In a first for Train Sim World (TSW), the DB BR 218 is now available to buy and drive on various routes and scenarios.

Back in April, Train Simulator Games (TSG) revealed a road map that included the production of the DB BR 218.

Since then, updates have been issued on its development progress before screenshots and a video was posted in early June.

Now the locomotive is available to Train Sim fans as an addon and is compatible with Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam for £14.99.

Built in the 1960s, the DB BR 218 pulled both passenger and freight services across Germany before DMUs and electrification displaced them from front line services.

The locomotive recreated for Train Sim World 4 has all the parts and variations that are common in diesel locomotive traction.

This includes the governing of the gear setting and brakes on a range of rolling stock and train formations that the 218 would have operated with.

Just like the real locomotive, the Sim 218 varies in how and where it can run and perform on trains. Freight and passenger trains can operate in double-headed and ‘top-and-tailed’ formations, utilising rolling stock from the routes they integrate with, which include different versions of n-Wagen and Dostos passenger cars.

Should players use the DB BR 218 in Free Roam or Formation Designer, the in cab controls for the n-Wagen set are included and operated specifically to this type of locomotive operation.

Other versions of n-Wagens, such as those used in the Bremen – Oldenburg route, will not be compatible with this locomotive.

Similarly, the Dostos included in the Maintalbahn are configured correctly to operate with this type of diesel locomotive, complete with door controls. However, Dostos from other German route add-ons might function differently.

The main route for the DB BR 218 locomotive Add-on is the Train Sim World Compatible Hauptstrecke Hamburg – Lübeck route Add-on.

On this route, players have the opportunity to operate the 218 in timetable mode, offering 29 different services.

The Hauptstrecke Hamburg – Lübeck route has four different scenarios which include passenger and freight services, these include:

• Early Bird: which comprises of a 218 bringing an early morning train into Lübeck.
• Late Picker: which is driven from a Dosto cab car as the train is propelled by a 218. The service is running late as it picks up passengers to a tight schedule
• To the Rescue: this feature double heading 218s heading out to retrieve a broken down train at Bargteheide before taking it to Rothenburgsort yard.
• Foul Weather Freight: Includes double heading 218s on a heavy freight train in challenging conditions on a journey from Rothenburgsort to Lübeck yard. This scenario includes wait times and overtaking in places.

For those players that have both the Hamburg – Lübeck and Maintalbahn routes, the 218s will be able to operate extra services.

This represents the time frame from December 2017 to 2018, when Westfrankenbahn needed extra traction due to the reassignment of a DB BR 642. Consequently, a DB BR 218 was supplied.

Free Roam is set to be a favoured mode for exploring the various German route Add-ons with the free-roaming diesel locomotive in Train Sim World 4, all without the need for overhead wires.