Shipbucket

FANTASTIC work Red

Well Done matey

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Excellent work Redhorse.

I have some doubts about all oil-fired boilers at this time.
I'm currently reading D.K. Brown's 'The Grand Fleet' and he covers the subject in some depth. It seems combustion was the biggest problem, getting a nozzle that would ignite properly and enable good combustion and reducing consumption and smoke. It seems to have taken several years of testing from the late 1890s to 1903.
Oil and coal mixed firing (oil sprayed on coal) seems to have been the most common interim step with some advantages. You're correct that oil firing is superior but I just wonder if Texas might not have some teething troubles in the new boilers.

Also, most 19thC ships relied on coal for additional deck protection and stability when damaged and flooded. Even the Admiralty were slow to adjust to this change and recognise its important effects. Another factor in switching to oil to think about too.

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I did some additional research before I made the decision about switching to oil this early.

The first experiments with oil-fired boilers occurred in 1864 and it worked, but there was no demand for it and the supply was minuscule, so it was shelved. Russian railroads converted 143 locomotives to oil firing starting in 1885, so there is some viability in steam engines and the technology seems to work, though the fuel cost was probably still too high to be economical for operations.

In the American southwest, many railroads start adopting oil-fired engines at the turn of the century. Texas is one of the states where oil-fired locomotives become prevalent. Commercial oil refining becomes economically viable in Texas around 1897. Several naval vessels in this period put locomotive boilers to use in their propulsion plants.

The idea may be far-fetched, but I think its plausible. But you are correct when you say it could not have occurred without teething troubles. It's a small number of ships overall, and I don't want to leave you with the impression that it all went perfectly. My operating costs are very high because the technology isn't mainstream yet.

One drawback is now that I'm the only nation using oil-fired boilers in my ships as standard practice, I have to build oilers to refuel them in ports outside Texas and the ships needed to protect them. Another is I have to find a plausible means of protecting my ships without the coal (as you mentioned) as a buffer for absorbing the energy from armor-piercing shells.

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Redhorse

Current Projects:
Republic of Texas Navy
FD Scale F-14s

That explanation sounds good to me, I knew you would have researched it but just thought I'd raise Brown's points because they are interesting in that the switch was not perfect, but even so once begun there was a determined push to complete the switch.

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Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

The Texas Army

The Texas Army underwent its own sweeping changes between 1890 and 1899. The Army and Navy Act of 1895 expanded its size and missions to a considerable degree. It took on the role of coast defense from the Navy, after it showed that shore batteries were more economical to construct and operate than coast defense monitors. An Artillery Regiment was authorized, consisting of three coast artillery battalions and one field artillery battalion. Two additional infantry regiments were also authorized, with the personnel expansion to be completed by 1905.

A new service rifle was selected, the British Magazine Lee Enfield (forerunner of the famous SMLE) chambered for Texas ammunition:

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Redhorse

Current Projects:
Republic of Texas Navy
FD Scale F-14s

Construction started on coast defense emplacements in 1896. Was purchased for three forts, each fort garrisoned by one of the three coast artillery battalions.

The first emplacement was an emplacement for two 10 inch disappearing guns, constituting one "battery". It was completed two years later at a cost of $100,000.

Following that were four more: another 10 inch battery, two 12 inch mortar batteries, and a 3 inch gun battery.



The 1898 building program added a 4.7 inch gun battery, another 3 inch gun battery, and an 8 inch disappearing gun battery.



The 10 inch guns and the 8 inch guns used the same disappearing mount to simplify maintenance.

The last battery was built in 1899: a 3" gun battery.

The three forts were named Fort Crockett on the west side of Galveston, Fort San Jacinto on the east end of Galveston Island, and Fort Travis on the west end of the Bolivar Peninsula.

_________________
Redhorse

Current Projects:
Republic of Texas Navy
FD Scale F-14s

Awesome work in this AU!

Awesome work!

