The Schedule

I designed the passenger schedule for the Welztalbahn around a few constraints.

• The schedule would need to make sense in the real world. My operators most likely don't really care about this, since they are busy with getting trains and cars to where they are supposed to go, but I notice and that's what counts. 
• Provide for some operational interest. I.e. make life a little bit harder for operators by setting up meets and having to think about train priorities and direction through Talheim interlocking.
• Get in the way of freight trains and switching. 

Emsingen is the hub of activity on the layout, closely followed by the interlocking in Talheim. Above constraints led to the following principles:

• Passenger traffic flows mostly between the big cities "surrounding" the layout area, as well as commuter service to Freiburg. 
• Emsingen is "Eilzugstop" (i.e. the faster passenger trains stop only in Emsingen). 
• Trains arriving from Prechtal via the (imagined) branch line either terminate in Emsingen, or continue on to Freiburg.
• North-bound passenger trains to Prechtal can meet a south-bound Eilzug to Freiburg in Emsingen.
• South-bound passenger trains from Prechtal can meet a north-bound Eilzug from Freiburg in Emsingen.

That yielded the following sequence of events:

PT = Prechtal, FR = Freiburg, ST = Stuttgart, TB = Tuebingen,  EM = Emsingen, TH = Talheim

(S) = running south-bound, (N) = running north-bound

• EM switching
• PT -> P 8114 (S) meet E 3577 (N) at Emsingen -> FR
• FR -> E 3577 (N) meet P 8114 (S) at Emsingen -> ST
• Ng 83271 (N) prep
• Dg (S)
• Ng 83721 (N)
• ST -> E 3576 (S) -> FR
• FR -> P 8115 (N) -> PT
• Dg (N)
• PT -> P 8116 (S) meet E 3555 (N) at Emsingen -> FR
• FR -> E 3555 (N) meet P 8116 (S) at Emsingen -> TB
• Ng 83720 (S) prep
• Ng 83720 (S)
• FR -> P 8117 (N) -> PT
• TB -> E 3554 (S) -> FR
• EM -> Ueb 97 836 (S) -> TH (Switching)
• PT -> P 8118 (S) meet E 3579 (N) at Emsingen -> FR
• FR -> E 3579 (S) meet P 8118 (S) at Emsingen -> ST
• ST -> E 3578 (S) -> FR
• FR -> P 8119 (N) -> PT
• Dg (S)
• PT -> P 8120 (S) meet E 3557 (N) at Emsingen -> FR
• FR -> E 3557 (N) meet P 8120 (S) at Emsingen -> TB
• TH -> Ueb 97 836 (N) -> EM
• EM switching

There are still several flaws (e.g. meets in Emsingen are always the same direction, and there are no returning trains from Tuebingen), but I liked how the schedule left room for switching moves, and allowed for ebb and flow of traffic.