Chapter 208 Difficulty in making choices

With the support of the Hechingen Group and East Africa, Jiaozhou has already taken shape as a major city in the Far East and is also the most influential oriental city in Germany.

Different from those semi-colonial trading ports, Jiaozhou was a port controlled by the Qing government. However, out of distrust of the Qing government's bureaucracy, the Heixinggen Consortium chose to continue to use force.

Even if the Qing officials do not have this courage, the local gangs may not be the same. Local tyrants are local tyrants after all, and they are definitely brave enough. As long as the benefits are in place, there is nothing they dare not do. These people really live on the edge of a knife, and without weapons, there is really no deterrent to them.

Don't think that you can act arrogantly just because you are a foreigner. That is the treatment only given to Britain and France. The two countries are hoping that the Qing Dynasty will kill their own citizens. If they don't handle it well, it will be another excuse for war.

…

"Father, I plan to build an experimental railway between Dar es Salaam and the First Town to strengthen the connection between Dar es Salaam and the First Town, and at the same time accumulate experience for future railway construction in East Africa." Ernst picked up the phone and said to Prince Constantine.

When it comes to the topic of railways, Prince Constantine is very interested, especially since this is a railway that belongs to him alone.

Hechingen is a remote place in Europe. There is neither a decent river nor a railway passing through it. Transportation basically relies on carriages and walking.

However, the road conditions in Hechingen were not very ideal, even worse than those in East Africa at that time. European roads did not change much until the 18th century.

Even the roads built in ancient Roman times were patched up and used, but they were already the best roads in Europe at that time.

After the 18th century, Europeans began to pay attention to transportation construction, and roads and railways developed rapidly, but all this had nothing to do with Hechingen.

Heixingen's geographical location, construction conditions, resources and population cannot support road renovation. At most, the original dirt road can be made slightly smoother.

"Very good, but the railway is not an ordinary project. Do you have a specific plan?"

"Father, the Rhoans Railway Company that I acquired is now on its way to East Africa. After arriving in East Africa, they will plan a route based on the actual local conditions."

"Rowens Railway Company? I've never heard of it!"

"It's a small company in the Grand Duchy of Baden, so it's not very well-known."

"Then, can we give this project to them and complete it?"

"We can be assured of this. They have experience and have been building railways for the French before."

"France?"

"Yes, but it's mainly outsourced projects. After all, human resources in southern Germany are abundant and cheap, and easier to manage than French workers."

Prince Constantine nodded and said, "Well, I'm relieved. What I'm most worried about is that they have no relevant experience. However, even so, how are you going to get the materials for building the railway?"

"East Africa can currently provide cement, and sleepers can be made from East Africa. There is no need to worry about land resources. Only locomotives, rails, some parts and equipment need to be imported from the German region.

In addition, Dar es Salaam is not far from the first town, and the terrain is relatively flat, so the final construction cost of this railway will not be too high.”

"So what do you need me to do?" asked Prince Constantine.

Isn't this problem solved? Just calling me about this?

"That's right, father. I still need to discuss some details of this railway with you. For example, didn't you say some time ago that you wanted to build a defense project in the First Town?

Railways are strategic means of transportation. You have seen the effect of Prussia's use of railways to transport troops last time, so we must attach importance to this railway in national defense. Dar es Salaam is very close to the first town. With this railway, the speed of travel between the two will be faster.

So when you carry out this project, you must take the railway into account and there must be no loopholes."

"I know about this. The defense project has not started yet. I will arrange people to set up checkpoints when the time comes."

"This requires cooperation between the designers and the railway company, so we can't be impatient. We have to at least wait until they arrive in East Africa. Moreover, railways belong to national defense transportation, so we can set up a Ministry of Railways in the government when the time comes!" said Ernst.

"Any questions?"

“Another issue is the gauge of the railway, which I am still undecided about.

At present, the main gauges available for our reference are 1000mm, 1435mm, 1520mm, 1676mm, etc. 1435mm is the most popular, and Prussia also uses this gauge. If we directly use 1435mm, we can save some costs, but the larger the railway gauge, the greater the cargo volume. "

Constantine pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know much about railways. Can you tell me in detail about the railway conditions in various countries?"

"There is no unified standard for railway gauge, which is quite flexible. For example, 1435mm is the width of the Roman chariot, and European carriages also adopted this number. Later, the British were the first to develop railways, so this number was used in Britain, its colonies, the United States, and some European countries.

1000mm is mainly used in France and its colonies, especially French colonies. It is suitable for construction in mountainous areas and is cheap.

1520mm is considered a wide gauge and is mainly used by the Russians. For military reasons, they do not want to align with Europe.

1676mm is a wider railway. In addition to these types, there are many different standards. In short, there are many different standards, so I am quite confused about this issue. "

"I understand what you mean. 1435mm is the most widely used one at present, but it should be considered as a common one among various railway standards. Narrower ones are cheaper and more flexible, but have a lower transport capacity. Wider ones are more expensive, less flexible, and have a higher transport capacity. Is that what you mean?"

"That's not the case. Railways are just two iron bars. These two iron bars are the main cost. If they are parallel in two straight lines, the width is actually about the same. It's just that more materials are used when turning. Also, the sleepers are longer, and the land area occupied is also a little more.

But all of the above are not problems for East Africa. There is plenty of land in East Africa, and there is no shortage of timber. The loss caused by turning can be completely offset by the transportation volume.

After all, railways are long-term projects, so it is true that the cost is slightly higher, but the longer the railway operates, the higher the profit and efficiency will be, after all, the transportation volume is large. "

After hearing this, Constantine completely understood. This kid was still inclined to adopt the wide-gauge railway. After all, he started to defend the wide-gauge railway before he even finished speaking. However, because the world mainly uses 1435mm railways, especially in Europe, it is difficult for him to make a choice. After all, people tend to follow the crowd.

So, Prince Constantine said, "Let's use the wide gauge! But you also said that there are many standards for the wide gauge. Let's not discuss which one to use first. After the railway company moves to East Africa, let the East African government and professionals make an assessment based on the actual situation in East Africa, and then we will choose a standard."

(End of this chapter)