u/AstroG4

Hey all! I'm settling into my new home in Germany, and I've had a realistic look at the space I have and the time I can devote to construction, and decided the previous plan was just too large, so I've had to lop a meter off each side of the layout space, which means axing most of the fancier elements from the previous plan. This is a smaller remix which manages to keep most of the elements from before, but flips the orientation of the transit line and loses the live interchange in favor of a dummy 90º crossing which can be used for photography if you just don't think too hard about how all its tracks are connected to staging. Anyway, I'd love some feedback on this version!

The freight mainline is in purple, and the technically mock additional mainline treated as a de facto interchange track is in blue.

The frequent DMU transit line is in red, with its Operations and Maintenance Facility in orange (in a 4.5-car-long engine shed), and two stations will be depicted on the top and bottom of the layout near small downtown areas.

And, finally, a shortline freight railroad is depicted in green with its single-track loco storage area in yellow. Unfortunately, due to the small size of the layout, the yard on a curve is the best I can do, and the mainline is used as a switching lead, but, since the majority of the traffic will be the DMU transit line, I think this is actually a very creative way to deconflict the freight switching and transit movements as much as possible, including the use of two double-slip-switches to turn the yard into switching tail tracks so that the switcher can very quickly scuttle out of the way of an oncoming transit vehicle.

Any feedback is most appreciated! My first thought, frankly, is I'd love to have just one more industry spur, but I can't figure out how to do it as everything's starting to feel a little cramped.

It really was astonishing to me how you could get right up to the tracks with zero gates or no trespassing signs. I of course stayed well behind some concrete walls and lineside equipment (the video is deceptive, as it was shot in 3x zoom), but, still, the level of access is incredible! Take that, England! (It’s much harder to rainfan his majesty’s trains because they’re all shrouded behind stupidly high walls and fences, whereas, here, they’re displayed almost like a form of public art! I love this country!)

My goodness this was a fun trip. The trains are ginormous, and are traveling so fast they literally sound like airplanes! 11/10 would leave America again for better train infrastructure.

Truly the trip of a lifetime, the scale of this trade fair is impossible to describe. Right up until 1600 on Friday I was still discovering entire halls I hadn’t been to yet. It was fascinating the sheer number of multi-story booths with integrated coffee shops, bars, and full-scale restaurants meant for corporate schmoozing. The quantity of companies was also incomprehensible: there were booths dedicated just to one type of truck spring, a particular color of seat leather, or styles of onboard passenger tables.

In terms of trains, Siemens used a lot of AI slop and was showing off its new locomotives that came with an App Store pre-installed in the loco computers, which was very disappointing, and the Flixtrain Talgo unveiling occurred with absolutely no pomp and circumstance, pressing the button to lift the curtain after zero words of announcement or gratitude. Just around the corner on the other hand, Nox had a very exciting and innovative night train concept what will start running this March between Hamburg, Bremen, Augsburg, and München.

Stadler, as always, had an excellent showing, with the Norwegian long-distance FLIRT being expertly outfitted and a very bold step into the intercity space, and the ÖBB KISSes and FLIRTs continue to be the standard of medium- and short-distance railroading, although their Hydrogen narrow gauge ZEMU was comedically cramped and, including the longer-than-normal mechanical cabinets behind the cabs, devotes almost a full half of its length to non-revenue space. Hydrogen has sailed, Discontinuous Electrification is the best way forward for CapEx-allergic transit systems.

But the true Belle of the Ball was the Končar’s four-car BEMU. I know almost nothing of them as a company, nor can I vouch for their mechanical reliability, but if it’s anything like the interior design, they’re the Apple to Alstom’s Dell. The seats were so solid but soft, had two different types of recline, separate middle arm rests for each seat, and an incredibly airy and maneuverable interior. My absolute favorite part was the snack zone space. Normally, I loathe vending machines on trains as an unforgivable downgrade from proper meal service (I’m looking at you, San Joaquins Joint Power Authority), but this area was brilliantly appointed with bar-height standing tables arranged so that you could either look out through the standee-height windows or turn sideways and look across the table, all while being conveniently out of the walkway and vending machines access area (contrast this with the Siemens Mireo, which mashes everything about the snack zone into a single-person bottleneck). The Končar snack zone even had sound doors on either entrance, insulating it from the rest of the train to give it a separate bar-like atmosphere. And I personally absolutely loved the exterior styling, it was easily the sexiest vehicle there. I’m doing a terrible job of describing how brilliantly this train was outfitted, but, suffice it to say, I have to visit Zagreb as quickly as possible, and it was the single vehicle I saw the most people from other train companies exploring.

Genuinely one of the biggest bike shops I’ve ever seen. Stellar and stupefyingly kind customer service, too. They were having a 45%-off sale for their 45th anniversary. Remind me to stop by in 55 years for a free bicycle. Apparently the station pavilion was originally designed to be supports for a skyscraper, but the locals revolted, and the podiums were converted into a roof too tall to be functional but too beautiful to be hated mother of all [tram] sheds.

Ground level, less than two meters from the tracks, waist-high fences, zero poles or even bushes in the line of sight. Yes, I know it was probably legally mandated as a disabled refuge point for in the event the elevator to the overpass is broken, but you’ve got to admit it’s not unlikely at least someone was thinking about a dual purpose for trainspotters. Honestly, if I lived in the area, I’d bring a folding chair, a cooler, and a few friends for a day-long picnic. It’s like a Rochelle Railroad Park for the South Cymru Metro.

Shoes on the seat is one thing, but bare feet 🤢.....

Would you say something or just be grossed out? ( I dont say much ahaha people can live their own lives but this is odd right?) There just in my peripheral all the time...

They are now hanging over in the aisle and I'm so grossed out, can't move due to needing the disabled seats or I'd be long gone -_-

I hate this so much.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nuR6aiYYz4qaqqL38?g_st=ic

From how faded the sign is, I imagine it’s quite old. Yet, excusing the britishisms (what is the pink and why do I want to feel in it?), it’s quite evergreen and pertinent.