Chapter 140: Pioneer

"It's an honor!"

Fremont was very interested in riding on a train designed and manufactured by his own railway company. Google search reading

But before getting on the train, Fremont still curiously observed the locomotive.

The train boldly adopted the novel design of 4-4-0, and the locomotive was larger than the locomotives Fremont had seen in the East, and it looked very powerful.

In front of the round locomotive was a cast iron cowcatcher, which was a feature of the trains of this period. It could push livestock and obstacles that entered the track out of the track to clear obstacles for the train's travel.

There were also two huge whale oil lamps hanging in front of the locomotive. The function of these two headlights was not to provide lighting for the driver of the train, but to help people traveling at night see the train.

It was just morning now, so there was no need to light up the lights.

What surprised Fremont was that the locomotive had a spacious and comfortable cab.

Providing a special cab for train drivers was originally invented by the British. Later, British gentlemen felt that train drivers should not have a comfortable cab, so they cancelled the cab for train drivers.

The locomotive and carriages of the train are fully enclosed, with windows that can be opened and closed freely.

"It's better to experience it yourself once than to see it many times, Fremont, get on board."

Liang Yao said to Fremont.

Fremont nodded and boarded the train with Liang Yao.

"Gentlemen, sit tight. I will be your driver for this train."

Ward served Liang Yao and Fremont two glasses of milk and sandwiches.

"Enjoy your meal, gentlemen."

After speaking, Ward turned and left the carriage and came to the cab, where the fireman was shoveling coal into the boiler.

This train was designed and manufactured by Ward and the engineers of the California Railway Company with countless efforts. He himself couldn't remember how many times he had made improvements during the experiment.

Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the train, followed by a burst of white steam. The train made a humming roar, and this steam monster slowly started and drove on a 1-mile-long circular experimental track.

The train carriage used for the experiment is a first-class train carriage, which is very spacious. The seats are soft and warm fur seats, which are very comfortable to sit on.

Early European and American train carriages were derived from horse-drawn carriages. There are two main types of horse-drawn carriages, one is the British (European) style carriage and the other is the American style carriage.

The different design concepts of the two countries for carriages have also been brought to train carriages.

British (European) train carriages tend to divide the train carriages into a small independent room structure. In order to facilitate passengers to enter and exit quickly, the doors are set on both sides of the carriage.

The American train carriage is a large single room with an aisle in the middle. The doors are set at the front and back of the carriage. There is a small terrace with a small ladder at the front and back of the carriage for passengers to enter and exit.

This train carriage was designed by Liang Yao himself. In order to accommodate more passengers, the overall design of the interior of the carriage adopts the design of American carriages, but the doors are set on both sides of the carriage to facilitate passengers in the carriage to get on and off.

The height of the train carriage is about 8 feet 2 inches (5m). Even if there is a whale oil lamp hanging on it, you don’t have to worry about hitting your head, unless you are more than 2 meters tall. In this era, there are people who are more than 2 meters tall, but they are very few.

At this time, many American railway companies lowered the height of the carriages in order to reduce the weight of the carriages, which made some tall passengers very annoyed. When they stood up, they always had to worry about their heads hitting the ceiling and hanging lights of the carriages.

There is a relatively wide aisle in the middle of the carriage for the dining car to pass through.

Train dining cars are not rare. As early as 1835, American railway companies already had dining car services to provide fast food and drinks for passengers on the train.

What is strange is that this train is equipped with a special kitchen to prepare fresh food for passengers, which is rare among large railway companies in the East.

Only trains on a few long-distance routes are equipped with kitchens, but the quality of the food is hard to describe, and the hygiene of the kitchen is also questionable, because Fremont once ate something strange in the food provided by the train.

Liang Yao and Fremont sat opposite each other and began to enjoy their breakfast on the train.

Liang Yao, who had taken modern trains before, had been spoiled by the comfort of modern trains. On this antique train, Liang Yao had no experience at all.

But Fremont was different. As the train accelerated, Fremont seemed to have discovered a new world.

The speed of the train was definitely not slow. Fremont estimated that after the acceleration, the train's speed had reached an astonishing 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour.

"It's really fast and stable."

Fremont looked at the half-cup of milk he had drunk, and only a small amount of milk spilled out of the quilt.

"It's not fast enough, and it's not stable enough." Liang Yao, who had just had a full meal, still felt it was not enough.

