Bregenbach im Schwarzwald is a small wayside halt on a private secondary line through the Black Forest. The halt exists to serve a small brewery and is almost at the summit of the line. There was an actual railway (the Bregtalbahn) which ran from Donaueschingen to Furtwangen. This fictional history is that the line was extended over the hill from Furtwangen and down the Glottertal to Freiburg in Breisgau. Managing to remain open after World War II it was used as a guinea pig for electrification, getting the job done on the cheap. Stock was generally DB cast-offs. The opening-up of the European freight market sees the line earning money by setting lower access charges for through freight between Freiburg and Switzerland and acting as a by-pass for the congested area around Basel. The low access charges are attractive to operators with shorter freights.
Set in the present day trains are short due to the 1 in 25 ruling gradient, which is less steep than the real-life Hollentalbahn two valleys further South (1 in 17). Most trains are electrically hauled, through workings by Vectron or Taurus locos of the mainline railways or contractors and local trains by the Bregtalbahn’s own vintage fleet of unrepainted locos. The passenger service is usually a double-deck push-pull set bought secondhand from DB. The brewery’s own shunter makes an occasional trip to the exchange sidings in Furtwangen. The layout is DCC controlled using NCE Power Cabs. Locos run with their pantographs touching the overhead wires and the line is fully signalled according to German practice