and out of Stuttgart Yard.

    Freight:
    Any freight loco can layer in here.

    Shunting:
    The 363 and 365 could prove interesting as shunters in Stuttgart Yard.

    AI controlled:

    BR 110 + n-Wagen trains and BR 425 trains should layer in as AI RB trains at Backnang for the Murr valley branch line. If set after 2012, these are replaced by S4 S-Bahn trains (423s or 420s).

    BR 628 trains should layer in as AI RE trains to Öhringen and Heilbronn at Schwäbisch Hall Hessental.

    ICE 1 and ICE 3 trains should layer in as AI ICE trains at Stuttgart Hbf. So should IC trains (101 and possibly 103) since Stuttgart is a hub for those trains and all Ulm-bound trains run through Bad Cannstatt. They're essential for an authentic experience.

    Videos (cab rides):
    These are more recent than when I'd like to have the route set but there's as far as I know no significant difference in track layout (except the maintenance facility at Essingen) and only minor scenery difference.

    Nürnberg - Stuttgart ("north branch" between Crailsheim and Waiblingen):


    Crailsheim - Stuttgart ("south branch")


    Summary:
    While the addition of n-Wagen, the BR 110 and the BR 103 in recent DLCs certainly did please me, the "gameplay" aspect of the routes did not necessarily please me as much. Especially considering the 20% price hike for TSW3 DLCs I think it's reasonable to ask for a bit more clever gameplay choices in terms of variety and choice.

    In my opinion, this route would offer exactly that:
    S-Bahn services on one of the busiest PZB-controlled two-tracked line (that's why the inclusion of the Hauptbahnhof - Schwabstraße part and S1, S4, S5 and S6 lines is so important).
    RE and IRE services come of two kinds: On the "south branch" it's more of a mainline experience while on the "north branch" it's a single tracked route with lots of freight snuck in between services.
    There could be interesting freight runs on the single tracked section of the "north branch" and lineside industry.
    Shunting and stock movement in and around Stuttgart Yard should be more interesting than most shunting and stock-moving we've seen so far.
    On top, you can do IC runs with quite a decent number of stops, uncommon for IC/ICE services on other TSW routes.

    Plus the timeframe would allow for some proper vintage rolling stock because the Stuttgart network used old stock for a very long time whilst not forcing DTG to make such questionable decisions as to exclude PIS because on this route, modern PIS was already installed at the time this route would be set at.

    Granted, 200km is a really, really long route. However, with increased prices and the rolling stock included here mostly being recycled, I would like to think this could still be in the realm of possibility. Also, an endpoint before Crailsheim, while possible, would disconnect the two branches just barely or create weird endpoints. So while you can't go in circles around Crailsheim and Waiblingen, it would create some kind of completeness if both branches eventually rejoined.
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2023
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  2. driverwoods#1787

    driverwoods#1787 Well-Known Member

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    I'm guessing you are trying to link Stuttgart Hbf Würzburg Hbf KWG Main Spessart Bahn common origin point & Nürnberg Hbf via Crailsheim. Excellent idea overall however they do have ÖBB Baureihe 4758 Talent 3 in operation.
     
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  3. Herr_Hornbuckele

    Herr_Hornbuckele New Member

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    No if you wanted to do that it would probably be a better idea to try doing the direct route from Stuttgart to Würzburg via Ludwigsburg, Heilbronn, Osterburken and Lauda (which is where the ex ÖBB Talent 3 operates). Well, there is a route from Crailsheim to Lauda from where you could continue to Würzburg but both this one and the one via Heilbronn are fairly boring as linear lines at least the bit after Heilbronn.

    Long story short, no, this is a different route and it does not see ÖBB Talent 3 operation, especially it didn't around 2010.
     
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