What is this structure?

[Honza]

The trouble with the photo above is that it is over a very large area and so the details are lost.

 

[Sparafucil3]

Look at the medium gray top sediment layer of the bluff by the river next to the light, almost white road curve that bends close to the river (yellow arrows).View attachment 11130
A small section of that gray color is on the other side of that road, indicating a downward slope to the lighter gray material of the next sedimentary layer as seen in the bluff (brown arrows). The longer dark line below the railway line. Zoom in and see a medium gray layer of that uppermost sedimentary layer under the railroad. The darker layer is vegetation. The railroad is on an embankment IMO.

Look at the "rail line" in the context of the rest of the photo. Where does it go? I don't see a rail line at all here. If it is some sort of vegetation, there is nothing like it anywhere else on the photo. As I said up thread, without the ability to actually look at it with a loupe, I believe this is a cut, either through a hill or like one you would see made with an earth scraper. I also would not be surprised if this has filled with water, especially on the side towards the top of the photo.

WRT to embankement, if you're going to elevate the rail road, you're going to do it with a purpose. Perhaps to drop coal or some other substance out of the bottom or cross over some depression. I don't see where this "rail line" goes anywhere in either direction. To be a rail line, it has to have a purpose and I just don't see that happening here. I have opened this image in it's own window and zoomed in a long ways (ctrl+scroll wheel can zoom in a long ways). Without more coverage or historical context, anything more than what I have already said is likely beyond me. JMO, YMMV. -- jim

 

[Sparafucil3]

The trouble with the photo above is that it is over a very large area and so the details are lost.

That and you don't post them as links -- jim

 

[Honza]

That and you don't post them as links -- jim

The file is on my computer...how can I post a link?

 

[xenovin]

here's a winter view of the area from January or later (right of the large fire smudge), and while that diagonal road/railroad is present, I don't see any depression or hill there (except along the road/RR).

 

[Honza]

here's a winter view of the area from January or later (right of the large fire smudge), and while that diagonal road/railroad is present, I don't see any depression or hill there (except along the road/RR).
View attachment 11138

That is interesting. I still think a deir would suit the situation just right. You would not see a deir in the snow, particularly from directly above. Deirs are pretty shallow.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

The real shame of this is that the 3 or 4 hexes this will represent on an HASL map will probably never see much happen. Still, the conversation and cooperation here has been nice to see. Leave it to Jan to get us all thinking.

 

[Justiciar]

The real shame of this is that the 3 or 4 hexes this will represent on an HASL map will probably never see much happen. Still, the conversation and cooperation here has been nice to see. Leave it to Jan to get us all thinking.

This IS the exact point of impact.

 

[bendizoid]

If it is the quarry, then the area would produce my estimate of 500,000 to 600,000 bricks per three inches of depth (Russian bricks are about 10"x4.5"x2.75". So a depth of 5 feet or so would have yielded 10,000,000 to 12,000,000 bricks.

I was wondering about that.

 

[RandyT0001]

After looking at the picture here:
http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/what-is-this-structure.154969/page-5#post-1998842
I would adjust that down by 1/3rd to 330,000 to 400,000 bricks per 3 inches of depth.

 

[Honza]

The real shame of this is that the 3 or 4 hexes this will represent on an HASL map will probably never see much happen. Still, the conversation and cooperation here has been nice to see. Leave it to Jan to get us all thinking.

The bottom left hand corner of this map (which is where this 'structure' is) will probably be the Russians last stand - as it was in real life. The Germans will probably force the Russian defense into this corner. This part of Stalingrad held out until the 11th Nov. when it was finally captured by two regiments, assault guns and engineer battalions! It would be interesting to see if the ASL reconstruction of the battle would see a Russian stronghold here too.