Chapter 1198: Overture of Steel and Coal
After a long period of preheating, the modified 89-horsepower steam engine on the locomotive finally emitted wisps of white smoke.
The onlookers were not unfamiliar with this—who in Nancy hasn't seen a steam engine?
However, when the steel behemoth first trembled slightly, shaking off insects perched on the weeds flanking the tracks, the crowd immediately gasped and stepped back.
The locomotive marked "Future" trembled again, emitted a piercing squeal, and then began to slowly move, pulling eight carriages.
The immense steel body exuded a terrifying force that touched everyone's soul.
"Almighty Jesus!" Father Weiina stared at the sparks flying from the train's chimney, clutching the silver cross on his chest, murmuring, "Is this the fire-breathing Red Horse from Revelation..."
The young man working at the ironworks smiled and waved his hand: "No, no, this is actually a kind of steam engine..."
A chip vendor shouted, "I have a relative from Paris who says it's a monster with a copper stomach, and he's seen the blueprints."
The young worker from the ironworks rolled his eyes: "This is an industrial creation, not alchemy. It runs on coal and supposedly can travel 800 kilometers a day."
Another round of exclamations erupted, "800 kilometers! How is that possible?"
"God, not even the best carriage is so fast!"
"What a braggart, look how slow it moves, it's slower than my cow..."
The woman speaking suddenly shut her mouth because the "Future" was still accelerating, and within a minute, it was traveling as fast as a galloping horse.
Two children peeked out from under her skirt, watching the receding steel "monster" with curious yet frightened eyes.
A man in a black long coat approached the young worker at the ironworks and asked, "Can this thing really travel 800 kilometers a day? I see it has carriages behind it, do you know how much cargo it can haul?"
The young man shook his head; he was just an ordinary worker without many sources of information.
"I guess it can carry thirty or forty tons."
The man in the long coat immediately showed an expression of delight, rubbing his hands and muttering, "Wonderful! It's truly a blessing from Jesus!"
He was a wine merchant, and previously transporting wine from Bordeaux to Nancy had a shipping cost nearly 2.5 times the price of the wine itself. But with this steel monster, 200 barrels of wine could be transported to Nancy in just one day—standard large barrels!
This meant that the price of wine would greatly decrease.
The number of people who could afford good wine would increase several times over. This was a tremendous business opportunity!
He was about to send his aide to inquire about the train owner's information, but then he glimpsed the nearby tracks and slightly furrowed his brow, asking the young ironworks worker, "Do you know if tracks have been laid in Bordeaux?"
The latter smiled: "Of course not, sir. I hear they will only lay them to Paris.
"I heard from the manager that building these is very expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of francs per kilometer."
The wine merchant was somewhat disappointed; Paris to Nancy was only a third of the transport distance he needed, approximately reducing costs per barrel by a quarter.
Wait, the merchant's instincts soon prompted another thought. Since this machine's transportation capacity is so strong, certainly many people will need it for shipping in the future.
This means that renting trains will become extremely popular, and trains depend on tracks.
So investing in railway construction could potentially earn huge profits?
He squinted his eyes, summoned his aide, and quietly instructed, "Vashero, immediately find out which gentleman is in charge of railway construction."
An hour later, the "Future" came roaring back, emitting a screeching brake sound and stopping steadily in a clearing overgrown with weeds.
The citizens of Nancy, accustomed to years of steam engine exposure, quickly embraced this iron fellow and cheered as they rushed forward.
Just then, a sudden "puff" emanated from the locomotive, and a mass of white steam was sprayed all around, scaring the crowd back screaming.
Joseph was very satisfied with the trial run. Although the "Future" was unloaded and only reached a speed of 28 kilometers per hour—being merely a prototype of the initial model, requiring significant adjustments to the mechanical parts to achieve higher speeds—it was already far superior to the performance of the first truly practical train, the "Rocket."
He exhaled deeply, feeling his heart swell with excitement.
From this moment on, France's Industrial Revolution is officially entering the fast lane, and with the great powers of steel and coal, it will leave all competitors far behind!
Trevisick and his assistant jumped out of the cabin, not even able to wipe the coal soot from their faces before being surrounded by dozens of reporters, "Mr. Trevisick, how did you come up with the idea to design such a machine?"
"Mr. Designer, I'm a reporter from 'Nancy Morning News,' please tell us about the characteristics of this train..."
"Mr. Designer, this was indeed a successful demonstration. Do you have anything to say now?"
Without hesitation, Trevisick gestured toward the Crown Prince's entourage in the distance: "I just dug up a stone. It was His Highness the Crown Prince who carved it into a masterpiece."
Joseph attended this train trial to increase the train's influence.
Seeing a large number of reporters rushing over, he decided to gather the manager of the steam locomotive manufacturing company, along with Murdock, Trevisick, and others, for a "press conference," starting to explain the various features of the train in detail.
The train, being an extremely high-investment equipment, must rely on a broad civilian market to recoup funds quickly and continuously expand new railway lines.
When the railway network covers all of France, that will be the moment France ascends the peak of Europe!
Until five in the afternoon, Joseph sat in a carriage, driving out through a channel his Imperial Guard was desperately clearing from the crowd.
Three days later, he had just returned to the Palace of Versailles and saw France's Minister of Transportation Pierre Jerome Trezeguet, beaming with joy as he approached briskly, quickly performing a bow and excitedly saying, "Your Highness, over the past two days we've received a large number of applications wishing to invest in railway construction, with a total amount close to 4 million francs!"
Indeed, there were many savvy investors like the wine merchant from Nancy, who madly rushed to the steam locomotive manufacturing company holding bank slips, eager to invest in railways.
Later, the steam locomotive company forwarded these applications to the Ministry of Transportation.
Joseph was somewhat surprised; he had thought it would take a month or two for the news to ferment.
He suddenly realized that the policies and regulations related to the railway seemed severely lagging behind. This is a national treasure, and it shouldn't be left to the Ministry of Transportation to handle casually.
He pondered: "First, the Ministry of Transportation needs to form a 'France Railway Company.'"