#wegberg

[trainsinanime]

I'm starting to warm up to Train Sim World 3, a game I got via Microsoft's game subscription model. A huge part of that is because it has a lot of good tutorials for all the very non-obvious parts of it. Those non-obvious parts are there for realism, to be clear; most trains aren't designed to be obvious, they're designed to be run by trained personnel who got special training for all the details of each train they're on.

Anyway, the basic tutorials are all set in a fantasy location, the Training Center. It's a magic place where you will find German, British and American trains all next to each other on decidedly German infrastructure.

The setting is all over the place, with some alpine stuff, a lake, several station platforms, and the whole thing is notably not an A-to-B line. Instead it's a combination of different loops and sidings for shunting around that feels more like a model railroad than a real thing.

Clearly this is completely made up, right?

Well, no. While all the scenery is purely fantasy and quite a bit of the details are wrong, the track layout is in fact a real piece of railroad infrastructure. Specifically, this is the track layout of the Siemens Test Centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath, Germany, near… well, not really anything, but Mönchengladbach is the closest city.

This facility, built on the site of a former British airfield, is where Siemens (and to a small extent other manufacturers) tests new trains, both prototypes and sometimes individual ones. All the tracks are for testing trains at different speeds and in different conditions, and a lot also for storing trains. There are also big workshops, used for finishing touches, indoor tests, but also as an independent repair and maintenance facility, and to assemble trains built in other places.

According to its own description, it's the most modern of such test centres. I have no way of checking that. It is definitely not the biggest, that is VUZ in Velim in the Czech Republic, which has a much bigger outer loop allowing for higher speeds, but less other equipment and tracks as far as satellite images say. VUZ is still seeing a lot of use, though. Maybe they'll use that one as the training centre for Train Sim World 4.

Access to the Wegberg facility is difficult for rail fans. It isn't hidden by any means, it's about an hour's drive from where I live, but all the really fun parts are hidden behind gates and fences, and security patrols the area. They held I think like two open days for the public, in total, and the last one as far as I can tell was in 2012.

And of course I was there.

Hey, remember those days when the Vectron was fresh and new, and Siemens was still actively selling the class 189 (ES64F4) and that in-between generation they only ever sold to Portugal, Belgium and Lithuania? That sure was a while ago, now they've sold well over a thousand Vectrons and those beasts are everywhere.

First big difference between video game and reality: In reality, the outer loop is only single track, while the video game has it double-tracked.

The video game also gives me a top speed of 300 km/h for this outer loop. In reality, as far as I know the limit ist 160 km/h. Apparently the track gets checked and realigned weekly, to be sure that the measurement results are all accurate.

Yes, that is an Uerdinger Schienenbus. Yes, that did retroactively become a Siemens product, because the Uerdinger Waggonfabrik that built this dinky little rail bus ended up becoming Siemens's Krefeld plant (specifically the Uerdingen part of Krefeld, no longer an independent town), where they build all their high speed trains among others. Surprised the hell out of me too.

In the game, all lines are electrified and have British style third rail power. In reality, that is actually fairly close. Many tracks are not electrified, though (they have diesel shunters to deal with that, including some hilariously old ones). Even fewer have the British style third rail, although that is in use because Siemens does sell a lot of trains to Britain. Instead, some tracks, such as the inner loop, feature Berlin style third rail, raised, with a plastic cover and designed for bottom contact.

And in fact there's a fourth rail here, which the video game doesn't have. This is to test meter gauge trains; generally speaking that means trams. However, for the opening ceremony 25 years ago, they apparently did have a steam train from nearby historic steam railroad Selfkantbahn. Definitely the second-greatest historic steam railroad around Aachen.

Anyway, the point of this is… none whatsoever. I just thought it's funny. The makers of the game aren't hiding that they just took the Wildenberg-Wegrath track layout, you can find a number of news articles referencing this. But if you just downloaded the game because you got Game Pass and it says "train something", as you do, then you may never notice unless you're already aware of this test centre.

[de-meerpeen]

Komend weekend grote namen op het podium bij Musical Melodies  

Er op uit: 'Komend weekend grote namen op het podium bij Musical Melodies'

DEN OEVER – Vrijdag en zaterdag wordt het Vikingschip in Den Oever gevuld met musicalmuziek. Het is inmiddels een traditie dat Meerpeen Theater elke twee jaar een groot musicalconcert geeft. In de vorige editie werden Edith Numeijer en Michelle de Jong bijgestaan door musicalsterren Marcel Visscher en Stanley Burleson. Samen met de gastsolisten worden de mooiste en bekendste musical hits ten…

[weimarhaus]

OTTO LAIS (1897 Wilferdingen – 1988 Wegberg-Merbeck), Self-portrait with champagne glass, 1927, Drypoint etching, 23 x 19 cm.

