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CHAPTER 11 -- THE COAL HANDLING PLANT
Dreadnought posted a City Journal entry in IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS WILHELMSHAVEN
Chapter 11: THE COAL HANDLING PLANT The first two decades of the 20th Century saw both the heyday of the coal-fired warship and it’s decline. The first steam powered ships (usually small riverine or coastal craft) used crude, wood-fired boilers and immediately encountered the inherent difficulties of storing sufficient firewood. Coal proved somewhat easier to store, and more useful, in that the energy to weight ratio was much better. But soon after the turn of the century, the discovery of “oil-fuel” eliminated the back-breaking labor of handling coal, the filth and grime that came with it, and the clouds of smoke that obscured gunnery targets and gave away a warship’s position. Ton for ton, oil generated far more horsepower and was immensely easier to handle and store. In 1911 the US Navy placed an experimental oil-fired propulsion plant aboard the USS Nevada, and the British did likewise in 1915, with the Queen Elizabeth Class fast battleships. The Kaiserliche Marine, always eager to keep up with prospective opponents, was also experimenting with combination oil-fired/coal burning propulsion plants. By the 1920’s, even merchant shipping lines had recognized the economy of oil-fired cargo vessels. But during the era of the Pre-Dreadnought and Dreadnought battleships – coal was King. Rather than get “down among the weeds” of a very complicated process – let’s keep it simple. In early steam powered ships, a “boiler” consisted of a “firebox” beneath a large, iron cylinder containing water. As the fire heated the water, it produced steam that was piped into a system of pistons and crankshafts – similar to the ordinary “internal combustion engine”. Later, steam powered “turbines” were introduced (much like modern jet engines). Through experimentation, it was determined that running water through various sized “water tubes” inside the cylinder would produce more steam, more efficiently (hence large-tubed or small-tubed boilers). But the key to the concept was the “firebox” beneath the “boiler”. Early on, the firebox had a simple raised grate upon which the fire was built. This allowed ash (wood or coal) to drop to the bottom of the firebox. This ensured the fire would burn in a constant manner without interference from ash or noncombustible residue. During long hours of continuous steaming, or periods of high speed, the ash and residue would have to be raked from beneath the grate to prevent build-up. The ash was to be expected, but the “residue” was another matter. Coal, either “soft” or “hard”, varied widely in quality and could produce more – or less – energy and smoke. Depending upon where coal was obtained, it could contain a high or low percentage of “residue” (often called “Klinkers”). This residue might be simple earth scooped up by steam shovels, or bits of rock surrounding the underground coal seam that was inadvertently mixed in during the mining process. It was not uncommon to find chunks of timber (from storage bins), nuts and bolts from broken handling machinery, or even complete shovels! Anything other than coal, that found its’ way into a firebox, could cause serious damage. And excessive “residue build-up” might easily hamper the firing process and result in shutting down a boiler – reducing the ship’s speed. God help the Captain forced to haul out of the “Line of Battle” in the face of the enemy! In 1810, the German mining engineer Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Lindig devised a solution to the problem – The Coal Handling Preparation plant – or, more commonly, the coal washing plant. As commercial shipments of coal arrive at the Coaling Station, the “washing plant”, literally, washes out soil, removes rock and foreign “residue”, and crushes the coal into a predetermined size. The coal is then “stockpiled” or “loaded out” for immediate use. This process removes all waste material, thereby ensuring the safe operation of the ship’s boilers and reserving limited bunker space for actual “fuel”. As mentioned in an earlier Chapter, the coaling docks are spaced around the south and west edges of the complex, while the “Fleet Coal Reserve” occupies the lower third of the compound. The “Reserve” provides a “surge” capacity for extremely heavy use periods as well as preventing any service interruptions due to mining or railroad strikes (not uncommon in the early 1900’s). Above the “Reserve” area is the handling – or washing – plant, the water reservoirs, and water purification plant. Above that, is the “receiving yard” for commercial deliveries – with receiving docks to the right. Though the harbor has been laid out in a fairly “spacious” manner, it can be seen that it is a crowded and busy place. I was fortunate in having the “Alkaline Inc. Northwest Coal Washer” lot in the game. It would have been nearly impossible to piece together anything even remotely similar from “lots & props”, and it is a key element in the coal supply chain. Coal is “received” from the upper end of the lot and moved into the processing building via a “conveyor-bridge”. I re-purposed the @Simmer2 pipeline bridge to act as my elevated conveyor bridge. The elevated structure “tacked onto” the end of the “Alkaline Washer” building is from the “Hardun Mine” lot and is an extension of the elevated conveyor system. The “washer” building processes the coal and discards the “residue” into the slag-pit at the rear, while the processed coal is “row-stacked” in the yard to be loaded into “hoppers” or trucked to the “Fleet Reserve”. Large amounts of water are used during the processing and is drawn from the lower two reservoirs. Contaminated water is piped to the purification plant, processed, and returned to the upper two reservoirs for recycling. Water reservoirs courtesy of @Simmer2. Here you see two trains on the siding beneath the “loading hoppers”. The first train is actually loading coal, while the second train waits in line. I believe the loading hoppers are by @Simmer2. This is my custom water treatment plant – complete with spare pipe stocks, bags of treatment chemicals, heavy equipment for repairs to pipes, and mixing towers to “pre-treat” the contaminated water. The plant is an amalgamation of Maxis lots and bits and pieces from the "prop box". Here is a close-up of the “attached” elevated conveyor structures borrowed from the “Hardun Mine” lot. The neatly stacked coal piles are from the Polish Power Plant lot (which I believe @Tyberius06 will have back in the game pretty soon). The upper end of the