Chapter 52: The Photo Tour 08
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN
By: Dreadnought & AP
Chapter 52:
THE PHOTO TOUR
08
THE COALING DOCKS
In this chapter, we will pick up our tour where we left off. But first, I thought I’d re-orient you with the map tile (picture above). On the extreme left (west) of the picture is “Battery Scharnhorst” – and just around the corner is the Neu Hafen (main Cuxhaven anchorage). Just inside the entrance to the breakwater are the coaling and fuel oil replenishment docks.
Easing into the harbor is the battlecruiser Von der Tann, with two Nordwind and two Passat Class tugs waiting to guide her to a berth. Two patrol boats (motor launches) can be seen “tail-moored” to the breakwater, while an Erie Class gunboat (previous chapters) is anchored just outside the breakwater, pulling guard duty.
This is a close-up of the magnificently detailed Von der Tann model, graciously provided by @Barroco Hispano. (See Chapters 14 & 15 for details.) The battlecruiser is leaving the deep water channel and crossing into the shallow waters of the roadsted. I was interested in working with the “NBVC Corals”, and used them to cover the seabed to delineate the deep water boundary. You can see them spread around the bow of the ship and they extend down the sloping bottom until they disappear into the deeper water. This view also gives you a good look at the excellent textures and detailing of the “Uki” breakwaters.
This is a detail shot of the tugs waiting to assist Von der Tann to her berth. The two on the left are Nordwind Class sea-going tugs, based largely on a class of tugboats built by the Hamburg-America Steamship Line to handle their large ocean liners. Around 1903, Kaiser Wilhelm was much impressed with their power and asked the Director of the shipping line (Albert Ballin) to build a variation of his tugs for handling large Imperial warships. (Ballin was a close personal friend of Wilhelm and his home included the addition of a suite of rooms built specifically for Royal use during visits to Hamburg.) You will notice Nordwind has an open navigation bridge (quite common in those days), and twin funnels – indicating up to eight boilers to provide steam for her powerful engines. The two tugs on the right, standing-by to assist, are Passat Class – a more modern and improved version of the original, with an enclosed wheel house and slightly larger engines. Both models are meticulously detailed and superbly textured – courtesy of “AP”.
The two ships moored to the “barrel buoy” are from the “PEG Scows” pack. These ships have no historical relevance to the Dreadnought Era, but they were among the early custom content introduced to SC4 for maritime purposes. They are interesting little ships in their own right, nicely modeled and textured, with a minimum of detail and an abundance of “grunge”. For a long time, they were the only “bulk haulers” in the game. These are, in fact, “Ore Scows” – but as you can see – they easily pass for coal scows. I confess...I included them mostly as an “homage” to “The Good Old Days” of SC4.
As discussed in previous chapters, coal-fired boilers were the primary means of propulsion for warships at the turn of the century, and a battleship – no matter how many guns she carried – could only carry those guns as far as full coal bunkers would take her. The Royal Navy possessed an enormous advantage in having numerous colonies – and coaling stations -- scattered all over the globe. A large fleet could be deployed from Portsmouth to Hong Kong without need to rely upon neutral ports or foreign coal stocks. The Kaiserliche Marine, of course, had no such far flung empire upon which to depend. But German warships in German harbors made full use of the facilities.
Cuxhaven’s Neu Hafen was constructed with a medium-sized coaling facility. The coaling docks can accommodate four battlecruisers, or six smaller cruisers at a time. But having a dock available could not be allowed to delay the replenishment of coal bunkers. A “first-rate” Kapitan would move Heaven and Earth to ensure his ship was “combat-ready” at all times. If all the docks were busy, coal lighters could be laid-on and towed out to the ships at their berths.
This is an overview of the coaling docks and the fuel oil “replenishment point”. On the right you can see the docks where coal and oil can be brought into the naval base by commercial shipping – or dispensed to the warships of the fleet. On the left you see the large, concrete coal storage complex, and the much smaller oil storage “tank farm”. These facilities were located in the west end of the harbor area primarily due to their large “footprint” – they take up a lot of space. Also, their purpose is to refuel ships, which quite naturally generates a great deal of traffic. Placing the docks at the far end of the harbor provided room for the towing, turning, and berthing of the big warships.
