A triumph of engineering and perseverance, the line from Freiburg to Hausach takes in some of the most picturesque views in southern Germany, and now you can drive this dramatic route - complete with hairpin loops and curving tunnels - in Train Simulator.
In the 1840s a need was established for a new railway to shorten the journey between Offenburg and Singen. Plans were drawn up for a railway that would cut through the scenic Black Forest to reduce the journey distance by about 90 km. However despite the benefits of this line, it was deemed that the complex and expensive construction of the route and all the structures required would not be possible to build. The main struggle for builders was the incredible height difference throughout the Black Forest, and how to avoid a gradient steeper than 2% at any point which locomotives would not be able to cope with.
Luckily some 20 years after the plans were abolished, a plan was put forward using numerous hairpin loops and curving tunnels carving through the landscape to avoid laying track over the steep gradients. By 1863 the construction of a railway line through the Black Forest had begun and would take about 10 years to complete.
The most difficult section of the Black Forest Railway to construct was between Hornberg and Sankt Georgen. Several major hairpin loops were built to keep the railway within its gradient boundaries as it climbed along the valley. The loops extended the length of this section from 21 to 38 km, a lengthy but necessary solution.
Black Forest Journeys: Freiburg - Hausach recreates this route, complete with its challenging gradients and numerous passes and tunnels, as it appears today with mostly electric traction in operation hauling passengers and freight.
Scenarios
Four Career scenarios for the route, including:
Black Forest Tunnel Carousel
From Freiburg to Seebrugg following schedule
From Seebrugg to Freiburg following schedule
Hoellental- and Black Forest Magic
Ten standard scenarios, including:
Black Forest tunnel carousel
From Freiburg to Seebrugg following schedule
From Freiburg to Seebrugg in winter
From Seebrugg to Freiburg following schedule
Hoellental and Black Forest Magic in winter
Local Train from Freiburg to Donaueschingen
Roller Coaster to Freiburg
Roller Coaches to Freiburg in winter
Winter extremes in the black forest
Winter steam double in the Black Forest
Key Features
48km route from Freiburg to Hausach
Branch line from Titisee to Seebrugg
BR 143 electric locomotive
BR 145 electric locomotive
V200 diesel-hydraulic locomotive
BR52 steam locomotive
Scenarios for the route
Quick Drive compatible
Download size: 2,209mb
Source: The Publisher Website.