Simulation · Minimal Factory · Ruhr area
Zollern colliery · hoisting coal
A showpiece colliery as a model: winding towers, sheaves, winding engine and cages in the shaft, plus machine hall and pay hall on the real terrain in Dortmund-Bövinghausen.
Trailer
Real are location, terrain and buildings (official NRW elevation data, OpenStreetMap). Output figures have not been handed down, the two further shafts are interpreted; quantities, processes and times are model values. With your data, the model shows your site and your processes.
Zollern colliery in Dortmund-Bövinghausen, a showpiece colliery, stands as a block model on its real terrain: two winding towers, the machine hall and the pay hall, and the sheaves turn again. The winding engine pulls the cages on the rope, at the top the full tubs arrive and roll to the screening plant. Pit props come by truck, the coal leaves by train.
Five controls steer the colliery: investment (one to four shafts), workforce, supply, quality and market. Two more shafts are built as an expansion south of the tracks as soon as there is more money, more people and enough pit props. What the market does not take stays on the coal stockpile until it is full.
Real are location, terrain and buildings from official NRW elevation data and OpenStreetMap. In the model both real shafts produce; in reality one was a ventilation shaft. Output figures have not been handed down; quantities, processes and times are model values, and one working day lasts ten seconds. The page is for museums and exhibitions, schools and universities, industrial heritage and local history.
From raw material to product
- 01
supply – pit prop trucks
- 02
shafts – sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft
- 03
coal heap – takes in what is not sold
- 04
dispatch – coal trains
01
A site at work
Zollern colliery: The model colliery in Dortmund-Bövinghausen: two headframes hoist the coal, two more shafts grow as an expansion south of the tracks.
02
Shaft 1 (real)
Shaft 1 (real) – A shaft with headframe: the winding engine pulls the cages on the rope, the sheaves turn with them, full tubs arrive at the top and roll to the screening plant.
What is shown – why – for whom
| Ce qui est montré | Pourquoi | Pour qui |
|---|---|---|
| Two shafts with winding tower, sheaves and winding engine | PourquoiShows how the cages travel on the rope in the shaft. | Pour quimuseum, teaching |
| Full tubs and screening plant | PourquoiShows how the coal arrives at the top. | Pour quimuseum, teaching |
| Machine hall | PourquoiShows the place of the first electrically driven main-shaft winding engine in European mining. | Pour quihistory of technology, exhibition |
| Pay hall with gate and path of the shifts | PourquoiShows where the miners collected their wages. | Pour quilocal history, exhibition |
| Pit-prop trucks and coal trains | PourquoiShows what is delivered to the colliery and what leaves it. | Pour quiteaching, industrial heritage |
| Coal stockpile | PourquoiShows what happens to coal the market does not take. | Pour quieconomics teaching, exhibition |
| Five controls with output, stockpile and daily result | PourquoiShows connections in operations, not operating figures. | Pour quieconomics teaching |
03
Shaft 4
Shaft 4 – the expansion runs along as long as people, materials and market suffice.
04
Five levers, one works
Full investment – four shafts: capacity for the boom, but only with enough people and materials.
Films from the model
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Above Zollern colliery
A flight across the whole site: low approach, Shaft 1, then across the works to the long shot – everything moving, with the sound of the works.
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From raw material to product
The works’ chain in one flight – supply (pit prop trucks), shafts, coal heap, dispatch: station by station.
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A working day in time-lapse
In time-lapse working days pass in seconds: shifts at the gate, traffic on the supply and dispatch routes, the stockpile (coal heap) changing along.
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A works grows
Investment step by step: new shafts appear, the workforce grows with them, then more supply and a boom in the market.
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Bottleneck – the works respond
First materials run short and the plant only runs in part, then the market takes too little and the stockpile fills up – in the boom the works recover.
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Using the software
With the full interface: open the works, set investment and market, look at stockpile and plant – every lever acts at once.
Facilities and areas in the model
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Shafts
A shaft with headframe: the winding engine pulls the cages on the rope, the sheaves turn with them, full tubs arrive at the top and roll to the screening plant. In the game: 2 real, 2 as expansion (interpreted).
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Coal heap
Whatever is made but not sold ends up here; when it is full the surplus goes at a discount, when the market wants more it is drawn down.
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Supply
Pit prop trucks. A bigger contract costs more, the store buffers short gaps.
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Dispatch
Coal trains. The market only takes what it needs.