"Our company's locomotives and carriages are already excellent enough, and the design is also unique. Don't forget to apply for patents." Fremont reminded Liang Yao, "Be careful of commercial spies from other railway companies stealing our technological achievements!"

"I have applied for patents with the California and U.S. Patent and Trademark Offices, and I have designed a sleeper car specifically for long-distance routes, but the car we are riding now is for use between San Francisco and Sacramento. The route is designed so sleepers are not needed.”

Liang Yao had already thought of this.

Especially sleeper cars. According to the original historical trajectory, the earliest use of sleeper cars by American Railways had to wait until 1855.

In 1855, the Illinois Central Railroad and the Burlington Railroad were the first to introduce sleeper cars, which soon became popular throughout the United States.

"You always have a lot of novel ideas in your head." Fremont said in a very cheerful mood, "I have a premonition."

"What premonition?"

Liang Yao drank up the last bit of milk in the glass.

"You will become America's first billionaire."

Fremont said very seriously.

He knew very well what this avant-garde design of carriages and locomotives meant, and Liang Yao once again found a huge business opportunity.

It only took Liang Yao one year to go from nothing to a multi-millionaire in the United States. With his ability and vision, the United States will have its first billionaire in at most ten years.

Compared with Liang Yao, the fortune-telling history of two multi-millionaires, Astor Sr. and Vanderbilt, seemed mediocre and lackluster.

"You underestimate me too much." Liang Yao said without any humility.

Liang Yao knocked on the bell on the table. This bell was originally used to call the conductor on the carriage, but now it was used by Liang Yao to order the driver to stop.

After receiving Liang Yao's order, the train slowed down, continued to move forward on the circular experimental lane with inertia for a while, and finally stopped.

"Gentlemen, how was your experience?"

After the train stabilized, a soot-faced Ward came out of the cab of the locomotive and excitedly asked the two special passengers about their ride experience.

After more than four months of improvement, the tracks, locomotives and even carriages designed and built by the California Railway Company were of the highest quality in Europe, making it impossible for even the notoriously picky British gentlemen to find fault.

"If you ask me, I'm definitely not satisfied." Liang Yao smiled, "You'd better seek Mr. Fremont's opinion."

Ward has long been used to this extremely picky boss. Ward looked at Fremont, who was smiling at the side.

"Your Excellency Fremont, please point out our shortcomings."

“I don’t know to what extent the railway transportation technology in Europe has developed, but in the United States, this ride experience is first-rate.” Fremont said with great satisfaction, “This is the most enjoyable ride experience I have ever had. I didn’t expect that riding a train could be so comfortable.”

"To be honest with you, this technology is not inferior in Europe." Ward said happily.

"I have a question, and I would like to ask Mr. Ward to explain it to me. Why can our train remain so stable even when it is traveling at such a fast speed?" Fremont asked curiously, looking at the circular experimental track. He said, "Especially when turning, I didn't feel much shaking in the car body."

"It's very simple. The suspension system we designed is better in terms of shock absorption, and our rails are also laid very well." Ward walked to the turn of the rails and pointed at the rails.

"In terms of curve design, we used parabolic connections and increased the height of the outer guide rails. This design allows the train to remain stable when turning and prevents derailment and accidents."

Freemont pondered for a long time, and then said to Liang Yao: "You should be more considerate. I am too impatient."

"Sometimes it's not a good thing to be too picky. Now that the relevant technology has matured, I think the railway between San Francisco and Sacramento can also be started."

Liang Yao said the performance of the California Railroad engineering team has exceeded his expectations.

"Ward, what is the design speed of this train?"

Liang Yao asked Ward the speed of the train.

"If calculated based on the load capacity of one hundred tons, the speed is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour." Ward replied.

"very good."

Liang Yao is quite satisfied with this speed.

Fremont was certain that when he was on the train just now, the train's top speed must have exceeded 40 miles per hour, but that was when the train was empty.

It can still maintain a speed of about 35 miles with a load of 100 tons, which is already an excellent result.

Whether it is passenger transport or freight transport, this kind of locomotive has great potential.

"Does it have a name?"

Fremont asked, pointing to the locomotive.

"Currently it only has an experiment number and is waiting for two gentlemen to give it a name," Ward said.

"Let's call it Pioneer." Liang Yao thought for a while and said.