This is a closer view of the “business end” of the coaling docks. This general arrangement was inspired by a similar set of docks operating in Cardiff, Wales in the late 1920’s. Since the game has none of the usual mechanized devices or elaborate structures for handling coal – especially for warships – I had to devise a reasonably workable method of moving coal. I ran a rail line down the center of the docks, raising the ground level behind the coaling points, and connecting them with the “NAM 32” viaduct pieces. (Yes – I’m a “dinosaur” – I still run NAM-32.) The locomotives push loaded coal cars along the viaduct until they reach the dump point. There the doors in the bottom of the gondolas are opened manually and the coal slides down the concrete slope to the large pile at the bottom – a “gravity feed” delivery system.
The coaling docks can accommodate four ships at a time. The pier portion of the docks were borrowed from the “PEG SNM Cruiser Lots”. Two cruiser piers were rotated and pushed together to form one long dock. The piers were arranged as overhanging props so the front end would be in the water. The coal piles were (I believe…) from the Polish Power Station lot. (But I could be wrong about that.) Two stacks were arranged to slightly overhang each other, and the lot, so the coal would appear to be piled up against the concrete slide. A third stack was placed in the middle of those, and the prop was elevated until it gave the appearance of a much taller coal pile, while still “meshing” with the others. The coaling lot is 13x4, and various warehouses, water towers, and 1x1 custom lots were used to fill in around the edges. I dislike large, “set-piece” lots, but using the “cruiser piers” imposed certain restrictions, so it became necessary. With the exception of the shipping, everything else in the picture has been pieced together by re-lotting or re-purposing elements already in-game.
SMS Lutzow is seen tied-up at the coaling dock, preparing to “coal ship”. She is the second of three Derfflinger Class battlecruisers. The elegant model is courtesy of @Barroco Hispano. (See Chapters 23 & 24 for details on the ship.) The coaling cranes dockside were borrowed from the “PEG Trash Disposal lots” and down-sized a bit for use. This shot provides a good view of the “stacked” coal piles.
At this point, I should probably mention that “coaling ship” was an “all-hands” – “round-the-clock” evolution. Once coaling was started, the operation did not stop until the bunkers had been filled. The “Duty Watch” personnel (for the most part) would remain on “Watch” for as many hours as it took. Coaling went on day or night, though the sailors did not like working under flood lamps -- the powerful lights alternated between blinding glare and casting long dark shadows in other places. Once the coal was taken aboard, the backbreaking work was not over. The ship still had to be moved back to her berth, the decks scrubbed down, and the crew cleaned up before they could catch a quick bite to eat and fall into their hammocks for well-deserved sleep. Needless to say, “coaling ship” was the least enjoyable part of a sailor’s life.
Right next to Lutzow, a Sophia Class paddle tug is towing two empty lighters out of the crowded coaling basin. Note the fine detail modeled into the paddle tug and the lighters. Moored at “dolphins” along the seawall is an elderly Nordwind Class tug (left). Astern of her is a more modern Passat Class – an improved “second generation” of Nordwind. The tugs are standing by to maneuver full lighters into a berth, and haul empty ones away. The tugs, lighters, and mooring dolphins are by “AP”. The concrete seawalls were borrowed from the “NBVC Marina” kits.
This is the Motor-Lighter Ajax. She is a unique vessel used to transport large or heavy pieces of equipment from shipyard factories or assembly sheds to dry docks or construction slipways. Her bridge is placed forward of the cargo area and elevated to give a good view ahead as well as being able to see over large cargoes carried amidships. Steering commands are passed by hand-set or speaking tubes to the wheelhouse atop the aft superstructure. Her twin funnels are placed side-by-side – an uncommon feature even in the early 1900’s – but the machinery spaces are comparatively small so it was necessary. On a good day, she can make all of 8 knots, and she is shallow draft and rides low in the water. Ajax was never meant to go beyond a harbor, estuary, or shallow coastal waters. On her midships cargo deck are a pair of massive three-cylinder, triple-expansion, steam engines (found in “AP’s Propulsion Prop Pack). They are destined to be installed in “Grosse Kreuzer E”. The engines are just one of the many historically accurate props “AP” has provided to enhance the realism in SC4. And each new prop opens up a whole world that can be investigated and portrayed in the game. The motor lighter, itself, is a single prop. The sailors, rope coils, and engines are additional props added to the model in the “lotting” process. This is only possible because “AP” put a lot of effort into keeping his “LOD’s” tight on the cargo deck.
