[F777] Im Köblitzer Bergland V4

While making the final adjustments, I noticed that the power supply for the overhead contact wires in Koeblitz is set up in a very strange way. The main line leading to Bad Rinckenburg is split almost immediately by a neutral insert, while the line to Wildau remains unsplit. Furthermore, there is a separate transformer at Wildau itself that powers the catenary system. Therefore, I decided to add a neutral insert with a backup switch at the beginning of the branch. Under normal conditions, the branch to Wildau is powered by a relatively weak transformer at the station, but if it fails, the branch can receive backup power from Koeblitz.

Additionally, after inspecting the power distribution on the SFS, I realized that the current SFS branch between Altenburg and Bad Rinckenburg should ideally be separated by a neutral inserts and powered separately, since high speeds and busy traffic require a large power supply. The SFS is approximately 20 kilometers long, which perfectly meets the requirements for a more powerful power supply. Therefore, there will now be two neutral inserts located at the beginning and end of the SFS. Ideally, another neutral section should be added after the SFS toward Hoch Merzburg, since both the SFS and the winding commuter line are powered by a single power source, and the length of the commuter section alone extends well beyond 40 km when measured from Koeblitz. In short, I decided to make the catenary system even more interesting and realistic.

Update is live.
I hope this is the final one (like ICE4 ) in terms of changes. Please let me know about any inaccuracies you find; I’ll be sure to correct them. I haven’t checked the QD; they were supposed to still work, but one person recently said in the comments that they don’t. Actually, I’d be very happy if someone came along who could get them up to par

While testing one of the Anakha scenarios, I discovered that the settings for links were reversed on one of the Altenburg exit signals. This will be fixed in the bugfix update. For now, please forgive me and use Befehl 40 .

Zitat von Marcel Kühne

Forza Gamer 777 - I have a question. Is it possible to built a new Station near the shunting yard at Altenbirg Nord. This partt looks so empty. Also nice is a a track switch on the speed line between Algenburg and Bad Rinckenburg.

And my biggest wish is super elevation on the old tracks between Altenburg - Könlitz and Bad Rinckenburg. So the speed on the old line could be higher, from 120 km/h to 140 km/h.

Greetings Marcel.

That would be awesome. The station can still be built, but getting involved in the already existing tracks and restructuring everything is a very risky and incredibly difficult task. Right now, I don’t have anything even close to such plans; maybe in a couple of years I’ll want to make some major changes again. For now, I want to polish the route to its ideal, workable state by testing scenarios and getting feedback.
In any case, I won’t be doing any large‑scale reconstruction for now, because one of the people here has already volunteered to rebuild Hosvenn and bring it up to a more modern, yet still museum‑like state. So we’ll see in the future.

P.s. Overall, I wouldn’t mind rebuilding a lot of different places myself. Because in IKB they’re made using strange TrackRule. But all my additions of tracks also turned out crooked because I had to combine the new with the already built ones, and the already built ones had many breaks and joints (red triangles), which sometimes make it simply impossible to build a path at a normal angle or create a switch.

Well, then. This is likely going to be a very long post.

After the release of the latest update, I started doing some additional bug hunting. gleisente helped me find many of them. These included mixed-up Links settings - where the main track showed Sh1 while the siding showed green/yellow - as well as missing Zs3v signals, an insufficient number of Vs, 500 Hz magnets that hadn’t been removed, and various other minor issues.

After checking various glitches, I felt a strong urge to add more realism. I began to study the operational schematics of the Lf7 and Zs3 in more detail, as well as their differences in operation. To do this, I even installed TSW so that (albeit with some glitches) I could explore various new real-world routes and methods for implementing signals and signs. I also tried bombarding Google Gemini with queries so it would search German sources for information and translate it for me.

After gathering a ton of information, I began making additional adjustments to the route. These included new Lf7 signals in various locations (which were also missing in IKB3), as well as an absolutely incredible number of extra 500 Hz signals (which were also in IKB3) on tracks with a speed limit of 40 km/h, and errors regarding Zs3 (where in IKB3 the speed limit for the branch line was set via Zs3, not via Lf7).
I also began implementing Ra12 and axle detectors, which in reality have replaced the track circuits.


On top of everything else, I started delving deeper into the rd signal variants, which will now be used more frequently on the route alongside VrX trigger.
In the screenshot, you can see how the VrX trigger can be used to turn off the white “rd” light for the side tracks, where there is more than enough braking distance and the additional indicator is misleading.

Almost all of the main signals along the route are currently configured without the “rd” function; I am gradually correcting this, taking into account the braking distance, in accordance with official DB documentation.

I almost forgot to mention that there will be more “Halt” signals along the route at major stations for EMUs and DMUs of various lengths. 140 meters - a double-unit BR 425. 90 meters - the length of a 4-car Mireo. All other EMUs are shorter than 90 meters. For a double Mireo train 180 meters long, adding these signs in some places doesn’t make sense, since there’s very little distance left to the end of the platform.

And finally, I sorted out the layout of the input signals after learning that they are placed strictly on the right; if that’s not possible, a checkered plate is placed where the signal would normally be on the right, and the signal itself is placed on the left. Before, I didn’t fully understand this concept and sometimes just copied what was previously in the IKB (which was incorrect in some places).

Well, then. What started out as a simple bug fix has turned into a full-fledged new patch. There are so many changes again that I’ll just get tired of translating the changelog from my language into English. In addition to what I planned to work on in my last post, I’ve added various switch mechanisms with prototypical numbers and replaced the guard rails along the entire route. I’ve become really interested in studying junctions, so I wanted to add a dash of realism to my route as well.

In addition, I’ve now fully completed the transition from CMD to 143er; all Ls signals are now from a single package, and the CMD package is no longer needed. I'm still experimenting for now, but in the long run, I plan to add more Ls signals to enable full-scale shunting operations at large stations. So far, I've only added them to Altenburg Nord

I also finally managed to fix the Zs3v in the Bad Rinckenburg tunnel. All I had to do was add a Vsw. I could have left it as a fake - that is, hidden it underground so it would serve only as a scripted link for the indicator - but after thinking it over, I decided that a real version wouldn’t be out of place given the limited visibility and speed limits on the branch: 120 km/h on one side and 100 on the other.

My work has taken much longer than expected, and I’ll have to be away for a week, but I have a feeling I’ll be able to release the patch in Octo(Novem)ber.