Nürburgring - Construction techniques .. 98 years ago ..

[Zimmerframe]

OK, so this is totally off topic.

Yes, if I did a lap on my emtb, I'd probably be the slowest on Strava ..

I saw this picture :

From 98 years and 4 days, 8 hours and 27 minutes earlier and it said they were using "coal stone" to prepare the circuit.

Now I don't know if that's a typo meaning something like coldstone ? or is it coal stone ? but then why ?

Does anyone know ? We have some older members who were around then like @steve_sordy . Maybe he worked there ?

 

[Tim22]

OK, so this is totally off topic.

Yes, if I did a lap on my emtb, I'd probably be the slowest on Strava ..

I saw this picture :

View attachment 125983

From 98 years and 4 days, 8 hours and 27 minutes earlier and it said they were using "coal stone" to prepare the circuit.

Now I don't know if that's a typo meaning something like coldstone ? or is it coal stone ? but then why ?

Does anyone know ? We have some older members who were around then like @steve_sordy . Maybe he worked there ?

nurburgring constuction - Google Search Not 98 yrs ago but interesting.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Found a few other bits, but nothing about the coal stone ..

It all began in 1912, when the project to create the first permanent German automobile track was launched, contrary to the custom of the time, which was to occasionally close public roads. At this point, the Eifel Mountains are just one potential location among many others.

Unfortunately, the First World War broke out and temporarily put the project aside. It was not until 1925 that it came back into the spotlight, when Dr. Otto Creuz, a sort of Prefect of the Eifel at the time, managed to convince the German government that a large automobile track would generate many jobs. in this rather poor region.

This also made up for the fact that Germany was one of the rare large European countries not to have a permanent circuit. France, England and Italy were then examples.

So the following year, no fewer than 3,000 workers would be responsible for transforming the plans of a certain Gustav Eichler into reality. The 22.81 km North loop, the Nordschleife, and the 7.75 km South loop, the Südschleife, shared the same 20 m wide start and finish line. Once combined, they formed the 28.27 km Gesamtstrecke, which could be translated as “complete race”.

On June 19, 1927, Rudolf Caracciola won the very first race, stunning the crowd by taking the concrete track downhill from what would later become one of the most legendary corners in automobile racing around the world: the Karussell, which was originally intended only for drainage. Today it bears the official name of “Karussell Rudolf Caracciola”.

 

[JStrube]

I feel blessed to have had a chance to drive this track. Something I'd only dreamed of doing. It was in my son's 3 cylinder diesel Audi, but it had a proper stick shift, so I felt good! I wasn't the fastest guy out there, I got passed by some very fast cars, but I did pass a few folks, even a bike. Saw plenty of people who had crashed and ruined their day, thankfully, we did not do that.

 

[Mcharza]

I, too, have successfully driven the original long track with this Toyota. I wasn't the fastest, but I wasn't the slowest either. However, after the round, Tojo had no brakes and no exhaust pipe.

 

[steve_sordy]

The only meaning I can get for "coal stone" is some type of combustible material, which is unlikely for the construction of a road. But the material dug out that is not coal and is considered as waste; discarded from coal mines all over the world would be suitable. I wonder if it is a mistranslation, or maybe it is a literal translation of the term used in Germany. In the UK we call it "slag".

 

[JStrube]

The only meaning I can get for "coal stone" is some type of combustible material, which is unlikely for the construction of a road. But the material dug out that is not coal and is considered as waste; discarded from coal mines all over the world would be suitable. I wonder if it is a mistranslation, or maybe it is a literal translation of the term used in Germany. In the UK we call it "slag".

I was thinking the same thing, a mistranslation, or local name.

 

[Hardtail]

Coal ash is used as a road base.

“Coal ash can also be used to stabilize pavement base by improving its strength, and coal ash can be applied as a substitution or replacement for cement, fine aggregate, or coarse aggregate.”

 

[Zimmerframe]

Coal ash is used as a road base.

“Coal ash can also be used to stabilize pavement base by improving its strength, and coal ash can be applied as a substitution or replacement for cement, fine aggregate, or coarse aggregate.”

It's not ash though. You can see it's "rocky" .. like an aggregate but 100-200 or something large spec/base layer.

It must be either amiss translation or an expression, ie, rock used when exposing coal seams or something. Would you build a race circuit on something combustible which might slowly burn for years after an accident ? and end up with the BBQ straight ?

 

[Jimbo Vills]

The stone you are talking about is basalt. It’s like a granite / cobble stones in the raw form. It’s black and volcanic which is why it’s probably described as coal stone. Lost in translation.

Spent a lot of time there, mainly on track but did visit the Nurburg castle and remember the black stone and wondering what it was. It’s basalt which must obviously be in the region and crushed for a perfect base of a race track / road.