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Machine hall
Home of the first electric main-shaft winding engine in European mining.
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Wage hall
Where the miners collected their pay; in the model the shifts’ gate and route lie there.
05
When things get tight
Coal heap filling up – more is made than sold; when there is no room left the surplus goes at a 40 % discount.
06
Medium long shot
Medium long shot – Shaft 1: sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft.
Processes in the model
From raw material to product
- 01supply – pit prop trucks
- 02shafts – sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft
- 03coal heap – takes in what is not sold
- 04dispatch – coal trains
Expansion
- 01raise investment by one step
- 02another shaft is built on its plot
- 03set the workforce to match, otherwise it only runs in part
- 04the market decides whether it pays – success in one number at the top
Bottleneck and recovery
- 01supply short – the store empties
- 02materials missing – the plants only run in part
- 03market in a slump – the stockpile grows until the fire sale
- 04boom – the stockpile empties, the result rises
What the model can be used for
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Museum and exhibition
The shaft explains itself on the plant: the winding engine pulls, the sheaves turn, at the top the full tubs arrive and roll to the screening plant. Each step comes with one sentence.
Pour quimuseums, visitor centres, exhibitions
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School and university
How did coal get up from the depths, and what is a winding tower? Terms like sheave, cage and ventilation shaft sit where they belong.
Pour quischools, universities, vocational training
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Industrial heritage and local history
Why is Zollern called a showpiece colliery? The machine hall, home to the first electrically driven main-shaft winding engine in European mining, and the miners' pay hall stand on the real terrain.
Pour quiindustrial heritage, city marketing, local history societies
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Understanding operations
Investment, workforce, supply, quality and market act at once on output, stockpile and result. It becomes visible why a further shaft without people and pit props costs money.
Pour quieconomics teaching, further training
07
Shaft 1 at work
Shaft 1 at work – sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft; the machines run with the works’ utilisation.
08
The whole software
Running the works – five levers: investment, workforce, supply, quality and market; the chain shows at once what follows.
What you can change
Controls
- Investment: Number of shafts (1 to 4): more money builds more, less shuts them down; without more people they only run in part.
- Workforce: Enough people for all shafts – output rises, and so does success. Too many people cost wages without more output.
- Supply: More material arrives – the plant no longer has to wait. Levels short, normal and double; supply security costs money.
- Quality: More quality means less scrap and fewer breakdowns but costs testing and maintenance (levels low, normal, high).
- Market: Slump, normal or boom. In a slump more is made than sold: the stockpile grows and success drops. In a boom the market takes more: the stockpile empties and success rises.
Disruptions
- Too few people: Workers are missing, part of the plant stands still.
- Material missing: Supply is not enough; once the store is empty the plants only run in part (message: “Parts store empty – supply is short”).
- Too much built: More is made than the market takes: the stockpile grows; when it is full the surplus goes at a 40 % discount (message: “Stockpile full – fire sale at a discount”).
- Market wants more: Demand is greater than the works can make; once the stockpile is empty orders are lost (message: “Stockpile empty – orders are lost”).
What the model brings
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01
The real terrain as a stage
Colliery, tracks and surroundings stand on terrain from official elevation data. You show the site as it lies, not as a diagram.
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02
One shaft, made visible
Sheaves turn, cages travel in the shaft, full tubs roll to the screening plant. You understand the process before you steer the colliery yourself.
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03
Bottlenecks without damage
The pit props fail to arrive, the store empties, the coal stockpile fills up. You see where it gets tight first, and set it back.
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04
For big screens and the browser
Runs in the browser and on large projections. A working day in fast motion lasts ten seconds.
