Steam, etc...

[Mahatatain]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

LOL! I saw "stream" in the title and thought you were doing some kind of podcast.

In my games, Steam is used EXTENSIVELY. For instance, In my world, Krakow doesn't use Ethanol/Methanol fueled generators. These are simply too inefficient to provide power to even a small city. Krakow uses STEAM BOILERS fueled by biomass (wood, coal, peat moss, and garbage) to heat water to steam. That steam flows through a system of large alternators (like those found on boats or heavy machinery like draglines) before the low-pressure steam is used to heat and purify drinking water. The now-exhausted steam recondenses and is cycled back into the boilers. In my game, the boilers were made from liquid propane tanks (the kind on truck bodies) with the ends cut out and a firebox welded into the vessel. Since the tanks were originally "pressure-resistant," the firebox inserted into the center of the tank (by cutting out the back and welding it in there) has less of a chance of rupturing the tank. This design allows water to flow all around the firebox and steam exits from the pressure relief valve installed at the top of the tank body. Eight of these now roughly 4,000-gallon boilers turning the large turbine-style alternators power Krakow.

However, providing that much wood to burn would be problematic. Thus, I have a small settlement several klicks from Krakow that has reopened a small pre-WWII COAL MINE. Krakow provides this settlement with manufactured goods and raw materials from its building salvage operations (like screws/fasteners, & fixtures like pipes and wire), and steel from its Keldo (an electric furnace that melts scrap metal to make new steel). There are weekly convoys to various small settlements where everything from ammo, spare parts, and new steel is traded for the raw materials Krakow needs to survive (like food, coal, salt, and wood). These convoys are Krakow's "lifeblood" and are well protected but also present a "juicy target" for anyone brave enough to face their firepower.

I have most of Krakow's economy being "Salvage," with most of it coming from damaged buildings that are salvaged for pipe, electrical fixtures, and reclaimed steel. But that's a post for a different thread.

I believe that coal mining in Poland is particularly concentrated in Silesia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_in_Poland) so a particular Margrave might well have control of some resources that Krakow needs, prompting either trade or war, depending on the direction you want your campaign to go in.

[Vespers War]

Originally Posted by Mahatatain

I believe that coal mining in Poland is particularly concentrated in Silesia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_in_Poland) so a particular Margrave might well have control of some resources that Krakow needs, prompting either trade or war, depending on the direction you want your campaign to go in.

There are also hard coal mines in Lower Silesia and Lublin, but the former closed in 2000 and the only one in the latter is Bogdanka. Bogdanka produces about 10-15% of Poland's hard coal.

The largest lignite mine is Belchatow in Lodz; in 2015 it produced 2/3 of all of Poland's lignite, and lignite extraction was almost equal to hard coal extraction (63.1 million tonnes versus 66 million tonnes).

It may also be worth noting that Poland's coal in general is low quality, and they currently import coal for uses that call for higher-quality coal (generally industrial processes).

[Mahatatain]

That's very interesting.

My logic is that older coal mines that have been closed are normally shut down because they are not economically viable anymore, i.e. there is still coal there but the cost of extracting it means it's cheaper to get coal from somewhere else. In a T2k setting that definition of economically viable has changed dramatically so I think that some older coal mines might have been re-opened as a result.

[Brit]

"Freeminer is an ancient title given to coal or iron miners in the Forest of Dean. The freemining tradition is unique to the Forest"

"In order to become registered as a Freeminer a person must:
• Be born in and live within the Hundred of St Briavels
• Be over the age of 21 years
• Have worked for a year and a day in a mine within the Hundred".

From: https://www.visitdeanwye.co.uk/explo...age/freemining

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.u...luding-4311311

Unique but very likely elsewhere in the T2K World. The Forest of Dean would be distant to the England under government control and near to Wales.

Plus... no Mules or Horses available? How about using Alpaca to transport that coal?
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.u...police-4293163

From:
https://www.visitdeanwye.co.uk/thing...-cafe-p1311271
To here?
https://www.visitdeanwye.co.uk/thing...entre-p1308991