Holy Roman Empire

But it's different now. The railway construction will definitely use a lot of sand and gravel raw materials.In this era, there are no cars, and transportation can only be carried out by manpower or animal power. There is no other choice but to use local materials.

As soon as they got the news, the management of the railway company became angry. They were originally invited by the shareholders to do the dirty work, and it was their turn to appear at this time.

It's a pity that they didn't have the opportunity to perform. When the Austrian Sandstone Group showed up backstage, they all acted as if nothing had happened.

No, it happened.When I came here, I was going to spoil the scene, but after I figured out the situation, it became a business negotiation. When I left, I took a supply contract signed with the Austrian Sandstone Group.

The real fair trade is fair trade, all gravel supplies are based on the market price, if the market price is not controlled, it should be regarded as a fair trade.

Franz still knows the importance, it is fine to make a small fortune, but if the game is overdone, it will not be good if it spreads.

Therefore, the market price of sand and gravel has not increased significantly, but it has increased by three levels compared to before the railway construction started. Of course, the railway company is a major customer, and it has also given a [-]% discount.

Taken together, the unit price has only increased by [-]%, and there is almost no price increase. It is definitely a conscience price.

This is also within the rules. As early as the first half of the year, Franz bought these minerals at the price of cabbage, and many of them were bought from nobles.

The most valuable thing in this era is information. They have no choice but to admit defeat because their information is not well-informed and they are greedy for petty gains.

The only thing that reassures them is that it seems that His Majesty the Emperor did not come specifically for the railway.It wasn't just sand and gravel mines that were bought. Except for gold mines and silver mines, which were too expensive, a bunch of other messy mines were bought.

Even these sand and gravel mines are not all along the railway line, but in the barren mountains and wild mountains. Obviously, they are also making money by casting a wide net.

With so many gravel mines, it is naturally impossible for Franz to send someone to manage them. After all, the unit price of gravel is not high, and the profit mainly depends on the volume.

As an emperor who cared about his feathers, he naturally couldn't do anything about squeezing the workers, including the fact that he was the boss behind the scenes.

At this time, it is necessary to find a contractor. The big aristocrats look down on the business of second-hand dealers. Aren't there still small aristocrats and small capitalists?

Franz didn't need to worry about this. Soon after the news of the subcontracting was released, someone contacted the person in charge of the Austrian Sandstone Group.

With an order contract in hand, it is destined to make a profitable sale, and it is still very easy to negotiate.

The contractor is responsible for recruiting workers to mine, is responsible for managing all the work on the mine, and bears legal responsibility for it.

According to the actual situation, the Austrian sand and gravel group withdraws 20.00% to [-]% of the profit of the contract payment, and the rest is at the discretion of the contractor, including paying taxes and paying labor wages, and the contract is terminated after the railway construction is completed.

Whether they can make money or not depends on the management level of these people. Anyway, the Austrian Sandstone Group signed the contract with them and left all the responsibilities to the contractor. The vest of the Austrian Sandstone Group was tracked down.

Then there is no more, the vest is still behind the vest, and it stops at this point.Those who know are smart people, and no one will lift the lid.

No matter what other people's calculations, how much they fought, Franz made the biggest profit as soon as he changed hands.

It is estimated that after the completion of these railways, Franz will recover all the money he invested in buying mines in advance, and the mines are the biggest benefit he has earned.

You must know that this is just the beginning, only a part of the gravel mine has been developed, and there are still a bunch of mines waiting to be developed.At this moment Franz found that the mine owner was the happiest.

Chapter 27 Standard System

Before the construction of the railway, there was another issue before the Austrian government, the standard gauge of the railway.

This standard cannot be formulated arbitrarily. Whether it is better to have a wide-gauge railway or a narrow-gauge railway should be determined according to actual needs.

From the narrowest railway gauge of 610mm to the widest railway gauge of 2141mm, they are all options.Of course, if the reality requires, you can continue to shrink or enlarge the gauge.

The advantage of wide-gauge railway is that the stability of the train is improved, it is not easy to roll over, and it can improve the stability and comfort of the train.The disadvantage is that the turning radius is too large and the construction cost increases.

Of course, if the track is wider, the carriages can also be wider, and the load capacity will increase accordingly. The prerequisite is that the railway can carry a larger load. This requires comprehensive consideration, and it cannot be determined by the gauge alone.

Generally speaking, the cargo carrying capacity of broad-gauge railways is larger, but limited by other factors, the carrying capacity may not increase.

In terms of passenger transportation, broad-gauge railways are obviously more dominant, with more spacious space and a more comfortable experience.

There is no need to consider the high-tech things of track-changing technology in this era, including the high-performance trains of later generations, which cannot be produced in this era either.

Perhaps the narrow-gauge railways of later generations can also run trains with a width of more than three meters, but it is obviously impossible to do so in this era.If there are not many problems in the plain area, once the mountain goes up and downhill, the car will overturn in minutes.

In addition, political and military factors must also be considered.For the sake of national defense and security, deliberately building railways with different standards from neighboring countries is to prevent the enemy from quickly using their railways during wartime.

……

"Your Majesty, why is it necessary to unify the gauges of all railways? Why don't we change trains at fixed stations?

In this way, we can build railways according to different needs and keep construction costs to a minimum. "Minister of Railways Stein asked doubtfully.

Franz explained: "We have to look at the efficiency problem. Think about how long it takes to unload one train and reload it on another train, and how much labor is required?"

Stein thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, this time is nothing, the speed of train transportation is much faster than traditional transportation.

