When Su He came to the Academy of Sciences this time, he got a report from student Guo Zhenshan that the steam train project was a success.
He and Tian Jiapeng took a carriage and rushed to the Railway Project Center of the Institute of Machinery.
The steam train among the railway projects is the steam project in which the Academy of Sciences has invested the most.
When Su He walked to the center of the train project, he heard the huge roar of the steam engine.
There is also a very rhythmic sound.
When Su He heard this familiar yet unfamiliar voice, he asked Tian Jiapeng on the side: "The steam train can finally run on the rails.
The last time I checked this project, it was still a few horses pulling carriages running on the rails."
"Your Majesty, Guo Zhenshan has solved the related problems encountered by railways and steam trains, and now trains can run on the railways.
The horse-drawn rail cars Your Majesty mentioned are also widely used in coal mines and other places.
The rail cars there can take advantage of the terrain to quickly transport minerals out of the mine."
Su He was overjoyed when he heard the definite news of the success of the steam train.
For Dahua, which has a large population and a vast territory.
Trains are the best means of transportation.
The train is fast, carries huge tonnage, and has extremely low freight rates.
In particular, trains have minimal technical requirements.
Cars and airplanes need breakthroughs in internal combustion engine technology.
Internal combustion engine technology still needs decades, even hundreds of years of technological development.
Trains can be built with only steam engine technology.
Now in Dahua, the best way to solve the transportation problem is steamships and steam trains.
A breakthrough was made in train technology, from Beijing to Gansu in the west and Guangdong in the south.
Even with the very slow trains now, it would take up to half a month.
This means that within half a month, Dahua can mobilize its national troops to any province without having to worry about logistical supplies.
After the train appeared, Dahua was no longer afraid of rebellion and could put down the rebellion in a short time.
With the existence of trains, if a certain place encounters a major famine, supplies can be quickly mobilized for disaster relief.
Railways are the main arteries of the country and can closely connect various places through trains.
Su He walked into the train project center of the Institute of Machinery.
He saw a very spacious yard.
The yard is covered with steel tracks.
Several tall horses, pulling an iron box more than three meters wide, ran at high speed on the track, making a fussing sound.
Su He was not disappointed when he saw this scene. He had just heard the roar of the steam engine.
The railway track you see now is part of the entire railway track. After a short wait, you will see the steam train.
This relatively primitive horse-drawn rail car is much faster than a normal horse-drawn carriage.
Cargo capacity will also be improved, but it will use horses.
Before the steam engine was successfully researched, Suhe could still accept horse-drawn rail cars.
After the success of the steam engine, Suhe could no longer accept horse-drawn rail cars.
Due to the limited ability of the horse, it is simply impossible for it to pull more than a dozen carriages and hundreds of tons of cargo.
Su He heard a louder sound coming from the railway tracks.
A steam train, emitting thick black smoke, was slowly approaching from the track.
This train is more than three meters wide, and the total length of the locomotive plus the coal-pulling carriage is about seven meters.
It ran slowly on the rails, its speed was about 40 kilometers per hour.
A fully loaded four-wheeled carriage can only run at a speed of more than ten kilometers per hour on the cement road.
Su He smiled when he saw the steam train running rapidly on the railway track.
The unloaded speed of a steam train is 40 kilometers per hour, which is considered ultra-high speed in this era.
This speed is comparable to the running speed of a horse and lasts longer than the running speed of a horse.
Steam trains only rely on steam power, can run as long as coal is available, and are not restricted by weather conditions.
Unlike today's ships, which still need to rely on the wind direction to have a faster speed, the speed against the wind is very slow.
Steam trains can run normally on railway tracks, which has entered the practical stage.
Guo Zhenshan on the train saw Su He arriving.
He immediately sounded the train's whistle and at the same time pulled the train's brake switch.
The steam engine pipes on the train were directly disconnected, and the brake pads in contact between the locomotive and the rails were clamped.
There is a huge amount of steam coming out from the front of the locomotive. This is a phenomenon caused by the steam being discharged directly from the steam pipe without entering the steam engine.
When the train's braking device comes into contact with the rails, it also produces huge sparks and makes a harsh sound.
Su He saw that the speed of the train began to slow down slowly.
The train circled around and reappeared in the yard. Its speed became almost as fast as a person walking, and finally it stopped steadily on the rails.