[mosertone]

OTTO LAIS (1897 Wilferdingen – 1988 Wegberg-Merbeck), Die Stadt (The City), 1929, Etching on vellum, 45.5 x 33.8 cm.

[fitzrove]

always the bridesmaid (= u/s or cast in smaller prods), never the bride,,,,,,,, (this is the cast for elisabeth schönbrunn 2024 ^^)

(robert d marx as FJ in 2003, carl van wegberg as tod in 2005)

jokes aside I really liked Robert as Favell in Rebecca and he's been FJ before multiple times, incl 21 years ago!! So it's kind of a shame I think. Idk the guy cast as FJ tho, no hate on him, I hope he's also good xD

[germanpostwarmodern]

The architecture of Ernst Kasper (1935-2008) was about framing life and giving life an architectural form. In his many school buildings Kasper repeatedly developed communicative spaces, a life-long quest that began in 1965 with the his first school in Wegberg and which found its conclusion in the Maria Montessori School in Aachen in 2001. This passion for learning spaces and true-to-life architecture was awakened during his assistantship in Fritz Eller’s school building institute at RWTH Aachen, his alma mater.

In 1964 Kasper founded his office in Aachen together with Karl Wimmenauer, a former student and collaborator of Rudolf Schwarz, a short-lived partnership that was replaced by the Planungsgruppe Kasper with changing partners. This model was necessitated by Kasper’s appointment as professor at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1971 from which he only retired in 2000.

On the occasion of Ernst Kasper’s 70th birthday the Deutsche Architekturmuseum in 2005 hosted a comprehensive retrospective of the architect’s oeuvre, conceptualized by his disciple Susanne Gross in consultation with the honoree. The accompanying catalogue, unpretentious and organized like a work catalogue, provides a vivid cross-section of Kasper’s work from his earliest buildings from the 1960s to the late works like redevelopment of the Kaiserbad area in Aachen, a complex ensemble of buildings that offers countless perspectives on the surrounding buildings and urban space. Kasper’s accomplished draftsmanship is also underscored by the numerous drawings reproduced in the catalogue that is a worthy tribute to an influential postwar architect.

[someoneunknownhuh]

Streaming today:

Rebecca Das Musical, 15.04.2012

Cast: Lucy Scherer („Ich“), Thomas Borchert (Maxim de Winter), Pia Douwes (Mrs. Danvers), Hannes Staffler (Jack Favell), Mona Graw (Mrs. Van Hopper), Kerstin Ibald (Beatrice), Jörg Neubauer (Frank Crawley), Daniele Nonnis (Ben), Lena Brandt (Clarice), Udo Eikelmann (Giles/Horridge), Erwin Bruhn (Oberst Julian), Matthias Graf (Frith), Fehmi Göklü (Robert), Christina Maria Brenner, Valerie Link , Michaela Schober, Maike Switzer, Melanie Walter, Gemma West, Frederik Andersson, Christian Kerkhoff, Hendrik Schall, Carl van Wegberg

Where? European Musical theatre (discord link shared below)

When? 7pm (gmt+1) Room opens 10 min before

Feel free to share/join/reblog!

[goalhofer]

