Atomic Systems

Work has begun on a new MSTS route project – the steam operated Dampfbahn Furka Bergstecke between Realp and Gletsch, modelled to represent the route as it was when reopened in 2000. I chose the route partly because it’s one that interests me, and as a relative beginner in MSTS route construction the short route length (13km) and simplicity of the track layout appeals. The route features about ten turnouts, one double slip, four tunnels and a handful of buildings at Realp and Gletsch – the route passes through largely unspoilt terrian high in the mountains, devoid of buildings and featuring only a small number of bridges and one viaduct.

I had already toyed with the idea of building this route, the biggest block to progress was the SRTM Data available for this region, which is on a 90m grid and hence virtually unuseable for mountainous areas. Many summits are missing, ridges and even major water features are unrecognisable. Hours of work in TS TerreForm would have been needed to build up the landscape with contours traced from 1:25,000 scale maps. Even then – the terrain data needed for distant mountains would still have to be based on the 90m SRTM DEMs.

But then I found this site, and with it access to a DEM modellers dream –20m DEMs for the whole of the Alps, built up using existing countoured maps. Having briefly looked at some of the DEMs for locations I know well in Switzerland, I have to say that each location was instantly recognisable, truly magnificent to see the scale and grandeur of the Swiss Alps unfold on my PC screen!

I next looked at the DEM for Gletsch (see screen below) – the Rhone glacier, the basin in which Gletsch sits and the Furka Pass are all clearly identifiable:



The biggest advantage of these DEMs is the consistent level of detail and datums that extends across the whole region, making them instantly useable for both close-up terrain modelling and Distant Mountains. Just as well – the DFB summit route can be extended in many directions; further on to Andermatt, down to Göschenen, up to the Oberalp Pass, or westwards down to Oberwald (via a complete spiral rack and pinion tunnel) and further towards Brig.

The project is at the following stage:

Terrain DEMs – available
Route Information and photographs – many photos in own archives, and more available online
Track plans Gletsch / Muttenbach / Tiefenbach / Realp - available
Route Profile – available, taken from Bahnprofil Schweiz 05 (Diplory Verlag)

The route will feature authentic rack-and-pinion track laid to the actual gradients prevelant on the route, up to 1:8 on the steepest sections – “ZTracksâ€

Wow this is great news. I'm extremely interested in Swiss railways so this should be brilliant. I went to Goschenen & Andermatt this year so if you could eventually extend to their that would great! A potential problem I see though is that you would either have to have no wires or wires on the steam railway. Also, I've read on the Furka Dampfbahn website that it takes 1hr 40mins to do the 13km!

Good luck.

The DFB doesn't actually have any overhead wires - but there are some telephone lines running along side the tracks, which you may be mistaking in pictures. The OHLE was dismantled with the railway line by the FO in the 80s - the DFB reconstruction is incredibly rare in being an unelectrified Swiss line.

They do have a superb fleet though (which I will list for the benefit of forum members) (as taken from several Swiss magazines):
3 HG3/4 steam locomotives (2-6-0 rack-equipped tanks)
1 HG2/3 steam locomotive ex BVZ (0-4-2 rack equipped tank - 1890s!)
1 CFm1/2 disel railcar (a rack equipped diesel railcar - rarely used)

and they are restoring...

2 HG4/4s steam locomotives (0-8-0 rack tank engines built for Vietnam by SLM - they are some beasts!).

Now, who can put rack into MSTS!?!

Nick

@phat2003uk

Thanks for the encouragement - yes, an extension to Andermatt is almost certain in that from Realp, you can see most of the way down the valley to Andermatt and a section of the FO and Furka Base Tunnel will be needed anyway - as it's adjacent to the steam depot at Realp and is good for passing traffic. Guess I'll have to build the car carriers for the shuttel service too, right after a fleet of rack-equipped narrow gauge steam locos!