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MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

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Republic of Texas, 1900-09


Introduction

In the first decade of the twentieth century, Texans shared the optimism and confidence that permeated the Progressive Era. Its agricultural economy was suspicious of business but stood on the verge of an oil boom that would make Texas an international symbol of corporate power. During these years the country pursued political reform in campaigns for woman suffrage and the regulation of corporations.

There were 3,896,542 Texans recorded in the 1910 census. It was also still essentially rural. Two-thirds of the populace lived in the country, and fewer than one of five Texans resided in towns of more than 10,000. Agriculture dominated the economy. More than 800,000 men were farmers; the number of women and children who helped them is unknown. Products of farms and ranches totaled more than five times the output of Texas factories.

These years were prosperous for cotton farmers, with prices well above the disastrous lows of the 1890s. But farmers still complained of low profits, inequities in the marketing process, and difficulty in securing needed credit through the banking system. Equally serious was the problem of farm tenancy. Landless farmers lacking capital rented their labor and gave the owner one-fourth or one-third of the cotton crop. Sharecroppers were the most impoverished of the 200,000 tenants in Texas, but poverty was widespread in the farm areas.

The principal businesses were lumber, oil, and railroads. Increasing consolidation among lumber firms gave them dominant power over their workers, and labor relations were often embittered. The oil industry had only begun to establish itself. Discovery of the Spindletop oilfield near Beaumont in January 1901 marked the opening of the prosperous phase of the business in Texas.
Railroads were the other major industrial force in Texas. The Railroad Commission, established in the 1890s, closely regulated the seventy-one companies that used the 11,000 miles of track in 1904. Freight rates had dramatically declined and the rail companies found it difficult to issue new securities under Texas laws. Expansion of mileage slowed accordingly. A growing interest in good highways also signaled an emerging rival for the rail lines. There were 3,591 miles of paved roads in 1910, and highway proponents accelerated their campaign.

While Texas retained its predominantly agricultural character throughout the period, urbanization also commenced an inexorable process of growth. There were 132 "cities" in Texas in 1910, but only San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Fort Worth numbered more than 50,000 inhabitants. Austin, El Paso, Galveston, and Waco had between 25,000 and 50,000 residents. More than ninety of the so-called urban areas had fewer than 5,000 people within their city limits.

White Texans gave little thought to the situation of the black and Hispanic minorities in the years before 1920. Segregation kept the 690,000 blacks from offering any challenge to the existing order of white supremacy. The black population comprised nearly 18 percent of all Texans by 1910 and was sprinkled throughout the eastern third of the state. Blacks were a majority in no more than ten counties.

The Mexican population, numbering about 250,000, did not confront the highly visible repression that blacks endured, but their lot in the border counties of South Texas was one of poverty and political subordination. The economic position of most Mexican Americans was desperate; some earned only fifty cents a day in 1901. To most white residents, the Mexican-American community remained an unknown and despised entity.

In many ways the years after 1900 left Texas relatively unchanged. The state was still rural, agricultural, segregated, and poor. Industrialization, the rapid growth of cities, and the great wealth that became legend were years away. Nonetheless the Progressive Era in Texas had initiated trends that would lead to the emergence of the modern state.

I. Geography

• a. Area
  • • Total Area: 268,581 mi2/696,241 km2
    • Land: 261,866 mi2/678,835 km2
    • Water: 6715 mi2/17,406 km2
  b. Country Comparison to the World: 40
  c. Land Boundaries
  • • Total: 2845 mi/4552 km
    • Countries: United States, Mexico
  d. Coastline: 367 mi/591 km
  e. Climate: The size of Texas and location at the intersection of multiple climate zones gives it highly variable weather.
  f. Terrain: Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and Basin and Range Province.
  g. Resources:
  • • Mineral: coal, lignite, oil, natural gas
    • Metal: iron, mercury, silver
    • Natural: timber
  h. Natural Hazards: thunderstorms, tornados, and hurricanes

II. People and Society

• a. Ethnic Groups: White Texans; Free Blacks, and Mexicans
  b. Language: English
  c. Population: 3,048,710 (1900)

