Dispatching in Kirchhain (Bezirk Kassel)
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Before you get your approval to run the service on a signal box, you need to find out about the local characteristics. After training as a general trainee signalman, dispatchers were always paired with a person skilled in the signal box. This chapter is the brief introduction to the area. Read it carefully. It contains very important information.
The text is "peer to peer" written as if you are in the signal box, the first day after training.
Have a more detailed look at the Stellwerk Kirchhain panel here.
Introduction
The station Kirchhain (District of Kassel) is a railway station along the Main-Weser-Bahn. The Main-Weser-Bahn starts in Kassel and ends in Frankfurt (Main). The line is electrified. The power signal box (Stellwerk) "Kf" controls the line between kilometer 82.5 and km 99.5. Additionally, the two branch line starting in Kirchhain were still in service. That is why it has been decided to situate this simulation as how it was in the year 1970, as in that time both the BW and the freight yard were still operational. In 1970 Kirchhain was managed by the Federal Railway Authority of Kassel.
The neighboring dispatchers along the main line were Cölbe / Marburg (Lahn) towards the West, and Stadt Allendorf towards the East. The neighboring dispatchers on the branch lines were Rauschenberg and Nieder-Ofleiden.
There used to be cargo handling (track 10), a ticket office and baggage claim at the station of Kirchhain .
The timetable is a 1:1 of the passenger timetable of winter 1970/1971. The freight traffic is fictional, but based on freight volume statics back then.
Lines
Besides the Main-Weser-Bahn Kassel <-> Frankfurt (Main), Kirchhain was the starting point of the Wohratalbahn towards Gemünden (Wohra) and the Ohmtalbahn towards Burg- und Nieder-Gemünden.
The Main Line
The main line was mainly used by freight trains. The maximum speed for freight trains was 80 km/h. For the passenger services there were regional trains (N=Nahverkehrszüge), fast regional trains (Ns=Nahschnellverkehrszüge) and express trains which had a stop in Kirchhain. Fast trains (D-Schnellzüge) existed for fast connections between Marburg (Lahn) and Gießen.
Freight trains usually had a BR 140 loc as traction. The D-trains and IC-trains were mostly pulled by a BR 103 loc, and so now and then the E-trains by a BR 110. The regional trains with their Silberlingen had a BR 141 for traction.
The Branch Lines
The single track Wohratalbahn towards Gemünden (Wohra) can be found on the left side of the panel. On the right side the Ohmtalbahn towards Burg- und Nieder-Gemünden can be found, which is also a single track line.
The Schienenbusse were used for the passenger services on both branch lines. There were also some freight trains servicing on the branch lines.
Marburg (Lahn) used to have three platforms.
- At platform 1 there were tracks 1 and 2 along the main line.
- At platform 2 there were tracks 5 and 7. track 5 could be used for passenger services on the main line, for example to let a D-train overtake a regional train. Normally, only trains servicing on the Ohmtalbahn had their stops at this platform.
- At platform 3 there was track 8. Trains of the Wohratalbahn departed from here.
There used to be two more train stops into the direction of Cölbe -> Marburg (Lahn) -> Frankfurt (Main), namely Anzefahr and Bürgeln. Those train stops as well as the block signals were controlled by Kirchhain. There was no other train stop into the direction of Treysa -> Kassel Marburg-Süd before the station of Stadt Allendorf.
Peculiarities
Why is there a color difference between the upper and lower part of the panel? The idea was that the upper light-grey part of the would be operated from Stellwerk Treyse, for example during the nights and weekends. In the end this plan never came into real operation. Therefor the color difference do not have any meaning.
Train routes from track 7 towards the West (towards Cölbe or Gemünden (Wohra)) were not possible. Only shunt movements were possible. Main reason for this is that platform 2 could only be reached by passengers via an unattended level crossing located behind the shunt signal.
Train routes from track 8 to the east were not possible either, only shunt routes could be set into that direction.
The tracks in the station of Kirchhain and the main line were electrified, except for track 7 and the tracks in the shunt yard on the east side. The branch line could be serviced by steam or diesel trains only as well.
Freight trains (Ng) delivered wagons with the branch lines as destination as well as Kirchhain itself. In the evening other Ng trains picked up the assembled wagons to be brought to the hubs in Marburg or Treysa.
A BR 211 loc from the depot in Treysa came down from on weekdays for the shunting operations after the arrival of the freight trains and before departure of those freight trains. A Freight train accompanying-car was hooked up to the arriving freight train, in which the shunt personel resided during the journey. A V100 loc was used for the Üb-freight trains on the branch lines.
