-
Announcement
-
Simtropolis Returns! 05/26/2026
See here for details about our site recovery efforts.
-
Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'emden 06'.
Found 1 result
-
The Jade Bight: 22 Emden 06 The Volkswagenwerk This week we have the last entry for the harbor of Emden. Hopefully, I have saved the best for last! To the west of the harbor basin lies a large expanse of land that was, for centuries, a maze of small streams, ponds, ditches, and salt marsh. Over the decades, much of it was gradually diked and drained and used for farmland. The area was surrounded by earthen seawalls, much like the levees found along the Mississippi River or in many parts of the Netherlands. After the last war, with the miraculous recovery of German manufacturing, industry soon recognized the value of the land, and began building factories and plants all across it. In the Frisian Industrial Park, a progressive auto manufacturing firm saw an opportunity to create an integrated complex for building and shipping their product that could launch them on a global scale. And that's why, to this day, a truly gigantic Volkswagen complex sits in a former swamp on the once tidal lands between the Emden Basin and the main shipping channel of the Ems Estuary. VOLKSWAGENWERK COMPLEX: 01 02 03 04 As you can see, the "werk" is truly massive and completely integrated. The infrastructure includes docks for sea transport, railyard facilities, and access to truck transport as well as the means of transportation for some 23k employees. It even has its' own fire brigade. VW SHIPPING DOCKS: 05 06 Please note the custom filler lots designed to extend the on-dock car storage and the filler lots with "car-hauler" trucks standing by. There is also a custom lot for the Dock Control offices, complete with a small controller's tower attached. 07 The automobiles are moved from the storage lots and loaded onto transport vessels that will ship them all over Europe and the world. These are Somy's most excellent car ferry lots, for those of you that are interested. VW RAILYARD: 08 Here you see the factory's railyard facilities. The Automobiles are loaded onto "car-hauler" train cars and the switcher engines will shuttle them across town to a large siding where they will be made into full trains. From there the VW's will be shipped inland for European distribution at distant locations. 09 This is part of the railyard service facilities -- to keep the rolling stock rolling! SEEDEICH POINT LIGHT: 10 11 The Seedeich Point Lighthouse had been built many, many years before the factory moved in, and is the main navigation beacon for the estuary. As part of the expansion agreement with the authorities, VW agreed to renovate the lighthouse and landscape the grounds into a small public park. VW STORAGE LOTS: 12 These are the storage lots where the finished automobiles are kept while awaiting shipment. These are 1x1 custom filler lots -- and by my rough count (didn't want to stretch my math capabilities) -- there are about a thousand of those little parked beggars! BIG plant -- needed lots of product storage. TRUCK SHIPMENT LOT: 13 Here you have the truck shipment lots. The left half of the lot is used to bring in parts and raw materials, while the right half is used to load "hauler" trucks. These cars will be taken to not-too--distant locations for distribution. The entire thing is made up of 1x1 and 1x2 lots -- mostly custom filler lots purpose-made for this factory. Several of the fillers are from NBVC's Container Port Set, while many more were custom-made (re-lotted) from them. 14 And here you have the employee parking lot for those that don't use the train or the subway. Again -- all filler lots -- mostly custom-made, with the center lots by T-Wrecks COMMUTER RAIL: 15 This is the commuter rail station, right outside the front gate of the complex. This was built especially to carry all those little "worker ants" that made "beetles" ! OPEN TERRAIN EXPERIMENT: 16 Here you see yet another attempt to fill space without actually putting anything there. On the face of it -- that doesn't make much sense, does it? (lol-lol) But I have been fighting an ongoing battle with my natural instinct to fill every square with something! And it's usually more trees!! I very much would like to use "open terrain space" with the artistry of "Ln X". I will continue to try -- but fear I will fall far short of his mark. EMDEN HARBOR OVERVIEW: 17 This will help you tie all the pieces together. OBLIGATORY NIGHT SHOTS: 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 I guess that's about all for this week. COMMENTS and SUGGESTIONS -- MOST welcome. If you think there is something to add -- please feel free to join in. AND -- If there is something you'd like to see -- a suggestion or two would not go amiss. I have ideas in the works for future cities, but I can always use something new to think about. Next week: Residential Emden!!