III. Government

• a. Type: Federal Republic
  b. Capitol: Austin
  c. Administrative Divisions: 244 counties

IV. Economy

• a. Budget (1900-1909 average)
  • • Revenues: $21,958,454 TXD
    • Expenditures: $18,445,101 TXD
  b. Agriculture:
  • • Crops: cotton, cotton seed, corn, oats, wheat
    • Livestock: beef cows, milk cows, horses, mules, sheep
  c. Manufacturing: mills, lumber, meat packing, railroad shops, oil refining
  d. Industries: timber, meat packing, oil, iron
  e. Exports: cotton, wheat, lumber
  f. Imports: iron, manufactured goods

V. Transportation

• a. Roads: 3591 mi/5745 km
  b. Railways: 9702 mi/15,613 km
  c. Waterways: 5 navigable rivers (Sabine, Trinity, Colorado, Brazos, Rio Grande)
  d. Ports: Galveston, Sabine Pass, Port Arthur, Beaumont, Houston

VI. Military and Security

• a. Military Branches:
  • • Regular: Army (5600 personnel), Navy and Marines (2700 personnel)
    • Militia (30,487 available for service)
  b. Military Service Age and Obligation: voluntary militia enrollment for males between the ages of 18 and 45
  c. Military Expenditures: $5,496,224 TXD (average 1900-09); 29% of Budget Expenditures

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Redhorse

Current Projects:
Republic of Texas Navy
FD Scale F-14s

The Texas Navy, 1900-09

This decade began with a disastrous start. The Great Hurricane of 1900, which struck Galveston on 8 September 1900, came close to destroying the entire fleet. Vessels already at sea were able to avoid the storm, but those in port were at great risk. The commander of the Navy Yard ordered all crewed ships to raise steam and seek shelter in better harbors. Most vessels went up to Houston or were able to use the Intracoastal Waterway to move to Beaumont or Corpus Christi. The short notice orders saved the fleet.

However, the vessels laid up in ordinary could not be saved, and the one ship in dry dock for refit fell victim to the storm. The old composite ships, Comal, Frio, Guadalupe, Independence, and Archer were wrecked for lack of crews to move them. But they were not considered a great loss since their designs were obsolete and they were already slated for scrapping.

The Corvette Leon, being rebuilt as a gunboat in one of the dry docks, was damaged beyond repair. She was declared unsalvageable and scrapped in place.

The 1900 Hurricane killed an estimated 8,000 people in the storm surge.

The recovery that followed did not have a negative impact on continued naval developments or ship construction. The decade unfolded with a larger number of potential adversaries in the region, and the Navy took measures to protect its seaborne commerce and its coast.

One year after the hurricane, Congress authorized the construction of three cruisers. The first was laid down in 1902 and completed two years later. The Neches commissioned in 1904:



The Neches Class were the first true "modern" ships in the Texas Navy. They were the first ships to do away with sails and rely completely on mechanical power plants. They were also the first to make use of fully enclosed turrets and gun batteries of greater number than their predecessors.

They actually displaced 100 tons less than their older cousin the Armored Cruiser Navidad, coming in at 2514 tons even though they were just as long on the waterline, just as wide on the beam and a foot shallower in draft. The main battery was four M1898 6"/50 gun in fully enclosed 2-gun mounts with powered hoists. The secondary battery was twelve M1897 4"/40 guns in broadside casemates. Protection against torpedo boats came from a battery of four M1884 6lb QF guns, still a good weapon for its age.

Two 18" torpedo tubes completed the weapons complement, though they were rarely used and later removed.

Armor was 4" on the main belt and conning tower, 2" on the slope with a 1" protected deck over machinery and magazines.

Maximum speed was 17 knots with a cruising speed of 8 knots for a range of 2650 miles/4240 kilometers.

Their full complement was a total of 176 personnel including the small Marine Detachment carried by all Texas Navy capitol ships.

Neches was followed by her sisters Nueces in 1906 and Paluxy in 1908.

_________________
Redhorse

Current Projects:
Republic of Texas Navy
FD Scale F-14s