2024 olympians representing non country of residence part 3

Egypt: Bilal Abdelgalil, soccer (Châteauroux, France); Sara Amr-Hossny, fencing (Brooklyn, New York); Mohamed Hamza, fencing (Houston, Texas); Nada Mohamed, wrestling (Corsier-Sur-Vevey, Switzerland) & Nayel Nasser, equestrian (San Diego County, California) El Salvador: Enrique Arathoon, sailing (Ciudad Guatemala, Guatemala) Eritrea: Christina Rach, swimming (Dubai, U.A.E.) & Berhane Tesfay, athletics (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) Estonia: My Relander, equestrian (Helsinki, Finland) Eswatini: Hayley Hoy, swimming (Pretoria, South Africa) & Chadd Ning, swimming (Plymouth, Delaware) Micronesia: Tasi Limtiaco, swimming (Kofu, Japan) Fiji: Kolora Lomani, rugby (Wellington, New Zealand); Anahira McCutchen, swimming (Auckland, New Zealand); Sophia Morgan, sailing (Auckland, New Zealand); Talei Wilson, rugby (Hornsby, Australia) & David Young, swimming (University Place, Washington) Finland: Henri Ruoste, equestrian (Menden, Germany) & Heili Sirviö, skateboarding (Canberra, Australia) France: Téo Andant, athletics (Monte Carlo, Monaco); Anastasia Bayandina, swimming (Krasnoyarsk, Russia); Emil Bjorch, water polo (Slagelse, Denmark); Romain Cannone, fencing (New York, New York); Catherine Clot, field hockey (Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Mélanie De Jesus, gymnastics (Houston, Texas); Marie Fegue, weightlifting (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Rafael Fente-Damers, swimming (Houston, Texas); Albane Garot-Loussif, field hockey (Liège, Belgium); Roger Hunt, diving (Southampton, U.K.); Karl Konan, handball (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire); Juliette Landi, diving (Houston, Texas); Bernardin Matam, weightlifting (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Gaël Monfils, tennis (Geneva, Switzerland); Iman Ndiaye, volleyball (Plano, Texas); Michael Olise, soccer (London, U.K.); Hertzka Orsolya, water polo (Budapest, Hungary); Stephen Parez-Edo, rugby (Madrid, Spain); Victor Perez, golf (Dundee, U.K.); Mia Rycraw, water polo (Walnut, California); Tessa-Margot Schubert, field hockey (Essen, Germany); Dora Tchakounté, weightlifting (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Guusje Van Bolhuis, field hockey (Leiden, The Netherlands); Gabby Williams (Sparks, Nevada) & Antoine Zeghdar, rugby (Monte Carlo, Monaco) Gabon: Virginia Aymard, judo (Amiens, France); Wissy Hoyeyenda-Moukoula, athletics (Yaoundé, Cameroon) & Noëlie Lacour, swimming (Bergerac, France) Gambia: Alasan Ann, taekwondo (Maple Grove, Minnesota); Ami Barrow, swimming (Milwaukee Township, Wisconsin); Sanu Jallow, athletics (Charlotte, North Carolina) & Faye Njie, judo (Helsinki, Finland) Germany: Grozer György; Jr., volleyball (Budapest, Hungary); Kathrin Hendrich, soccer (Eupen, Belgium); Stephan Jäger, golf (Chattanooga, Tennessee); Camilla Kemp, surfing (Cascais, Portugal); Angelique Kerber, tennis (Puszczykowo, Poland); Dominik Koepfer, tennis (Tampa, Florida); Rafael Miroslaw, swimming (Bloomington, Indiana); Alexis Peterson, basketball (Columbus, Ohio); Artem Selin, swimming (Krasnoyarsk, Russia); Xenia Smits, handball (Antwerp, Belgium); Nick Weiler-Babb, basketball (Arlington, Texas); Kaii Winkler, swimming (Miami, Florida) & Alexander Zverev, tennis (Monte Carlo, Monaco) Ghana: Joselle Mensah, swimming (Bad Vilbel, Germany) & Harry Stacey, Swimming (Brighton, U.K.) Great Britain: Sky Brown, skateboarding (Takanabe, Japan); Dan Evans, tennis (Dubai, U.A.E.); Tommy Fleetwood, golf (Dubai, U.A.E.); Lottie Fry, equestrian (Den Hout, The Netherlands); Anna Hursey, table tennis (Tianjin, China); Josie Knight, cycling (Dingle, Ireland); Andy Macdonald, skateboarding (Newton, Massachusetts); Liam Sanford, field hockey (Wegberg, Germany); Cynthia Sember, athletics (Ypsilanti, Michigan); Eve Stewart, rowing (Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Saskia Tidey, sailing (Dublin, Ireland); Calli Yauger-Thackeray, athletics (Flagstaff, Arizona) & Nicole Yeargin, athletics (Bowie, Maryland)

[astra-and-lilith]

Board

Heimat, Handwerk und Moderne - Und ein Hinweis für Freitag: Wegberger Mühlenmarkt - Jeden Freitag nachmittag von 15.00 Uhr - 18.30 Uhr - Und vormittags von 8.00 - 13.00 Uhr der kleine Freitagsmarkt. Wegberg, Mühlenstadt, Kreis Heinsberg - Straßenkarte

[xipingu]

The Bus [P7] - MAN Lion's City DD • Wegberg-Nordpark • Line 400

[schrott-auto]

(via EU plant Verschrottungspflicht: Diese Autobesitzer könnten ihr Eigentumsrecht verlieren)

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Mehr Infos: https://www.autoentsorgungnrw.com/sitemap/

[weimarhaus]

OTTO LAIS (1897 Wilferdingen – 1988 Wegberg-Merbeck), Die Stadt (The City), 1929, Etching on vellum, 45.5 x 33.8 cm. Via Dannenberg auctions.