African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 219: Chapter 207: First Railway Project Approval

In mid-September, the original Ron Railway Company personnel arrived in East Africa, and the company name was changed to the East Africa Railway Company, with no major shifts in direction.

Chief engineer Noding was hired as a technical consultant for the East Africa Railway Department.

In October, the East Africa Railway Company personnel studied the terrain data provided by the East African government. Finally, Engineer Noding and his team were invited to participate in the East African government’s work meeting on railway construction issues.

”Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting determines the fate of the future East Africa Railway. Once decided, the future East Africa Railway will only follow this path, so feel free to speak your mind, summarize the actual situation in East Africa, and select the most suitable railway standard for East Africa. Now, let’s invite Mr. Noding to introduce the situation to everyone,” set the tone for the meeting, said Prince Constantine.

Engineer Noding nodded to everyone, then stood up and began to explain railway-related content to everyone. The East African government had a group of high-achieving primary school graduates, so this was very necessary.

”...The above are some key points in railway construction, but the topic ultimately returns to the issue of what gauge should be selected. In this regard, there is no unified standard worldwide, as different countries have different circumstances. You can all express your thoughts without worrying about being considered outsiders,” said Engineer Noding.

As Ernst’s confidant, Sivert was instructed before the meeting to be the first to voice an opinion. So he spoke first: ”Broad gauge, narrow gauge, there isn’t a fixed standard (the International Union of Railways established 1435mm as the standard gauge in 1937). In my opinion, why not just pick a middle number, say 1500mm.”

With the first participant speaking, everyone else became relatively active.

Arman said: ”I think it’s better if it’s built a bit larger. I’ve ridden trains before, and in the army, many people would be crammed into a small carriage, very crowded, and not comfortable. I was thinking if the train carriages were bigger, the experience would definitely be better, so I propose a full two meters, of course, this is my personal opinion. No offence if I’m mistaken.”

Arman’s statement received agreement from some officials with a background in the original Prussian military.

”I think using 1435mm directly also works, as many countries use it.”

”1435mm sounds awkward; originally, it was Britain’s 4 feet 8.5 inches. The British love complicating things, much like with British Pounds conversion. We in East Africa use the metric system, so it’s better to take a whole number in the metric system for convenience in calculation.”

”I also don’t agree with using 1435mm. Overseas, we Germans are the weaker side. Now, Britain and France are the colonial powers. If we Germans can develop East Africa, then in the future, Britain and France can also develop Africa. Furthermore, France is in North and West Africa, and Britain is in Somaliland and Cape Town, conveniently sandwiching us in the middle. Therefore, I propose that for national defense considerations, we should learn from the Russians and not pursue a unified railway standard with them.”

”I agree with this point as well. We in East Africa don’t need to consider future integration with the world. Africa is not like Russia, connecting the Euro-Asian regions. Our connection with the rest of the world remains reliant on maritime transport. The land and Euro-Asian connection point is just that small region in Egypt. Besides, Egypt is still constructing the Suez Canal, where Britain and France are competing, and I doubt they would allow outsiders to intervene.”

”The advantage of broad gauge is in its load-bearing capacity and low technical requirements; the downside is weight and exhausts the engine power.

However, we’re not pursuing speed. East Africa’s bulk exports are mainly grain and lumber, and we don’t even have enough for ourselves, so I lean towards using broad gauge.”

”From my standpoint, bigger is better for railways. As for land issues, East Africa is even more sparsely populated than Tsarist Russia. A little extra land occupation is no big deal. What’s important is that in Europe, the land is densely cultivated, and railways affect farmlands. We in East Africa don’t need to worry about that since there’s plenty of grassland and forest ready for use, which is not a big issue at all.”

”Generally speaking, there isn’t much of an issue since broad gauge only widens by one seat’s width. Aside from the tracks, typically 10-30 meters on either side are part of the railway range, making increased track occupation somewhat negligible. Bridges and tunnels are the major concerns,” Engineer Noding supplemented. ”In terms of safety, at present technical conditions, broad gauge can also provide a smoother ride. However, turning is solved by the special design of wheel diameters for differential. Thus, the gauge cannot be too wide.”

”Mr. Noding, what do you mean by not too wide specifically?”

”My suggestion is not to exceed three meters because, as of now, no railway with such a wide operational gauge has existed.

The British constructed a 2140mm gauge railway of over three hundred miles in 1835 and operated it for a time. I haven’t delved into locomotive studies, but given technological developments over the years, I predict a width within three meters should be more prudent.

Moreover, if East Africa opts for a railway gauge of over two meters, it would likely be considered unique globally and should be referred to as ultrawide gauge.

However, personally, I believe ultrawide gauge has more potential in the future. Given the current European freight volume, it is consistently increasing, and railway development inevitably pursues speed and heavy load directions.

If future power-related technical issues can be resolved, this would be none other than possible given the current technological development.”

Hearing this, the new Army Commander, Felix, said: ”Then I think it would be better to use 2500mm as our East Africa’s own standard. The technology is secured, and it meets our East African needs. Our climate in East Africa is quite the opposite of Tsarist Russia’s, but I know Russia is also primarily steppes and forests, same outcome by different approaches. Therefore, we in East Africa are quite similar to Tsarist Russia in this regard, so there’s no issue with using broad gauge.”

Felix’s words also found wide support. Tsarist Russia indeed bears similarities in geography with East Africa, as forest and steppe are prominent, except East Africa has many swamps.

Following the final estimation by the East African government and confirmation by Engineer Noding, East Africa ultimately settled on the distinctive figure of 2500mm.

Originally, Ernst favored the number 1500mm more, but he found the perspectives at this meeting intriguing.

Spending more money is not a concern, as railway construction mainly relies on labor costs, which East Africans do not have to worry about. Therefore, it’s best to proceed with confidence.

The first railway line in East Africa was officially launched. Since this railway terminated in First Town and was indeed the first railway in East Africa, it was called ”First Railway,” but later generations added the East Africa qualifier to the name.

The First Railway has a planned total length of 59 kilometers, with the station located a little distance from both First Town and Dar es Salaam. This was considered with the prospect of defense design; of course, the locomotive noise is quite loud. Ernst isn’t concerned, but it wouldn’t be good to disturb Prince Constantine’s rest.

Since the construction of the First Railway was experimental, Ernst wasn’t afraid of mistakes; halting it if it didn’t work was fine.

At the same time, this meeting also gave Ernst a sense of urgency. The concept of ultrawide gauge proposed by Engineer Noding was bold and avant-garde, but related technical reserves must be taken seriously.

Standard railway gauge in previous generations is actually a path dependency issue; the British first developed it, exported it globally, and later it became the standard for many countries. Whenever there was a desire to change, the cost of overhauling the entire railway system was too great, ultimately leading to abandonment.

In a previous world, someone proposed using ultrawide gauges over two meters for Euro-Asia trains to increase the number of containers, yet that remained a mere illusion.

In Ernst’s present realm, the railway development has not advanced significantly for many years, and many countries have not even seen it. Starting with steam power, East Africa surely cannot surpass other nations.

The first-mover advantage of standard gauge has been established, and East Africa aims to stand out with unique technical breakthroughs.

Currently, Ernst has yet to use an ace card—the Berlin Energy Power Company—the world’s top company in the field of internal combustion engines. By next year, which is 1870, Berlin Energy Power Company’s practical four-stroke internal combustion engine is scheduled to be introduced.

Now the company happens to be less busy, so it’s time to give them more workload, establishing new departments dedicated to elevating the applications of internal combustion engine locomotives, automobiles, and other internal combustion engine fields.