complex is occupied by the “Receiving Yard” where all commercial deliveries arrive. You will note the train at the top about to dump several cars down the “Coal Tip”. The small building on the right is the terminus of the conveyor system delivering coal from the “receiving docks”. The bulldozers and bucket cranes are busy moving the mounds of coal toward the conveyor system that will carry it into the “washing” plant This is the receiving point for all seaborne commercial coal deliveries. Two harbor steam tugs by @WolfZe are nudging a “Somy” bulk haul ship into the dock to discharge cargo. The tow-boat ahead, has brought her cargo downriver and across the sheltered waters of the Jade Bight. Massive amounts of coal are required to fill the bunkers of the fleet and it comes from every corner of the nation. The unloading docks are by “Somy” as well, and this is the first time I have ever been able to use this “detached dock” lot with any degree of confidence that it has been used properly. Quite frankly, I’m still not sure I have used it properly. But the conveyor system at the end carries the coal across the road and the railway tracks and deposits it inside the receiving yard – and that was the object. Above the actual Coaling Complex is the railyard tasked with storing, servicing, and repairing the vast fleet of rolling stock required to operate the plant. Loaded coal trains can either enter the “collier” loop and dump their cargo into the receiving yard, or they can be parked here until needed. Empty cars also “park” here until the railroad authority moves them to a marshaling yard off base. On the front end of the yard you see three engine houses where regularly scheduled maintenance can be preformed. Two shuttle engines have just been pulled out and are preparing to return to work. Just above is a coaling and water stop, with a siding for temporary repairs. Above the “terminal” yard are two engines checking in with the dispatch offices. And just to the left is an engine leaving the “repair and overhaul” shed adjacent to the forge workshop. The steam engines are by PEG, as well as the water stop, repair shops, and foundry. I think – the Engine houses are by @Simmer2 and the rail sidings are his, as well – modified to hold coal gondolas. Meanwhile, off the southeastern tip of the Coaling Station, we find the ships of the 1st Battle Squadron, commanded by Vizeadmiral Ehrhard Schmidt, berthed at the offshore mooring points. The four battleships of the Helgoland Class make up one half of the squadron. The other half, the four Westfalen Class ships, are otherwise occupied with coaling or repair work. Offshore mooring points courtesy of @mattb325. Having rushed the Westfalen Class through construction to keep pace with the British, it was decided this class would make the jump from an 11 inch gun to the 12 inch 50 caliber gun. While the range remained about the same, the heavier shell would prove slightly superior in bursting strength to that of the British 12 inch Mark XII gun. The placement of the main gun turrets followed the pattern of the Westfalen Class, but the hull was somewhat longer, and with an additional four feet of beam, the wing turret magazines could be placed farther inboard – allowing better armor protection. As in the Westfalen Class, steam turbines were considered, but rejected because they could not be supplied in time to meet the launch schedule. The internal layout of the ships was arranged in such a manner as to group all of the boilers together, allowing better spacing of the wing turret magazines. This, in turn, resulted in all three stacks being grouped amidships, well clear of the foremast and bridge and the aft control position. The low profile gave the ships a “sturdy” look, easily distinguished from others by the triple stacks. SMS Helgoland and her sister ships – Oldenburg, Thuringen, and Ostfriesland – were built with a bank of eight powerful searchlights grouped evenly on tower arrangements near the foremast and after mast. The Kaiserliche Marine, much like the Imperial Japanese Navy of WW II, were well-trained in night-fighting. Once a possible enemy target was detected in the pitch-black darkness, all guns would be trained on the suspected target – and the searchlights would be switched on. A split-send identification of the target resulted in a blazing fusillade of medium and large caliber shells. Within thirty seconds, the target was sunk or badly mauled, the lights switched off, and the German warship cloaked in darkness once more. I can think of nothing more bewildering than being on the receiving end of such a blinding and deadly barrage. More than once, this tactic proved fatal to the hapless target. The lighter coming alongside Ostfriesland is the “MV Rian” – model provided by @WolfZe with color and texturing kindly supplied by @Barroco Hispano. SMS Ostfriesland was ceded to the United States as reparations under the Versailles Treaty. Used as a target for naval gunfire and the new concept of aerial bombing, she earned the nickname “unsinkable”. Finally, in a famous “dive-bombing” demonstration by Col. Billy Mitchell, she was struck by six 1,000 kilo bombs, and went down off Cape Henry, Virginia, on 21 July, 1921. Just as a matter of reference, the “Offshore Mooring Points” (Courtesy of @mattb325) in my harbors are taken directly from the mooring points used by the US Navy at Pearl Harbor. The waters close inshore of Ford Island were relatively shallow – the harbor itself is only 40 feet at the deepest point. Rather than go to great expense dredging a deep channel along the island and building enormously expensive quays, the Navy opted for quick and cheap mooring points. And I finally found a picture to illustrate them. This is an artist’s rendition of the USS Arizona making fast to her mooring point (quite possibly for the last time). Note the harbor tug easing her into position, while members of the “Anchor Detail”, atop the mooring point, secure the various hawsers. There is also a ship’s boat standing by to rescue anyone that slips and ends up in the “drink”. As always --- MANY, MANY, MANY THANKS to @Barroco Hispano for his intricately detailed, and beautifully textured warship models. Without his “gifted talents” and spirit of generosity, this on-going project would never have been attempted. If you enjoyed anything you saw – please punch the “like” button so I will know. A comment would be even more informative. Comments and critiques requested and gratefully accepted. All questions answered promptly to the best of my ability. THANK YOU for your visit ! NEXT WEEK…...The Commercial Pier.- 7 Comments
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