Mark your calendars, Frankenbahn: Stuttgart - Heilbronn is coming on 9th December, featuring the new BR 140 and Wittenberger cab car!
In this article we provide more information about the Audio for the BR 140 locomotive and outline the full list of layered content for the timetable, relevant for the year 2000 setting.
Route and Content Summary
We gave an initial overview of the first German route Add-on to come to Train Sim World 6 in our previous article.
This 51 km route, set in the year 2000, brings classic traction to freight services and adds another cab car to Train Sim World's German railway roster, in the form of the Wittenberger Steuerwagen.
A pre-refurbishment Stuttgart Hbf, trackside vineyards and military structures make for a distinct journey, with unique railway infrastructure also making appearance in flyovers, underpasses and the massive Kornwestheim freight yard.
Hauling this freight will be the new BR 140, a classic locomotive built between the 1950s and 1970s. Tap changer power and single release brakes will provide a challenge for players, as will the included toggleable Train Faults as part of the Train Sim World 6 core feature.
BR 140: Audio
A real-world audio recording reference trip was undertaken by the Audio Team to implement authentic BR 140 sounds into this Add-on. Sounds captured reflect what was available to record during this trip.
The sounds that came from that recording include:
Whistle (Internal & External)
Compressor (Internal & External)
Traction blower
Tap changer wheel
Internal running
Internal joints
Internal flange rumble
Brake rub (Internal & External)
Cab deactivation buzzer
SIFA Alarm
PZB Alarm
Transformer Buzz
During the mixing phase, some of the external sounds we weren't able to get were synthesised from our existing collection.
Wittenberger Cab Car: Compatibility
In addition to Train Faults and Passenger Announcements the new cab car will be compatible with locomotives from previous Train Sim World Add-ons.
These include:
BR 111 (included in Stuttgart-Heilbronn)
BR 112
BR 114
BR 143
BR 146
Original BR 101
Further Timetable Information
More layers to be added
A comprehensive timetable, outlined in our previous article, focuses on the SE and RE services of the era, along with the freight services hauled by the BR 140 and shunting services operated by the included BR 363.
We also confirmed the following additional layers:
BR 111 Dosto services from Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn
BR 425 services from Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn
Mixed freight services from Ruhr Sieg Nord
Shunting substitutions using the BR 294 locomotive from Train Sim World 6: Deluxe and Special Editions
In addition to these, following feedback and further work by the Gameplay Team, we can confirm more layers which will be added in a post-release patch.
ICE and IC Traffic
AI ICE traffic will feature the ICE 1 and ICE 3 from Kassel-Würzburg. The ICE 1 handles most of the ICE traffic, including filling in for a few ICE 2 services. The ICE 3 runs Expo Express trains (1 each way) out of the map to Hannover.
The original DB BR 101 Add-on will add IC AI traffic with two playable services that run halfway along the route, as well as some shunting services in and out of Stuttgart.
All ICE and IC services, apart from those playable, will run off the route at the Schnellfahrstrecke to Mannheim.
Frankfurt-Fulda brings some additional AI for the ICE-T at Stuttgart, focusing on the trains that ran to Switzerland via Singen.
Auto and Nachtzug Trains
The BR 110 from Bremen-Oldenburg, Linke Rheinstrecke coaches, Laaers and BR 363 make up an interesting layer representing the Auto and Nachtzug, or car and night trains!
These are long distance sleeper trains that travel through the night with coaches and car carriers. Back in the year 2000, Kortwestheim had two platforms specifically for handling these services. They're a mix of short passenger runs and a bunch of little shunting services for the 363 at both Kornwestheim and Stuttgart Hbf.
The platforms and loading ramp at Kornwestheim are still there today but no longer used.
Other Services
The DB BR 218 Add-on will add services that pull some coaches from Linke Rheinstrecke on an IRE train to/from Erfurt, fully playable between Stuttgart and Heilbronn.
The BR 628 from Niddertalbahn runs mostly AI services at Heilbronn Hbf but also represents a withdrawn service that ran to Stuttgart Feuerbach. It's a very short playable service that runs only in the rush hour.
Semmeringbahn also adds some ÖBB EC AI traffic to the Stuttgart area.
We can also confirm as part of this that ONE shipping containers will no longer appear in freight consists.
S-Bahn Services
Finally, we previously stated that gaps would be left to accommodate the future release of the BR 420 Add-on, by TSG. Further details about this release, including impact on timetables for route Add-ons, will be given over the course of future Roadmaps or closer to release.
In the meantime, we can confirm that the BR 423 from Frankfurt S-Bahn will occupy these services instead.
Known UI Issue on Release:
Finally, we wanted to make players aware of a Known Issue that some players may encounter on release.
Some players may notice that the n-Wagen cab car (DB Bnrdzf 463) erroneously appears in the train selection screen, instead of the Wittenberger Cab car (DB Bnrdzf 483). Selecting the n-Wagen will show the correct Wittenberger cab car option as a listed variant.
The Wittenberger cab car is playable, if this variant is selected.
A fix for this issue has been submitted, with affected players receiving a post-release update to rectify it.
Preview Livestream
Join both the RFTV Team for the Preview of Stuttgart - Heilbronn, now taking place on Friday 5th December, over on YouTube and Twitch.
Find out more about Train Sim World 6 by following @trainsimworld on Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.