This is a close-up of a Thor Class tug standing-by to take two coal lighters under tow. This should give you yet another example of the high quality models and the enormous amount of detail worked into them by “AP”. Thor looks every bit the “worn-out work-horse” she is meant to be. You can almost see the individual lumps of coal in the lighters. And even the empty lighters moored along the near side of the basin are pure perfection. Thor will shortly move the lighters out to the roadsted and the waiting warships.
This is SS Gotha, a Norddeutscher Line collier leased by the Kaiserliche Marine to accompany a squadron of ships on their journey to the Far East. Germany and Great Britain possessed fairly large fleets of commercial colliers and preferred “leasing” over building naval colliers. Only the United States chose to build Fleet Auxiliary Colliers rather than trust commercial vessels. During wartime, foreign colliers were often unavailable for “political reasons” – even neutral vessels could not be relied upon. This gorgeous model by “AP” is an absolute “work of art”. Note the surrounding activity going on n the lower part of the picture – another example of our “busy harbor” theory.
Here we see a Thor Class tug maneuvering a full coal lighter into a mooring. SS Gotha will be casting off soon and room will be needed to move the collier out of the basin. Coaling basins are often crowded with tugs standing-by to undertake tows, and numerous empty and full lighters. Some small boats have tied up alongside the lighters and crewmen are “working the coal” – possibly leveling it to “stabilize the tow” – or even raking through it for foreign debris. Here again, you can see the wonderful high-def models in all their detailed glory. Even the mooring dolphins lining the seawalls are superb. This scene is typical of “busy harbors” – especially coaling basins. Numerous lighters are moored to dolphins – single, double, and even triple moorings – with small boats milling about, and tugs maneuvering the lighters into position.
This is the battlecruiser SMS Mackensen taking on coal -- as she might have appeared at her planned commissioning in 1919. A major improvement over the Derfflinger Class, Mackensen would have had a much greater displacement and a larger caliber main battery armament. The first ships were laid down in January 1915, and some were actually launched. But none would ever see service. (See Chapters 42 for details of this ship.) This magnificent model is courtesy of Barroco Hispano. As you can see in the picture, I had to fill in details on and around the coaling docks with whatever props I could find. Some were actually too modern (shipping containers) but they were pressed into service anyway. I thought it better to “stretch” the historical timeline on the props, rather than wind up with mostly empty dockside scenes.
SMS Hindenburg, the “third sister” of the Derfflinger Class, is moored at the coaling docks and preparing to “coal ship”. This fantastic model was scratch-built by @AP, who has generously devoted much time and effort to this project. It should be noted – for the record – warship models are larger, far more complicated, and enormously time-consuming compared to the average ship model. And -- “AP” goes well beyond the “Call of Duty” to build-in so much more detail than most other 3-D modelers. (For specific details about the battlecruiser, see Chapter 41.)
On a somewhat related theme – I would like to offer a small apology for the lack of variety found on the coaling docks. The main reason for the repetitive nature of the lots is the simple lack of suitable in-game props. I have been haunting this website for a little over a decade, and there has never been a concerted effort to create a working product chain for coal. There are very small and primitive coal mining lots, a “coking” plant, coal-fired power plants, some very simplified coaling docks, and the occasional inadequate effort to create a loading “hopper” device. BUT – there has never been enough attention paid to the props and machines needed to move coal from the mines to a destination, then load it or unload it. Mostly, I was forced to use rather convoluted methods to move coal to a dock and get it aboard a ship. You see bulldozers on the docks – but they did not exist in that form in 1905. And you see “bucket cranes” loading and unloading both rail cars and ships. Bucket cranes are suitable for loading a rail car – but totally unsuited to unloading one. And bucket cranes are used to deposit coal onto a warship’s deck, where the crew shovels it down “coaling chutes” into the bunkers below. It is a primitive method – but the only one I could devise with the props available in the game. Actual coaling stations had elaborate rail/trestle structures with mechanical overhead hoppers that lifted the coal from the cars by conveyor buckets, then funneled it down a long chute to the ship. The end of the coal chute had a long canvas sleeve that connected to the bunker chutes, thereby avoiding dumping coal on the ship’s deck. (I’m certain “AP” could have modeled something suitable, but he was already working overtime to make the other props for the game – so we never got around to it.) But – that’s my reason for the less than efficient means of moving coal around, and for using modern props. “Mea Culpa”. (BTW – under these primitive arrangements, the average ship’s crew could load around 60 tons of coal an hour – perhaps 70 tons.)