Guo Zhenshan led people off the train. He came to Su He and said respectfully: "Teacher, fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. I have researched railways, trains, and related technologies."
Su He looked at Guo Zhenshan. He was one of the first orphans he adopted, and he specialized in learning mechanical technology from him.
Many technologies on the train, except for the steam engine, were solved bit by bit by him leading the craftsmen.
Su He patted Guo Zhenshan on the shoulder and praised: "Guo Zhenshan, you did a very good job. Please introduce the current situation of the train to the teacher."
Guo Zhenshan said excitedly: "Teacher, our train project team and steam engine project team are conducting research and development simultaneously.
According to the teacher's idea, let the steam engine run on the rails.
I passed the carriage verification in advance and let the carriage run on the rails.
Study the shape, materials and laying methods of railway tracks.
Also study the wheels running on the rails.
Under the guidance of the teacher, we did not use the large wheels of ordinary vehicles, but small wheels that are connected to each other.
The train frame and rails achieved initial success.
Wait for the steam engine project team to miniaturize the steam engine and increase the power of the steam engine.
Today's steam engines can already drive heavy trains.
I installed the steam engine on the train, and after many technical improvements, it can now run normally on the rails.
It can drag five carriages filled with coal and travel at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour.
Each carriage weighs forty tons of coal, and five carriages equals two hundred tons.
One train can transport more materials than a hundred horse-drawn carriages.
Transporting things like cloth and cotton that occupy a large area and are light in weight.
We can also increase the number of train cars to twenty."
Su He listened to Guo Zhenshan's narration and felt that the train was ready for use.
Su He approached the train, two or three meters away from the tracks, and watched the details of the train.
The first section of the train is a huge steam engine and transmission mechanism.
The second section of the train is the large boiler and coal carriage, where boiler workers continue to add coal to the train.
Guo Zhenshan introduced from the side: "Teacher, the width of the railway track is 1828 mm.
The rail width is mainly determined by the size of the steam engine.
The Lujin team is researching miniaturized steam engines, but now the overall width of the steam engine can only be reduced to 3650 mm.
The width of the train carriage is also 3650 mm.
We have gone through multiple rounds of testing on the width of the track in order to allow the steam train to run on the track in the most stable state."
Su He listened to the width of railway tracks. The mainstream railway track widths in later generations were 1435 mm and 1524 mm.
Narrow gauge helps save costs on tunnels and bridges.
Wide gauge is conducive to the stability of trains and can carry more cargo.
Dahua does not have an inch of railway tracks now, so there is no need to consider the previous facilities.
Just choose the most suitable track width.
After setting this width, there is no way to change the railway width later as the tunnels and bridges are determined.
Su He ordered: "The track width of 1828 mm is also more suitable, so use this track width.
Whether the train and railway laying technology is mature enough to build an experimental railway."
Guo Zhenshan responded in surprise: "Teacher, the technology related to railways and trains has been relatively perfect.
But when the train actually runs, we can't predict what problems it will have."
Su He said with a smile: "No one can predict all the problems before it is built.
Then build the railway from Beijing to Tongzhou first and verify the railway and train technology.
Don't be afraid of problems, solve them when they arise.
There is no need to rush and slowly improve the corresponding technology.
Railways and trains are new technologies, and they cannot be without any problems."
When Guo Zhenshan heard what His Majesty the Emperor said, he replied in a relaxed tone: "Teacher, then I will build an experimental railway first and explore the situation of railways and trains after they are officially put into use."
Su He encouraged Guo Zhenshan and distributed rewards to all staff in the train project center.
The titles and silver coins were all distributed according to their contribution, and these people were very happy.
Before Su He left, he asked Guo Zhenshan to calculate the cost of laying the railway and apply for project funds.
Su He left the train project center of the Institute of Machinery.
He asked Tian Jiapeng: "When the Academy of Sciences first came to the capital.
I saw Lu Jin and his apprentice Li Daguo achieve a breakthrough in the steam engine project.
Now this miniaturized steam engine has been installed on the train.
I saw that the train was running very fast, and the steam engine was very powerful.
The performance of the steam engine far exceeded my expectations.
My previous rewards were still too light, I should give them more rewards."
Tian Jiapeng replied: "Your Majesty, Academician Lu Jin leads the steam engine project team and assists his apprentice He Miao in installing steam engines on paddle steamers."
