If I remember correctly, Russia or one of the Eastern European āsatelliteā nations had an amusement-park-scale railway called the āPioneer Railwayā where children learned practical railroading, including the use of signals.
I still think we took a step backward when we got away from āphotorealisticā simulatorsā¦
I imagine DB finds it an efficient training method. āHands onā (experiential learning) is valued.
How much different is the effect from the simulators US railroads run that include signals and signal overlay in their operation?
They pulled actual levers. I think the DB also has simulators but this might be useful for less modern setups on branch lines.
Itās an impressive set up. I once saw a very old picture from the 1900s of a telegraph school that used early model trains. Along with teaching Morse Code, they teached railroad practices including train orders and operating a manual block system.
Jeff
DB has 19 full motion simulators in 12 simulation centers
https://werksfuehrung.de/fileadmin/user_upload/bilder/Bahn-Schiene/DB_Zugsimulator_Hamburg_04.JPG
https://werksfuehrung.de/fileadmin/user_upload/bilder/Bahn-Schiene/DB_Zugsimulator_Hamburg_01.JPG
Hallo und willkommen, Volker!
WELCOME BACK!
I wonder whether Brother Eliasā GRS panel ācountsā as a version of this approach that might be adapted for American purposesā¦
thanks for the welcome!
The Eisenbahnbetriebsfeld Darmstadt isnāt the only one in Germany. There are at least 12 and all are connected to some kind of collage and operated in connection with DB.
List of layout (selection): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenbahnbetriebsfeld#Liste_der_Eisenbahnbetriebsfelder_(Auswahl)
A Eisenbahnbetriebsfeld (railroad operating field) is a model railroad layout for educational purposes. It is used to train railroad workers and for academic research.
From Technical University Darmstadtās website:
āAmong other things, new operating procedures are being tested in the jointly operated facility and issues relating to the interface between the dispatcher and the electronic interlocking are being investigated. In addition, tools and methods for dispatching are being further developed. In teaching, the EBD is used to illustrate operating procedures in basic studies and for courses in railroad safety engineering.ā
https://www.verkehr.tu-darmstadt.de/bst/forschung_bs/eisenbahnbetriebsfeld_bs/menue-ebd-eisenbahnbetriebsfeld-startseite.de.jsp