This view shows the coaling docks in the upper right of the picture and the main coal storage facility in the bottom center. The storage facility consists of two large, open-air concrete pads directly behind the coaling docks. Commercial coal is delivered to the storage facility via the main rail line visible at the bottom of the shot. The coal is then loaded into cars and shuttled via the railroad viaduct to the coaling docks.
This is a closer view of the receiving, storage, and distribution system. Commercial coal is delivered by rail from the main track to the right. The loaded cars are backed onto the dumping ramps, the doors in the bottom of the coal gondolas are opened, and the coal slides down the concrete slope onto the waiting piles at the bottom. The facility is set up to unload as many as four trains at one time, and may operate day and night, as necessary.
From the delivery chute, the coal is loaded into dump trucks and moved across the lot to the distribution pad. The piles on the left of the picture are waiting to be loaded onto rail cars to be sent out. As you can see, there is a wide variety of structures and equipment that have been used to portray the operation. Anyone familiar with industrial lots in SC4 will recognize the props immediately. They have all been re-purposed to move coal to the warships in the harbor. As mentioned above, I have used many modern elements that were not available in 1910. Trucks – absolutely necessary to a functioning naval base – were primitive in those days, and there are, of course, no such props in SC4. So the bases will always be a strange mix of “early” and “later” 20th Century furnishings – again -- my apologies.
This is the distribution point where the coal is loaded into gondolas and shipped to the coaling docks. The coaling cranes were borrowed from the “PEG Trash Removal” lots, reduced in size, and lotted onto 1x1 modular pieces. The water towers (mostly for fire fighting) were taken from the old Maxis Movie Studio. The chain link fences and most of the concrete roadways were taken from the “NBVC Modular Seaport” – they are largely 1x1 lots and very flexible in use. I used “Paeng” grunge concrete in places to fill in difficult angles, or to simulate older, patched areas in the larger pad. Several other 1x1 and 1x2 custom-made lots used various props and a variety of small liquid tanks, warehouses, and various trucks and cranes to fill in the working areas.
This is a close-up of the east side distribution point (the coaling docks are to the left of the picture). The coaling lot was arranged in this manner so that two trains could be loaded at the same time – thereby ensuring a steady flow of coal to both sides of the coaling docks. While these two trains are loading, two more trains are out on the docks dumping their load. When they are empty, they return via the center track and wait below the switches. When the loaded trains have departed for the docks, the two waiting trains take their place. In this manner, a continuous supply of coal can be shuttled to the docks. The locomotives in the picture are the “Peg Shuttle Engines” – modified for steam -- and the rolling stock in the picture is most likely “PEG” as well. I believe the 1x2 segment of vertical wall on the dumping ramp (right of picture) was repurposed and re-lotted with railroad signal boxes. If I remember correctly, “Mattb325” originally created the vertical walls as roadside parking/parks area built on a slope.
NEXT TIME……
CUXHAVEN:
THE PHOTO TOUR
09
MANY THANKS to @Barroco Hispano for his beautiful warship models.
SPECIAL THANKS to my friend and partner, @AP, for his talents, meticulous models, colorful imagination, and extreme dedication.
If you enjoyed anything – please punch the “like” button so WE will know. A comment would be even more informative.
Comments and critiques requested and gratefully accepted. All questions answered promptly to the best of our ability.
THANK YOU for your visit!
You may wish to visit these CJ’s as well……
SERIES I:
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: WILHELMSHAVEN
SERIES II:
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN
Appearing – Work In Publication
SERIES III:
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: BREMERHAVEN
Appearing -- ???
And please feel free to drop in at…
THE SIMTROPOLIS SHIPYARD
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9
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