In the North Slope Mine of Neverwinter.
A new road connecting the ore yard and the furnace area was undergoing the final cleaning.
Different from the iron-clad wooden rails in the mine, it was not only wider, but also wider. In particular, the two rails were all made of steel, so one could imagine how heavy it was just by looking at it. If it were any other lord, he would definitely be shocked by such a waste. How many sets of armor and swords would it take to forge so much iron? Even if it was a conservative estimate, it was enough to arm a sizable group of knights. But now, it was buried in the ground, exposed to the wind and rain, rusting and gathering dust. What a spendthrift.
When Roland led the participants into the yard, there was a commotion in the crowd. Not every department knew the ins and outs of the new road, especially the officials from the Longsong Area. They opened their mouths in surprise and could not take their eyes off the straight rails. The natural uniformity of the rails always gave people a silent power. Even if they did not understand its function, they would still be subdued by its power.
After several years of "shock training", they did not think that their king was a spendthrift, but the way he did it still made most of the participants tremble. At first glance, laying the cast steel bars on the ground was no different from using Golden Dragon to pave the road.
That was the best material. As long as it was transported out, it could be exchanged for a lot of money in any city.
In fact, only Neverwinter could afford such a consumption.
Since the official production of blast furnace ironmaking and converter steelmaking, the cornerstone of all industries — iron and steel smelting had finally achieved "witchlike" to a certain extent. Although the latter needed Anna to start the "ignition", compared to the original "Star of Steel", this production process could be regarded as a miracle in this era.
In addition, the transformation of the North Slope Mine had further improved the smelting industry. With the bold planning of the Ministry of Construction and Lotus's cooperation, the dome of the shallow mine was blown up several times, turning part of the mine into an open-air mine, and the iron mine was the largest mining area.
Since last year, Neverwinter's steel production had made a huge leap. The amount of steel produced in a month was more than that of all the other cities in Graycastle combined.
But in Roland's view, this was a matter of course. If industrial production could not crush the "steel" that was tempered by blacksmiths, then there was no point in him wasting his time on these things.
As for the tracks in front of him, it was part of the experimental railway that connected the mining area, the smelting area, and the docks.
Since there was no significant difference in materials and load capacity between the broad and narrow rails, he deliberately used 1.5 meters as the standard distance between the railways. Not only was the number easy to remember, but the width of the two tracks plus the roadbed was also basically within the range of Lotus's ability. The sleepers were cut from logs, and the stone was taken from the debris of the mine after the explosion. If one did not look at the vehicles, these rails were exactly the same as the modern ones.
However, with the start of the war to unify the country, the construction work was temporarily suspended. After all, what he wanted to make was still in the experimental stage, and it was impossible to build a factory before the final design was finalized. Therefore, both the processing and the installation of the rails were all done by Anna. Without Blackfire, the second half of the road was naturally impossible.
Of course, these new roads alone could not satisfy everyone's curiosity. Under Roland's instruction, the workers uncovered a canvas shed at the end of the track. When the canvas, covered with dust and fallen leaves, fell to the ground, a black steel car appeared in front of everyone.
"Your Majesty, is this... a steam barrow?" Pérot, the governor of the Longsong Area, asked in surprise.
It was no wonder that he thought so. As the main part of the vehicle, the barrel-shaped steam engine mounted on the steel beam immediately attracted everyone's attention. As more and more steam engines were put into use in Neverwinter, the officials had gradually become familiar with this seemingly clumsy but infinitely powerful machine. Even in some traditional fields that required a lot of manpower, they would actively consider using the steam engine to achieve their goals, such as farmland irrigation, dock unloading and so on.
It could be said that in the beginning, the factories that manufactured the steam engine and related supporting equipment would only receive production orders from Roland, but now they would occasionally produce special machines for the needs of the City hall. Even if the same gears, brackets and transmission rods were used, they could achieve completely different results with a slight combination.
This was a very good sign. It meant that people had begun to change from passive production to active creation.
For Pérot, since the cement boats driven by steam engines in the river were called paddle steamers, it was very reasonable for the car to be called a steam barrow.
Of course, Roland did not want to sit back and watch the naming rights fall into someone else's hands.
After all, this was an epoch-making means of transportation.
Since the day it was born, the world ushered in a drastic change. Even though the speed of the prototype was not as fast as a horse carriage, even though it had been modified into all kinds of strange shapes, and even its power source had been changed several times, the original name was still deeply engraved in the history of human development.
"Train," Roland corrected. "It's the key to solving the transportation problem."
"You want to build such a track on the prairie and then use it for... the train?" Barov read out this new word in a tongue twister. "What if the demons attack the workers and obstruct the construction of the track?"
"First of all, there must be at least two tracks to ensure that people can come and go at the same time. Secondly, I don't plan to cross the prairie. Instead, I'll set off from the Misty Forest until the nearest location to the Taquila ruins and then advance eastward. " Roland told him the plan he had in mind. "In this way, even if the Months of Demons come, Leaf can protect the track from demonic beasts. As for the demons … it's a battle of spears and shields. There's not only one position, but wherever the railway is built, the cannons will be set up. Even if they can tear down the railway under fire, as long as we build it faster, it'll be fine. "
Before returning to Neverwinter, he had discussed this with the General Staff. Although the Misty Forest route seemed to be farther than the grassland route, the construction speed was much faster. The weeds and vines would automatically give way and form a natural drainage slope, which was a headache for most development projects. Under the command of Leaf, the forest could also take the initiative to carry construction materials, which could greatly reduce the burden of the Hummingbirds.
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