When Su He heard about the paddle steamer, his eyes lit up and he urged: "Tian Aiqing, take me to see the research site of the paddle steamer."
Railways and trains, it will take several years to actually build a viable railway.
If the paddle steamer is really successful, it can be used immediately to give full play to the huge transport capacity of the river.
The paddle steamer is also called a small steamer. It was a project of the same level as the train arranged by Su He before leaving Hanzhong.
The construction cost of a paddle steamer is extremely low, basically costing more than a steam engine compared to today's traditional cargo ships.
Tian Jiapeng took Su He to the lake west of the Academy of Sciences.
There is a cargo ship in the lake that is common on inland rivers, but this ship is not equipped with sails.
There is a large chimney on the ship, and a pair of devices that look very much like waterwheels on both sides of the ship.
The ship was emitting black smoke, and the waterwheels on both sides of the ship stirred the water and drove at high speed on the water.
The external runner of a paddle steamer is a great weakness.
It has no way of being used as a power source for warships.
But as a civilian ship, there is no problem transporting goods along the coast and inland rivers.
Paddle steamers are powered by steam engines and do not need to worry about wind direction.
It can maintain a high speed even in headwind conditions.
Su He and Tian Jiapeng were observing the paddle steamer from the shore.
The paddle steamer soon docked at the simple dock on the lake.
When Lu Jin saw Su He arriving, he took his apprentice Li Daguo with him. He Miao immediately bowed and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is welcome to come here to inspect the situation.
Two ship power directions provided by His Majesty.
The structure of the paddle steamer is very simple, and the technology is the first to mature.
After we miniaturized the steam engine, we tried to install it on the ship and use the steam engine to drive the rotation of the paddle wheel.
The propeller proposed by His Majesty is too difficult.
The propellers we make now cannot be used normally."
Su He knows which technology has been tested over time and is the best technical path.
When he set up the project, he did not allow the Academy of Sciences to fully study propeller technology.
That is, the technical requirements for propellers are too high, requiring material metallurgy and mechanical processing to achieve great breakthroughs.
Only in this way can a qualified propeller be produced.
Paddle steamers have a lower technical threshold and have the waterwheel technology accumulated in Hanzhong's early period.
If paddle-wheel ships want to solve the problem of marine steam engines, they have no technical threshold.
The people at the Academy of Sciences certainly did not disappoint him.
After the breakthrough in the miniaturization of steam engines, the train project and the paddle steamer project made breakthroughs one after another.
Su He said happily: "Academician Lu, I have said before that the technical requirements for propellers are higher.
It is mainly used on military warships. This technology must be safe and reliable before it can be used on warships.
It is already very good news that you can solve the paddle steamer project.
Where is the difference now in propeller technology?"
Lu Jin saw that Emperor Su's tone was more kind, and the anxiety in his heart disappeared immediately.
"Your Majesty, the shape of the propeller has been determined. After many experiments and the accumulation of fans, we have come up with a usable propeller shape.
Combined with a marine steam engine, it can more than double the speed of current warships.
But precisely because the propeller runs at high speed, its service life is only twenty minutes.
We have used the most advanced steel materials from the Academy of Sciences, but there is no way to increase the service life of the propeller."
When Su He heard that it was a material problem, he was very helpless.
Material technology can only rely on long-term accumulation.
Dahua can only make common steel products now, and some special steels cannot be made at all.
Su He pointed at the paddle steamer and asked, "Can this paddle steamer be mass-produced?"
Lu Jin said confidently: "Your Majesty, this paddle steamer was mainly made by my apprentice He Miao.
I just helped him solve the installation problem of the steam engine at the end.
This question can be answered by my disciple He Miao."
After Lu Jin finished speaking, he immediately pushed his apprentice He Miao out.
He Miao replied nervously: "Your Majesty, most of the construction technology of paddle steamers is the construction technology of current ships.
It's just that a steam engine is used for power. After our tests, there are no major problems with the steam engine and power structure.
It can be mass-produced, but the crew will need to be retrained.
The operation of a paddle steamer is very different from that of ordinary ships."
When Su He heard the good news, he immediately rewarded the paddle steamer project team.
At the same time, an order was sent to the Shaofu government to start large-scale production of new steam engines and paddle steamers.