At this moment, about five or six kilometers south of the city, away from Bianliang, a simple station rose from the ground, with a straight road leading directly to the south.
There are two tracks laid on the road. The base is either cement or some sand and gravel with sleepers and tracks laid on top.
There is no other way. If cement is used as the base, the workload and cost will be too huge.
However, once the tracks are joined together, they are very strong and unless they are damaged, there will be no major problems.
When Zhao Jun's carriage arrived at the train station, Su Shunyuan, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Works, hurried over to greet him.
He was in charge of the construction of this project.
"Meet the Magistrate."
Su Shunyuan stepped forward and bowed.
"Well, how's the repair going?"
Zhao Jun got off the carriage, wearing a thick cotton coat and cotton cloak.
It was windy and rainy outside, and the cold wind was like a knife blowing on his face, making it difficult for him to open his eyes.
After I had adjusted a little, I saw groups of laborers wearing straw raincoats slowly returning from the end of the railway in the south in the wilderness amidst the mist and rain.
“This is the workers coming back.”
Su Shunyuan gazed into the distance and said, "It's seventy miles from here to Weishi. We chose to start from both sides at the same time, so we can speed up the construction period. It was officially completed this morning."
Zhao Jun was surprised and asked, "If we repair it this way, aren't we afraid that it won't align properly?"
"No."
Su Shunyuan smiled and said, "The road was planned before construction began. It was paved with gravel and the track spacing was specified. The workers only needed to nail the sleepers and rails according to the markings on the gravel."
“The Ministry of Industry is full of talented people.”
Zhao Jun sighed and said that the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated.
In the midst of wind and rain, at least two to three thousand laborers returned to Bianliang, and the Ministry of Works organized manpower to begin paying their wages.
Accompanied by many officials, Zhao Jun inspected about four or five kilometers along the railway line and returned to the train station in the afternoon.
This train station is as simple as a few bungalows, and the outside is just surrounded by a fence. There is not even a ticket gate.
But in this era when trains were just coming out, industry had not yet really developed and grown. Being able to build a railway that was thirty or forty kilometers long was already a miracle, so there was no need to worry about whether the train was simple or not.
After returning to the station, Zhao Jun gave instructions: "Practice is the only criterion for testing truth. Just because the track is built doesn't mean it can be used. Only when it is truly used can it be considered a qualified test."
"yes."
Su Shunyuan said, "Tomorrow the Ministry of Industry and the Institute of Physics will assemble a steam engine on the rails and conduct a trial run."
"Um."
Zhao Jun said, "The end of the year is approaching. According to custom, neighboring nations will send envoys to the Song Dynasty to congratulate Your Majesty on the New Year. Your Majesty will invite envoys from all nations to attend the ceremony at the beginning of the new year to demonstrate the power of the Song Dynasty. We must ensure that no disturbances occur."
Su Shunyuan said sternly, "Your Majesty and the Magistrate, please rest assured that I will live up to your trust."
"good."
Zhao Jun praised: "The future of our Song Dynasty is promising. We will be the first to leave the others in the dust, starting next year!"
Everyone looked outside at the station.
The drizzle was still falling, but everyone was already looking forward to the scenery of the trains running above.
Starting next year, at least the train from Bianliang to Weishi will be open to traffic.
If all goes well, railways will soon be laid along the lines of Weishi, Yanling, Linying, Wuyang, Fangcheng, Nanyang and other places.
From then on, canals were connected from north to south. There was a canal north of Bianliang that went directly to Hebei, and a railway to Nanyang in the south.
Goods from Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong and Guangxi will no longer have to be transported along the Yangtze River to Zhejiang and then returned from Zhejiang to Bianliang.
(End of this chapter)
2015
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