The convoy is composed of light European-style four-wheeled carriages. Each carriage was dragged by two handsome white Arabian horses. It ran very fast and soon arrived at Jishuitan Station.
However, the ladies did not take the 15-inch train here, but continued along the road towards Wanping City.
At this time, Wanping City became prosperous due to the construction of railways. After all, so many people gathered together, as the saying goes, people gather and wealth gathers.
The income of railway workers is high. As the city closest to the railway construction site, Wanping City is full of various shops and service places.
Because Wanping City guards Marco Polo Bridge, its location is very important. There are troops stationed here all year round. An important reason why the imperial court agreed to build Yang Fan's railway was that it was used for transportation from Tianjin Port to the capital in winter.
This rammed-earth garrison city was also covered with bricks earlier than in history. At this time, the head of a battalion with 300 men stationed in Wanping City saw a long carriage convoy and hundreds of cavalry escorts galloping past under the banner of General Zhengxi, and they did not dare to come out to investigate.
Because everyone who tried to interrogate before was slapped with a whip. Now no one dares to touch the bad luck of Tushan Stall.
They seemed not to have seen it, and watched as the long motorcade entered the Marco Polo Bridge. We rushed to Changxindian Station on the West Bank.
A servant knight galloped over and threw a cloth bag. The handlebar in front of the city gate immediately caught it with a smile on his face and shouted loudly: "Thank you for Mrs. Dingyuan's reward." He weighed it in his right hand and saw that there were at least a hundred. Silver dollar.
I was immediately happy. Uncle Dingyuan's Mansion is famous for being generous. He is also notoriously difficult to mess with.
On the west bank of Marco Polo Bridge, a three-story red brick and cement building stands in front of you. At both ends are two three-story buildings.
Serves as office space for the railway. In the middle is a three-story waiting hall. There is also a large clock with a diameter of three meters on the top.
The biggest promotion that trains have in this world is the concept of time. In the era before trains, people and horses had a rough estimate of time.
Because train driving and departure times are accurate to the minute, it completely changes people's concept of time.
At the same time, it also promoted the development of watches. Therefore, a large timepiece is a very important facility.
This is why old train stations all have a big clock. The motorcade stopped at the station square of Changxindian Station.
The square here has been hardened with cement. Carbide lamp street lights were installed. The square is very large, with a train station on the front and inns, shops and various facilities to serve travelers on both sides.
This is actually designed as a station in Beijing. So the station was built very well. Xiao Niangpi and others got off the train and walked into the train station amidst the welcoming crowd organized by the Railway Construction Company.
It was also the first time for Xiao Niangpi, Lin Yueru and others to see this kind of 19th century style building. In the waiting hall, there are Roman columns on all sides, the ceiling is a steel structure, and the windows are three-story floor-to-ceiling large glass windows.
The floor is paved with marble. It looks clean and tidy, and under the light of the orange carbide lamp, it feels warm and luxurious.
The waiting benches in the lobby are made of cast iron and wooden slats, similar to park benches. Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru tried to sit on it, and it felt that it fit the curve of the back very well and was very comfortable to sit on.
They all nodded with satisfaction. As the first stationmaster, Chen Ping diligently introduced the situation of the station.
He is only twenty years old this year and graduated from Xinghe Academy. He is one of the first batch of graduates from the train station master training class.
Because of his excellent performance, he was appointed stationmaster of the largest station on the entire railway.
"Madam, this waiting hall can accommodate 500 people sitting and waiting for the bus. According to the current frequency of six departures per day, it can receive an average of 3,000 people per day. Of course, if you stand waiting for the bus, it is not difficult to receive tens of thousands of people."
"That's really good, just to create surplus. The master said that our railway will definitely be popular in the future. From now on, no matter the season, people coming from Tianjin Port will choose our train. After all, our train can reach a speed of twenty Five kilometers, it operates day and night. You can reach the capital in four hours after getting off the boat." Xiao Niangpi said proudly.
In this era, it takes two days to get to Beijing from Tianjin Port. With such a convenient train, who would want to take a slow horse-drawn carriage and an ox-drawn carriage?
The road conditions on the official road can kill people.
"By the way, don't you only have four locomotives? How can you prepare six trains?" Lin Yueru asked strangely.
She remembered that Yang Fan had built a total of six trains, two of which were operating in the capital. The remaining four trains operate on the railway.
Chen Ping explained: "Second Madam, it's like this, because the train's whistle was loud and black smoke erupted, which led to the censor's impeachment, saying that it destroyed Feng Shui. Dean Chen Xi redesigned a single carriage with independent power. , a small independent-operating rail steam locomotive.”
"Instead of burning coal, we switch to kerosene. The power pack is only three cubic meters in size. One carriage is twelve meters long and three meters wide. The speed is fifteen kilometers per hour. One train departs every five minutes and runs in a cycle. Currently, it has Five trains were put into operation. So two trains were replaced. Now there are six trains on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. One train can depart every hour." After watching the waiting hall, Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru still I went to the restaurant in the station with great interest and tried to have lunch.
Xiao Niangpi ordered a braised tofu rice bowl, and Lin Yueru ordered a braised eggplant rice bowl. These fast food taste really good.
The price is also relatively affordable. After inspecting the station, the group came to the platform. Hundreds of people have gathered here to watch the ceremony.
A long green leather train stopped on the tracks. There are two locomotives at the front and end, and ten carriages in the middle.
Because of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, Zhan Tianyou’s zigzag route was copied for mountain crossing. So there are two heads that need to be pushed and pulled.
This train is a tourist train transmitted from modern times, so the decoration is very good. Chen Ping and others first asked Niangpi to cut the ribbon.
Then under the cheers of everyone, Xiao Niangpi boarded the train with more than a hundred people. Subsequently, members of the train driver team and carriage service staff also boarded the train one after another.
As a whistle sounded throughout the station, the steam locomotive began to start. The chimney spewed out thick smoke, and the crankshaft expanded and contracted with every movement driven by the steam.
The train shook violently and then started moving slowly. The rumbling sound and shaking platform gave people who saw the train for the first time a great shock.
In the ten carriages were all the leaders of Yang Fan's various systems who came with his wife. They smoked cigarettes, looked at the scenery outside the window, and exchanged feelings.
The waiters pushed the trolleys to provide tea, hot coffee and iced sour plum soup to the passengers, as well as snacks, snacks and drinks for sale.
The sixth car is a dining car, which also provides stir-fries and staple food. At this time, Xiao Niangpi, Lin Yueru, and the directors were here again to taste the dishes and drinks from the dining car.
Chen Ping introduced: "Madam, today is a trial operation, so there is no regular grouping. We plan to install one dining car, three first-class carriages, seven second-class carriages, and ten third-class carriages after the official operation. Ten boring carriages Tank carriages, ten open-air freight carriages. Plus one coal-fired carriage and one water carriage. A total of forty-three carriages." Xiao Niangpi was surprised that there were so many carriages in the small train, and asked: "Towing so many carriages, how can we haul so many carriages? It has to carry both passengers and cargo, as well as livestock stalls and carriages. Does the locomotive have enough power and can it be towed?"
