With the order in hand, the Locomotive and Locomotive Factory entered the construction stage. It was located opposite the railway in front of Xincheng Heavy Industry. Sufficient width was reserved for railway lines, hardened roads, etc.
Work on the prototype is not yet complete.
After going through some procedures, the prototype locomotive was transferred to the Nanzhen Railway Dispatching Center. The railway bureau borrowed a luxury carriage from Didian, plus a few regular passenger carriages and hung them on the back of the locomotive, and drove the locomotive to Phoenix at night. Stand and wait for tomorrow's ceremony.
Early the next morning, Wang Qi brought Li Xiang, Bai Xiaojiao, and a dozen or so inner court guards to Phoenix Station. Among them, Bai Xiaojiao and the guards were wearing armor, while Wang Qi and Li Xiang were only wearing casual clothes.
Although he was wearing casual clothes and his figure looked small against the backdrop of the four sharp-edged guards and Bai Xiaojiao, it was His Majesty who was traveling, and he still attracted a large crowd of melon-eating people.
After several years of hard work, the originally sparse station has become what it is now. The platform that is flush with the freight car platform makes boarding the train much easier.
But visiting the front of the train still requires climbing stairs.
Wang Qi had never seen a forty-ton locomotive in his previous life.
It is not simply shortened, the entire front boiler part is smaller, which allows the driver to have a slightly wider field of vision when looking out the front from the side of the cockpit.
The environment inside the cab is very bad. There are only a few small horse-like stools for short rests and no bed.
This is also a common problem of steam locomotives. Because there is a boiler in front of the steam locomotive, the driver needs to look out of the car to look out. There is also a coal inlet in the cab. The cab cannot be closed, resulting in a very bad operating environment. Even if a bed is installed, it is impossible to rest. .
"Not bad." Although it didn't feel right, with outsiders around, the words he said were different.
The leader of the Railway Bureau was beaming... Although the construction of this thing had little to do with the Railway Bureau.
After a brief tour of the front of the car, Bai Xiaojiao was sent to the first carriage behind the front of the car.
This carriage is a civilian carriage built by the railway bureau. It does not have formal rows of seats at all. Instead, it looks like a subway, with only benches facing each other on both sides.
Only this kind of carriage equipped with double doors can accommodate almost two tons of Bai Xiaojiao after wearing armor.
Bai Xiaojiao is also very miserable. Since he came to the dark land, he can basically only go out and hang out when Li wants to go out. It is not convenient to take him with him for many things. For example, it is not suitable for wandering around Phoenix City. It is usually used as a means of transportation when he goes to the new city to teach. .
After Li Xiang settled Bai Xiaojiao, Wang Qi entered the second carriage with her, which was the borrowed luxury carriage.
Akeem and Natasha followed, and the rest of the Imperial Guard went to the normal passenger car in the third section, with protection at the front and rear. Although it's not necessary, you just have to show off, otherwise if any assassin sees Wang Qi and Li Xiang, they will run around and not dare to get close.
There are people in the back car. It was Wang Qi's initiative. Each department must choose two or three people to ride in the car. The experience will be helpful for subsequent work arrangements.
"It's quite enjoyable." Wang Qi became active after leaving the sight of the melon-eaters. This was the first time he saw the passenger compartment of Didian's family. Even though there was no electric equipment at all, it was much more luxurious than a first-class seat.
"Are there any restrictions?" Li wanted to follow suit.
Wang Qi pulled Li Xiang into Room 2 of this carriage, sat at the small tea table beside the bed and looked out the window: "No restrictions, no encouragement. Unfortunately, the days of peace will not last long."
It is not encouraged because this method of using one carriage with four private rooms is a waste of railway resource scheduling. If there are hundreds of such things, it will be a big problem to manage.
"We can handle it."
"I hope so." Wang Qi was not very optimistic.
After all, the population of the small territory was too small. Putting aside the two tribes that he brought, it would be difficult for any single mixed-race group to gather 20,000 people. Counting the number of men, one group would be the limit, and there would be no room for expansion.
This approach may be somewhat incorrect, but women should not be sent to the front line during a war. Even if female soldiers are required, they must work in the rear. Otherwise, while others are fighting in the trenches, a man and a woman are fighting in the field nearby. In such a tense environment, Regardless of military law, there is a possibility of being destroyed by one's own people.
Thinking on the bright side, even if the hybrids are ordinary, their basic attributes are much higher than those of ordinary humans, which will make it more difficult for the enemy to fight on the street.
"It's hard to come out now, don't think about these things." Li Xiang said with some distress.
Wang Qi smiled: "Okay, don't talk about that."
The two chatted casually about daily life, and the train blew its whistle and started moving.
Of course, the steam train does not start that fast, but the railway bureau is not a fool. Is it reasonable to ask His Majesty to wait for an hour on the train to boil water? Therefore, the front of the train has been preheated before Wang Qi arrived. After visiting the cab, a round of coal will be added. Wait a few minutes for the steam pressure to be established.
The thing about the whistle was something that Li wanted to help explain.
Its principle is simpler than many people think. In fact, it is just two pieces of metal that are stacked together and have a certain elasticity. When you want to make a sound, you blow air into it to artificially create large amplitude sound waves. Although there are not enough types of steel and there are no specialized corresponding materials, it is not a big problem if it is used thousands of times. If it breaks, it can be replaced. It is not a large piece that is difficult to make.
It was Li Xiang's first time riding a train. She was a little nervous when the vehicle moved: "It can really move."
"You have learned so much knowledge, don't you already know that you can move?"
"I haven't seen it before." She said coquettishly.
Wang Qi held her hand across the tea table and looked out the window.
This window is made of glass, and it is the latest float glass. The so-called float method is to pour liquid glass onto liquid metal, usually tin. The density of the two is very different. When the glass floats on it, the contact surface will automatically become flat. The finished product will have no water ripples and is uniform in texture and easy to cut.
Due to problems such as quartz sand material selection and lack of protective gas (high temperature and oxygen-free environment), the current glass transparency is not particularly high and tends to be green. However, due to the flatness brought by float manufacturing, it is difficult to see the outside through the glass. produce deformation.
Outside the green glass window, there is a busy scene in the station. Unfortunately, it relies too much on manpower. Although it looks busy, the transportation capacity is still relatively limited.
The locomotive did not have enough horsepower, but it towed some weightless passenger carriages, accelerated quickly, and left the station quickly.
Changxiang Chinese website
Soon it reached the safe speed limit of 38 kilometers per hour, which was not even as fast as the running speed of a sharp knife.
After running smoothly for a while, Li Xiang couldn't help but said: "It's so slow."
"It will take a long time to run at this speed. Only when the isolation between railways and ordinary flow routes is better can the speed be increased."
"Then let's separate them all with fences."
Wang Qi shook his head: "It doesn't work. Everyone's quality is not as good as we thought. There are always people who think that trains will give way to pedestrians like carriages."
Li Xiang tilted his head: "Really?"
"real."
Accidents caused by unrelated people crossing the railway were not completely eradicated until the era of elevated railways. After all, the railway cannot be on the bridge all the way, and it cannot even be eradicated in the foreseeable future.
However, there is no need to be so cautious when speeding right now. The main thing is to pay attention to the safety of the motorcycle itself.
Elevated buildings can isolate most people from traveling through them, but you need to consider that local people with magic skills still have the ability to destroy them. An accident on an elevated road will be more serious for a locomotive, so you have to wait until building materials with magic resistance appear before you can consider it.
The speed of ground railways should be limited to less than 60 kilometers for a long time.
