Talk:Tag:usage=branch

Usage change

This might be a strange place to ask but at least I think for OHM there should be tags to allow us to change the defacto or de jure usage like here in East Prussia railroad no 38 which still "connects" Bialystok with Lyck (Elk), Lötzen (Giżycko/Luczany), Rastenburg (Ketrzyn/Rastembork), Korschen (Korsze), Bartenstein (Bartoszyce), Preußich Eylau (Bagrationovsk/Iławka/Iława Pruska/ Iławka Pruska) or otherwise the Ostbahn Südbahn which was built as a main line (and still at least imo is and will be again) because Rail Baltica (from Bialystok to Lyck/Ełk) and the 2nd track will be rebuilt but the next parts are more so local/branch nowadays like till Korschen we have IC trains (at least now it might change due to the ZSK plans which want our railways to be planned for decades the network and its future evolution) and was recently electrified partially on the remainder of the 2nd track (which is confirmed) on that part of this railroad.

Then we have another part from Korschen till ~ Bartenstein while the so called "3rd magistral line" during (at least) ww1 planned I have 0 proofs of the line being prepared (fully) or a 2nd track 1435mm (presumably) being there from the year's ~1914~1946 later on during the commie era this whole railroad track was destroyed/abandoned etc as "reparations", and the now trans border part (after 1945/1946) Bartenstein - Preußich Eylau was in Głomno border crossing only used for cargo until a economic crysis in the Kaliningrad Oblast in the 1990s when it was completely abandoned (from the time of Germans leaving till its defacto abandoning it was Im pretty sure never a line used for any even special civilian traffic only cargo from the built Elewarr in Bartenstein in the 1970s and maybe small military traffic usage?)

That trans border part is probably and practically abandoned with some track theft and trees growing pretty much on the railroad but the last part (to me still pretty unkown) from Preußich Eylau (Bagrationovsk) till Königsberg (Kaliningrad) that + the Bartenstein - Preußich Eylau part I've heard there were "plans" or maybe even construction to make it double tracked (not the split built after? the Elewarr in Bartenstein till Preußich Eylau) on some maps it only shows it during ~1940 till it was abandoned by the Germans but I have 0 proof of it being even made ready for that sadly :( Some passanger traffic is still heere even the local RŻD Russian Railways mention some passanger trains on the line till the border city of Preußich Eylau (Bagrationovsk) but idk what the traffic looked like there overall after 1945 (aside it was probably suburban because it was a end point of the Kaliningrad Oblast hardline closed border till 1991) yet wikipedia mentions and other sources it was gone for a bit

So coming back to my question

Because this line imo wasnt changed much even the sharp+rough corners like near Sterlawken (on the part from Lyck till Lötzen around 2 lakes) so it's still a very curly line (on the part from Rastenburg till the former border in Prostken) so should I tag it even though "technically" even the railroad company PLK says Bartenstein - border is 0km/h as "main"???? It seems a bit extreme but I think it should be unused or something as for the tag change after the USSR fell so 1990s, as for the part till Bartenstein southwards it had regular passanger traffic pretty much uninturupted from ww2 till 2002/2003(?) When the last local train departed to Korschen before it was also a station which connected even trains futher onwards (as evidenced in the Kursbuch's and PKP departure books which show tons of train relations which in the communist era started to be more and more local) and now this is only a cargo railroad till (probably) the before mentioned Elewarr (till Bartenstein station it doesn't look very well but its for sure driveable albeit mostly 50km/h with some limits to even 20km/h and tons of grass) the railroad for a short bit was proposed to be reopen on the trans border part when the relations were better and the southern one till Korschen for so called Kolej + (regional railroad contest of sorts) which none of them were turned into construction and railroad modernisation albeit this in my opinion is still a main line its just that 100% on the Preußich Eylau - Border - Bartenstein - Korschen its a cargo at most, Korschen - Lyck was for sure a main ralroad now its a 2nd more important one on the edge of 1st importance while Preußich Eylau - Königsberg probably became a branch line after 1945 as well as maybe a military (to the finished maybe???? Railroad (Friedland no idea if it was ever under construction even???? -) Preußich Eylau - (Stablack military hub) - Rossiten Zinten (- Helingebeil) And part of thaat branch railroad survived from Preußich Eylau according to some Railroad Kaliningrad Oblast maps yet again it was probbaly military/cargo only with no passanger traffic from the Preußich Eylau station.

So is there a tag=change or something tag since this railroad was a main railroad (even on some maps) but after 1945 parts of it became kind of secondary/destroyed (and never rebuilt) to it's former glory pre 1945 (when some trains even departed till Odessa...) Mostly it would be for approximate dates to change the status because it's not fun duplicating the same railroad when it changed (probably very) little besides its max speeds/electrification but the railroad lost passanger service or was even unused so abandoned thanks to the natural earth destruction and a spur was "changed" by adding another track (not in place of other ones like in the 2 Ostbahn lines to Bartenstein from Königsberg and from Tilsit/Istenburg till Skandau (through the border but not going to the station Korsze a big hub leftover hub in the area) This is just my opinion + if we had 3 usage tier tags like 1st (main) -> 2ndary (like Friedland - Wehlau railroad) and a 3rd one like Shippenbeil - to this southern railroad or Kreuzberg as well (very local side railroads connecting to main but only with the locomotive direction change needed or smh to go back), would be of huuge use :)

Idk just my thoughts + even wishes because some even 1435mm railroads functioned almost like kleinbahn because of very specific line characteristics, have a good day and please improve the tagging for OHM purposes :)

Combination with service=*

Is there any reason that this tag shouldn't be combined with service=siding or service=crossover? Almost 5% of ways with usage=branch currently are combined with service= according to taginfo: https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags/?key=usage&value=branch#combinations --Jeisenbe (talk) 19:32, 21 January 2021 (UTC)