Black Forest Journeys: Freiburg-Hausach Route Add-On

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.

Includes:

• 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
• 14 scenarios for the route
• Quick Drive compatible