Neverwinter City, North Slope Mining Area.
A new road connecting the ore yard and the furnace area is undergoing its final cleaning.
Unlike the iron-clad wooden tracks in the mines, it has larger spacing and a much wider bearing surface. Especially the two rails are made of all-steel, and just looking at them, one can imagine how heavy they are. If it were any other lord, they would be incredulous at such waste—how many sets of armor and swords could be made from so much iron? Even conservatively, it would be enough to arm a sizable knight order. Now it is buried in the ground, left to be exposed to the wind and rain, rust and dust, which is simply a wasteful act.
As Luo Lan walked into the yard with the attendees, a rustling commotion arose in the crowd. Not every department was clear about the ins and outs of the new road, especially the officials from Changge District, who were so surprised that their mouths were wide open, and their eyes could no longer move away from the row of rails—the iron rails, which inherently have the characteristic of uniformity, always give people a silent power, and even if they don't understand its function, they will be impressed by this power.
After years of "shock training," they wouldn't think that their king would be a spendthrift, but this approach still made most attendees feel uneasy. Paving the ground with cast steel bars, at first glance, is no different from paving the road with gold dragons.
Those are good materials, as long as they are transported out, they can be exchanged for a lot of money in any city.
In fact, only Neverwinter City can afford such consumption.
Since the formal production of blast furnace ironmaking and converter steelmaking, the cornerstone of all industries—steel smelting—has finally achieved "de-witchification" to a certain extent. Although the latter requires Anna to "ignite" the process, compared to the original "Steel Star," this set of production technology can be called a miracle in this era.
In addition, the transformation of the North Slope Mine has further improved the smelting industry. Under the bold planning of the Construction Department and the cooperation of Lian, several blasting operations blasted open the dome of the shallow mine, turning part of the mining area into an open-pit mine, and the iron ore mine is the largest area.
It was from this year that Neverwinter City's steel production achieved a breakthrough, and the amount of steel produced in one month was more than the total amount of other cities in Graycastle combined.
It's just that in Luo Lan's view, all of this is a matter of course—if industrialized production can't crush the "steel" that blacksmiths have painstakingly crafted, then it's meaningless for him to mess with these things.
As for the track in front of him, it is part of the experimental railway originally designed to connect the mining area, smelting area, and the wharf.
Since there is no significant difference in material consumption and load-bearing capacity between broad gauge and narrow gauge, he specifically adopted 1.5 meters as the railway gauge standard. The number is easy to remember, and the width of the two tracks plus the roadbed is basically within the influence range of Lian's ability. The sleepers are made of sawn logs, and the ballast is taken from the debris after the mine blasting. If you don't look at the transport vehicles, these rails are almost identical to modern tracks.
However, later, with the start of the Unified War, the construction work was temporarily interrupted. After all, what he wanted to do was still in the experimental stage, and it was impossible to build a factory and produce it before it was finalized. Therefore, both the processing and installation of the rails were completed by Anna alone. Without Blackfire, the second half of the road could not be completed.
Of course, these new roads alone are not enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity. Under Luo Lan's instructions, the workers uncovered a canvas shed at the end of the track. When the canvas covered with dust and fallen leaves fell, a dark iron vehicle appeared in front of everyone.
"Your Majesty, this is... a steam wheel vehicle?" Changge District Executive Officer Pei Luo asked in surprise.
It's no wonder that he would think so. As the main part of the vehicle, the barrel-shaped steam engine erected on the steel beam immediately attracted everyone's attention. With more and more steam engines being put into use in Neverwinter City, officials have gradually become familiar with this seemingly clumsy and useless machine that possesses infinite power. Even in some traditional fields that require a lot of manpower to complete, they will actively consider using steam engines to achieve their goals—such as farmland irrigation, wharf unloading, etc.
It can be said that at first, the manufacturing factory of steam engines and related supporting equipment only received production orders issued by Luo Lan. Now they occasionally
will produce special machines for the needs of the city hall. Even with the same gears, brackets and transmission rods, slightly combined, you can get completely different effects.
This is a very good sign, which means that people are shifting from passive production to active creation.
For Pei Luo, if the cement boat driven by a steam engine in the river is called a steam paddle wheel boat, then it is very reasonable to call this vehicle a steam wheel vehicle.
Luo Lan naturally did not want to see the naming rights fall into the hands of others.
You know, this is an epoch-making means of transportation.
Since the day it was born, the world has ushered in a dramatic change. Although the speed of the prototype is not as fast as a carriage, and although it was later changed into various strange shapes, and even the power source has been replaced several times, the original name is still deeply engraved in the history of human development.
"Train," Luo Lan corrected, "It is the key to solving the transportation problem."
"You want to build such a track in the prairie, and then provide it for... train use?" Ba Luo Fu pronounced this made-up word tongue-tied, "What if the devils attack the workers and hinder the track laying?"
"First of all, there must be at least two tracks to ensure smooth two-way traffic. Secondly, I don't plan to cross the prairie, but start from the Misty Forest and go all the way to the location closest to the Taquila ruins, and then advance to the east." Luo Lan said the plan he had in mind, "In this way, even if the Evil Moon comes, Yezi can protect the track from being destroyed by the evil beasts. As for the devils... this is a contest between spear and shield. The position is not only one place, but wherever the railway is built, the artillery will be set up. Even if they can destroy the railway under the fire, as long as we build it faster, it will be fine."
He had discussed this with the staff before returning to Neverwinter. The Misty Forest route seems to be farther than the prairie route, but the construction speed will be much faster. The weeding and clearing link that plagued most development projects is basically non-existent—weeds and vines will automatically give way and form a natural drainage slope. And the forest commanded by Yezi can also actively transport construction materials, which can greatly reduce the burden on the hummingbirds.
After that, Lian will level the roadbed, the Construction Department will lay the ballast, sleepers and rails, and Anna will be responsible for seamless welding. If the three processes are carried out alternately, the rails can be laid to the designated location before the end of winter. By then, the entire Taquila ruins will be within the strike range of the fortress artillery.