Electrification of this FO section, and non-electrification of the DFB route isn't a problem - the whole route will be declared in the route editor as "electrified", the wire height set to 1000m, and I will extend my current pack of authentic German masts and catenary wire sections to include FO masts and wires too.

@alexnick

I think two masts survive on the DFB, both on the Steinstaffelviaduct (see photo above)... a bizarre relic of the routes' days under the wires. Rack in MSTS isn't a problem - see http://www.hcl.li/schneeberg/indexen.html, the track system used is ZTracks which has already been included in the standard global tsection.dat. Route construction using gradients of 1:7 is also possible in MSTS - set your track section in the route editor to the maximum possible gradient and keep on pressing "T"

Thanks for the reply, I'm really looking forward to this

So how does rack work in MSTS? - I've been wanting this for ages!

This will sit very nicely in my MSTS installation with the RhB routes from simware!

Nick

@alexnick

You have probably guessed already but - unfortunatly rack doesn't actually "work" in MSTS. Optically it's no problem - ZTracks includes it as part of the shape file for its track sections, but as for making a loco actually climb a 1:7 gradient with a 50t train you have to trick the .eng file - basically setting adhesion to 100% and fiddling with the brake settings.

Won't that make the adhesion portions be terribly unrealistic performance wise (most of the DFB's track is adhesion)?

I do have one alternative, which is to be creative, and alter the scenery and track so that the entire ting runs on adhesion gradients, but still looks the same. You would have to use a certain amount of artistic license, but I imagine you could create a visually realistic representation this way.

Nick

@alexnick

Not so sure about whether rescaling could be made to work convincingly - the route is incredibly steep and that, to me, is what simulating this line would be about. I think the DFB only has adhesion sections in the stations, at the two level crossings, in the summit tunnel and for a short section out of Realp, so for just these sections the immense amount of work involved in rescaling terrain and structures to make it work isn't justified. In my view, that is - as with all compromises everyone has a different view.

There are other things yet to be tried though - making the coaches very light and the engine heavier may help avoid using 100% adhesion, or simply running the loco with near-realistic .eng settings and using "unending" sand to boost adhesion for the rack, with the sanding sound replaced with a more metallic, grinding .wav to simulate the rack section.

Lots of avenues still to be explored

I love the idea of pressing 'x' for the rack section and having a sound simulating the sound!

At the risk of being shot down for showing too little, too early - I attach the following screens taken from the imported 20m Alpine .hgt terrain along the route of the DFB. Just to show it works and, for those who know the area, a chance to see how close it comes to the real thing.

First, Gletsch, view towards the west from the direction of the Rhone glacier. The first markers have also been created, just west of Gletsch station, as an initial cross-check between the Swissmpap 25 digital maps and the .hgt terrain model:



The site of Muttbach Belevedere Station is in roughly the centre of this shot, with the Furka Pass above and to the left:



A view of Realp looking westward, the site of the shed is roughly in the middle just in front of the small hill right-of-centre, the base tunnel portal will be left of this:




I was very satisfied with the accuracy of the terrain model and, with it being .hgt, was able to create around 40 square kilometres of authentic mountain terrain within my lunch break yesterday. It really is a very quick and easy way to model any terrain in Switzerland and, I hope, may motivate others to try. It seems odd to me that Switzerland, the railway country "par excellence", should have recieved generally sparse attention from route builders.

Next up - screens of Gletsch, with the station track layout and buildings

The terrain's looking great! Can't wait for the next screens

It seems odd to me that Switzerland, the railway country "par excellence", should have recieved generally sparse attention from route builders.

True, but not all the ruote builder love to deal with high mountains and difficult landscapes
I know that because I'm building a 52km ruote of which, 18km are in Switzerland. The line is a 1meter gauge.

I wish you a good job with this great line

Bye bye
Bremen

It's not the 'FART' is it?

phat2003uk wrote:It's not the 'FART' is it?

100% right

Bye BYe
Bremen