Garlic Games

[rain plank]

My 250th attempt at filling a map with pixel trains and pixel candy. Germany-themed 4k*4k map, P&T, trackwork inspired by reality.

It's 1965 and i'm again trying to fill the whole map. This is the first game in which i use the new timekeeping functions (which i really love so far).

Current Map status is here:

P&T is enabled, so i'll spend a lot of time scheduling trains for perfect interchanges. Luckily it's germany-themed, so if i screw the timetable it's just "lol, DB".

my usual approach is kinda chaotic, i like to run trains as soon as there is track and do eyecandy, scheduling and other stuff in between. So expect a lot of unfinished stuff!

The first part of the "Northern Mainline" is done, so let's have a closer look.

Main station in the northern corner is Pulheim, the trackwork is largely inspired by Kassel Hauptbahnhof. Pulheim will be a major hub in this network with at least 3 mainlines and a branch line going from here.

First thing i've completed is the branch line to Waldkappel. 1tph passenger traffic, and i've already cramped in a bit of freight services. Let's hop on the train and follow the route. Our service is made up of a brand new V100-class diesel engine and a set of the omnipresent yg-coaches. We're departing from Platform 1, just a few minutes after the mainline service has entered on Platform 3.

Directly after leaving Pulheim Hbf, we pass Pulheim Depot. Nothing much happening here, just a few locos sitting outside the depot.

First staion on our travel is Garbsen, where we pass the southbound train to Pulheim.
Garbsen hosts a Lime Kiln, which is serviced by train and truck. Could use a bit more eyecandy though.

Next stop is Kitzingen. Nothing much going on here, just empty platforms and a passing loop for the occasional local freight train.

Finally Waldkappel, the Terminus of that branch line. The Goods Shed is still in good condition and sees regular services for the nearby farm.

[cold hatch]

Yes Garlic Games 🎉

[spare heath]

one thing I always wonder with large stations is,
will you be able to fill it

[rain plank]

challenge accepted!

[wanton flame]

How big do people build their stations? There are lots of Dutch objects but it’s hard to use station pieces if they’re all five tiles long

How long are your trains?

[rain plank]

currently it's 12tl, but the network is set up for a max length of 18 on mainlines. a dual ICE3 in GETS is 15 tiles, so i need at least this (if i ever play a game long enough to reach such modern stuff :D)

[rain plank]

It’s early Monday morning, best time for a nice trip by train! Also, it’s end oft he month, so no money in the pocket for some fancy express trains: We’ll take the stopping train from Pulheim to Euskirchen. But first we’ll have to get to Pulheim Hauptbahnhof by tram.

Pulheim City Centre with it’s ancient curches decided to keep cars to a minimum. This results in a rather extensive network of various bus and tram lines.

Pulheim is currently the biggest city on the map. The station itself has lots of capacity left, but most of the planned lines aren’t built yet. Our train is ready to depart on Platform 3. It’s a stopping service formed of typical 1960’s DB stock: A rather new BR 141 and a set of „Silberling“-coaches.
Most trains we’ll see enroute are electric: Deutsche Bundesbahn forced a major electrification scheme after the war. Before these works started, most of the german railway network was run by steam engines. (Despite some tracks in Bavaria – Those had been electrified earlier due to massive coal shortage) By 1965, the majority of main lines had already been electrified.

(Imagesource: https://www.rheinmodellbahn.de/media/Bilder/Karten/1965.jpg)

But back to our commute: After leaving Pulheim Main station, we’re heading east towards Signal Box „Pulheim Ost“. Over here the mainline to Pulheim divides: We’re on the tracks for the main station, the other line leads towards the goods station.

Our first stop down the line is Strehla: A random small town right outside the big city. The villagers mostly work in the nearby City and enjoy playing soccer at their local club.

Going north, we pass mostly forested areas before reaching Mansfeld tunnel.

Mansfeld itself is a rather boring and unfinished town. We’re passing a V100 carrying limestone for Garbsen Lime Kiln.

Next stop: Vöhringen, a small village surrounded by forests and farmland. Our train won’t stop here for long, as we’re now beeing chased by the regular express train.

Doberlug-Kirchhain is another rather uninteresting village on the line. The big townhouses remind the inhabitants of their rich past: First, barges brought wealth to the people. When the railway was built, barges were withdrawn and steam trains helped trading the crops of the nearby farms. Mid-1960’s only one steam train and a lot less wealth is left. Grain now goes to the Mill at Pulheim. Our train has to stop for a few minutes to let the Express train pass.

Next, we’ll pass Netphen and Salzwedel on our journey. Neither of those settlements are important (Nor eye-candy’ed), so our next stop is Jüterbog. The V100 we’ve passed at Mansfeld carried limestone from here, besides that, this is the endpoint for some peakservices.

Next stop is Mutzschen station. The station serves both neighboring towns of Mutzschen and Nürtingen.

We’re slowly coming to the end of our journey: After stopping at Oppenau, we’ll reach Euskirchen Hauptbahnhof, the termins of our service. Euskirchen is a major hub on the network: 4 different lines merge in this station. We’re reaching the western approach. As it’s half past 6 by now, the sidings are all empty.

Both the station layout aswell as the dual turntables are inspired by Bebra, a station that got significant traffic post war due to it’s location on the inner-german border. Until mid-1970’s Deutsche Reichsbahn took over duties for all „Interzonenzüge“ towards the GDR from here. Despite the real town being rather uninteresting, this led to quite some train traffic.
Let’s see if i can fill the massive array of goods sidings while i continue to play.