A Köf was located at the station for the local shunt operation. here were various sidings within the station area like to grain silos, to a storage tank of the German army and a connection to the Marburger Tapetenfabrik. In the simulation arriving freight trains can be handled using the built-in shunt movements, or like in Wuppertal-Langerfeld, the Köf can be directed "manually" to do the shunt operations.
The level crossing "Niederrheinische Straße" is not operated by setting train routes over it. It is activated by key and deactivated by a magnet underneath the train. The level crossing "Hainmühle" however was and still is a so-called Anrufschranke, which is mainly closed. Only when a call is made by someone willing to cross the level crossing, the barriers are opened shortly and closed again after the level crossing has been passed .
Trains on the branch lines must be announced and accepted by the neighbouring dispatcher by telephone! ZNP801 was not used for offering and accepting trains in 1970.
It can become pretty busy on the Main-Weser-Bahn in the event the Nord-Süd-Strecke North-South line is closed due to an incident. This scenario can be activated with the Fax System.
Trains with exceptional loads
Trains with exceptional loads (known as Lü-trains) require special attention. If you have a Lü train of class C (Cäsar) or D (Dora) on its way, there may not be any other Lü of class C or D (Dora) traffic on the adjacent tracks . You might run into big problems when another Lü-train is on its way out of the other direction.
A Lü-train always has steering number "0" assigned. This means that the auto fleeting system won't work for those trains, and that you have to set any part of the route yourself.
Finally one more tip: Try to stay calm! Even when the train drivers keep calling frequently telling you that are waiting in front of a signal at danger. So what? You decide which train can drive, and which one has to wait. And don't be afraid, there are no passenger on board the trains. So you can coordinate and dispatch in the most optimal way!
Line Operations
The signal box Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) can be connected with the signal box of Marburg (Lahn).
Train Series
| Train Serie | Train Type |
| 10-1499 | Schnellzüge (D/IC/TEE) |
| 1500-1999 | Eilzüge (E) |
| 2000-4999 | Nahverkehrszüge (N/Ns) |
| 5000-5199 | Durchgangseilgüterzüge (De) |
| 6000-7999 | Durchgangsgüterzüge (Dg) |
| 8000-9999 | Nahgüterzüge (Ng) |
| 10000-12999 | Schnellzüge (D/IC) |
| 13000-13999 | Lokfahrten (Lz) |
| 14000-14999 | Leerfahrten (Lr/Lto) |
| 15000-17999 | Übergabezüge (Üb) |
In the past, trains could change of train type during their journey. A D-train on one line could change into an E-train on another line. In this cases the E-train would have a train number of 3 numbers as well.
Steering numbers
| Steering numbers | Used for |
| 0 | Extra trains and Special trains (.i.e. trains with exceptional loads) |
| 1 | Trains travelling at speed of 100 km/h or higher; Cölbe towards Kassel track 305 |
| 2 | Trains travelling at speed less then <100 km/h; Cölbe towards Kassel track 305 |
| 3 | Passenger trains on the main line, which stop in Cölbe |
| 4 | Passenger trains on the main line, which stop in Cölbe and end in Marburg (Lahn) |
Abkürzungen
| De | Durchgangseilgüterzug |
| Dg | Durchgangsgüterzug |
| IC | Intercity |
| Lz | Lokfahrten |
| Lr | Leerfahrten |
| N | Nahverkehrszug |
| Ng | Nahgüterzug |
| Ns | Nahschnellverkehrszug |
| Üb | Übergabegüterzug |
| Short Name | Full Name |
| AZ | Anzefahr |
| BNG | Burg- und Nieder-Gemünden (Ohmtalbahn ab Kirchhain) |
| BRG | Bürgeln |
| COE | Cölbe |
| FF | Frankfurt (Main) Hbf |
| GEM | Gemünden (Wohra) (Wohratalbahn ab Kirchhain) |
| KIH | Kirchhain |
| KS | Kassel Hbf |
| MBG | Marburg (Lahn) |
| MBGS | Marburg-Süd (Kreisbahn) |
| MBS | Marburg-Süd |
| SR | Sarnau (Obere Lahntalbahn ab Cölbe) |
Track Lengths
Track Lengths Kirchhain (Bz Kassel)
| Track | Length (m) |
| Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) 1 | 800 |
| Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) 2 | 830 |
| Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) 3 | 750 |
| Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) 4 | 600 |
| Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) 5 | 350 |
| Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) 7 | 220 |
| Kirchhain (Bz Kassel) 8 | 200 |
Street Names of Level Crossings
| Box info | Mile Post | Steet Name |
| I 1 | km 96.780 | Hainmühle |
| I 2 | km 19.237 | Niederrheinische Straße |
This simulation is part of the Main-Weser-Bahn | Marburg (Lahn) | Kirchhain (Bezirk Kassel)