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Zollern colliery: The model colliery in Dortmund-Bövinghausen: two headframes hoist the coal, two more shafts grow as an expansion south of the tracks. -
Zollern colliery from the other side – the same site in the afternoon sun from the south-west, with long shadows of halls and structures. -
Medium long shot – Shaft 1: sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft. -
Far out near Dortmund-Bövinghausen – terrain, houses and trees come from official elevation data; at the edge the world fades softly into the dark. -
From above – Zollern colliery as a model of blocks: every cell a block, buildings and terrain from elevation data and OpenStreetMap. -
Zollern colliery from above at an angle – supply, shafts, coal heap and dispatch at a glance. -
All around Dortmund-Bövinghausen: streets, tracks and water from OpenStreetMap, houses and trees from the elevation data – only the plant in the middle is built specially. -
At eye level – Shaft 1, as close as from the fence. -
Shaft 1 (real) – A shaft with headframe: the winding engine pulls the cages on the rope, the sheaves turn with them, full tubs arrive at the top and roll to the screening plant. -
Shaft 2 (real) – a real structure of the site, running in the game: sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft. -
Shaft 3 (expansion, interpreted) – only appears with more investment and runs only with enough people and materials. -
Shaft 4 (expansion, interpreted) – only appears with more investment and runs only with enough people and materials. -
Coal heap – whatever is made but not sold ends up here; when there is no room left, the surplus goes at a discount. -
Supply – pit prop trucks: a bigger contract costs more, the store buffers short gaps. -
Machine hall – home of the first electric main-shaft winding engine in European mining. -
Wage hall – where the miners collected their pay; in the model the shifts’ gate and route lie there. -
Shaft 1 close up – sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft. -
Coal heap close up – the material grows into a heap when more is made than collected. -
Supply in full swing – pit prop trucks; the bigger the contract, the more is on the move. -
Shaft 1 at work – sheaves turn, cages run in the shaft; the machines run with the works’ utilisation. -
Shaft 4 – the expansion runs along as long as people, materials and market suffice. -
Coal heap in day-to-day operation – the material grows into a heap when more is made than collected. -
Dispatch – coal trains; in a boom more is on the move, in a slump less. -
At the gate – the shifts arrive here, paths lead to the plants, the workshop and the break area. -
Full steam – all four shafts running, the market booming: supply and dispatch routes are at their busiest. -
Small investment – only Shaft 1 runs, the other plots lie ready as marked foundations. -
Full investment – four shafts: capacity for the boom, but only with enough people and materials. -
Every facility labelled – shaft 1 to 4, coal heap, supplier and market; at the top the working day with the daily output, on the right success in one number. -
Shaft 1 labelled – name and number right in the picture. -
Success in one number – 100 means it cannot get better in this market; below it the result per day, at the top the output per working day. -
Where a lever acts, a ring lights up – here after a change in the market: coal heap. -
Materials missing – supply is short, the store is empty: the shafts only run in part, the supply route is quiet. -
Coal heap filling up – more is made than sold; when there is no room left the surplus goes at a 40 % discount. -
Too few people – the workforce is not enough for all shafts, part of the plant stands still. -
Boom – the market takes more than is being made: the stockpile empties, the dispatch route is busy. -
The whole software – at the top the working day with clock and output, on the right success in one number, below the tiles for works and facilities. -
Running the works – five levers: investment, workforce, supply, quality and market; the chain shows at once what follows. -
One lever, visible at once – market set to slump: the status line explains the bottleneck, the stockpile grows, the daily result drops. -
Facility card – shaft: in operation, workforce and utilisation, plus one sentence on what happens there. -
Stockpile card – coal heap: stock, space used and growth per day. -
Supplier card – delivery per day, store and material costs per day. -
Market card – demand, sold and turnover per day. -
Bottleneck in orange – supply is not enough: the line at the top and the works status say in one sentence what is missing. -
The menu – overview and plant, cutaway, restart, demo, sound and other sites, below the controls for mouse, touch and keyboard. -
Sixteen real sites – blast furnaces, collieries, car plants, harbours and a shipyard, each where it really stands.
Your site as a model
Would you like to show your plant, your museum or your industrial site like this? Write to us or call. We will send you the password for starting it on request.
cube4tec.de/spiele/minimal-factory/
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Minimal Factory: Zeche Zollern · Kohle fördern
Basis and limits
Real are the location, terrain and buildings in Dortmund-Bövinghausen (official NRW elevation data and OpenStreetMap). The plant in the middle is our own simplified interpretation: quantities, processes, times and prices are model assumptions; the economy runs in time-lapse (10 seconds are one working day). Not a simulation of real operations and no cooperation with the site.
Public sources the model is based on:
- Wikipedia (German), article on the site: Zeche Zollern
- Geobasis NRW: digital surface and terrain models DOM1/DGM1 (Data licence Germany – Zero – 2.0)
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): streets, tracks, water, land use
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Real are location, terrain and buildings (official NRW elevation data, OpenStreetMap). Output figures have not been handed down, the two further shafts are interpreted; quantities, processes and times are model values. With your data, the model shows your site and your processes.