Compared with the cost of railway construction, the increased labor cost is not worth mentioning.Our funds are limited and there is no need to waste them here. "

Franz rubbed his forehead, he finally knew what happened to the railway chaos in various countries in this era.

Restricted by the times, people of this age are different from those of later generations in terms of ideology and cognition.

People have not yet entered the era of fast-paced life, and people don't think time is so precious.The labor cost is even lower, and the value of labor is not felt.

Still, Franz had to find a way to convince them.Don't think that the Germans are the only ones who are stubborn. In fact, the Austrians are not much worse, especially engineers with low EQ.

As senior talents of this era, they have their own persistence.If they can't be persuaded, Franz can only force them to execute.

Obviously, this is not what he wants.If these people cannot be allowed to work with all their heart, and if they are a little passive in the design of the railway, the losses will be tens of millions.

In order to avoid being tricked by others, the core designers of the Austrian Railways are a bunch of technical geeks from their own country. Even the external technical personnel are all from the German region, and all of them are the masters of "three correct views".

Franz replied: "The needs of the country's future development are related to the next step of the country's strategy. Are there any questions?"

"No, Your Majesty," Stein replied

The difference in thinking and cognition can't be explained clearly for a while, and Franz didn't bother to explain it, so he just found a reason to fool him.

Anyway, it is much easier to fool such a single-minded technician than to fool politicians. He still has to use the design basis given by the Ministry of Railways to persuade the government, which is a headache to think about.

No way, the Austrian Empire here.Although the imperial power is high above, the ministers below also have a very high status. If the emperor does too much and makes them unhappy, they will just hang up their seals and leave.

Is it easy to replace?

It's really easy, and there are people everywhere who want to be officials.

It's just that it's difficult to find a minister who is capable, loyal enough, and has enough reputation.

If you do whatever you want, it won't be long before you will be surrounded by a group of sycophants. The emperor's order is the imperial decree, and you will support it unconditionally.

Whether it can be carried out, no one knows.Franz knows 80.00% of the good policies in this world, but when he gets down there, his taste changes.

If there is no strong government supervision, the bureaucrats will interpret it from their own interests, and in the end it will be beyond recognition.

No one likes subordinates who insist on principles. Such people often hurt the leader's face. Since the emperor took the lead, they naturally have to follow suit. In the end, the remaining people in the government are smooth people.

Franz didn't dare to think about the consequences.Anyway, in a country, as long as the upper class is rotten, the lower class will degenerate faster than ordinary people can imagine.

To avoid this from happening, you can only formulate a set of rules. As the rule maker, you must also be bound by the rules.

"Based on the actual situation in Austria, you have calculated based on the annual economic growth rate of 5.00%, considering our transportation needs in 50 years, and designed a standard system suitable for Austria. Is there any problem?" Franz asked.

"No!" Stein replied

He still has confidence in technical things. As for the issue of economic growth rate, that is a problem for the government. Whether it can reach 5.00% or not is none of his business.

Franz seemed to have thought of something, and added: "Wait a minute, we also need to consider connecting the Holy Roman League and the Balkans. In the future, we will promote this set of standards to them, and eventually everyone's railway network will be integrated. .”

The ultimate goal of establishing the Holy Roman Alliance is to achieve economic integration, and the unification of railway standards is naturally an indispensable part.

Other parts of the Balkan Peninsula can be avoided, but Belgrade must be taken. This is the gateway to the Balkan Peninsula, and if you master it, you will control the lifeline of the Balkan Peninsula.

The two principalities in the Danube Basin must also be in the hands, which is related to Hungary's food exports, and it is also an important import and export trade channel for Austria. (Principality of Wallachia, Principality of Moldavia)

Before the railway was completed, the food in Hungary passed through the Danube River Basin and entered the Black Sea to be sold to European countries. The import and export trade of Hungary was also heavily dependent on the Danube River.

This is why Austria firmly opposes Russia's occupation of the Black Sea Strait, which threatens Austria's national security.

It is better to leave professional work to professionals. Austria's large railway project was launched in a hurry.

Who made Franz underestimate the investment enthusiasm of the nobles?

Perhaps in many materials, nobles are decadent and backward, but in fact they are conservative, but also have a progressive side.

Aristocrats have received the best education since childhood, received information that ordinary people cannot reach, and broadened their horizons.

Under such circumstances, how could the next generation raised be all fools and idiots?

They conservatively oppose political change, which is determined by their own interests. How can it be possible to let those with vested interests oppose their own interests?

The real idiots have already gone to see God. During the Austrian Revolution in 1848, there was also a major reshuffle within the aristocratic group. Many aristocrats who made mistakes in judgment and were blinded by greed have already been expelled.

The concept of the nobles also changed at this time, or reality forced them to make a change.

In order to quell the rebellion as soon as possible, Franz promoted the liberation of serfs and the redemption of land, which were actually concessions made by the aristocracy.

The example of the French told them that if they do not make concessions and the revolution spreads, the final loss will be even greater, so they made concessions while helping the government suppress the rebellion.

Among them, some unlucky ones in the whirlpool of revolution chose to escape during this changing situation. As a result, when the overall situation was settled, the land had already been forcibly bought.

After losing the pillar of land, these people took the lead in looking for new projects for transformation.At this time, the railway appeared, and many people saw the potential of this new form of transportation.

They need a new industry to maintain their family business. The railway is the choice of many people. With the efforts of so many people, the speed of railway construction has been artificially accelerated.

This will only happen. The front line is already making preparations for construction, and the standards for the railway track have not yet been released.

Basic information on transportation requirements has been provided by the government.It is not difficult for railway designers to calculate the transportation capacity demand, and it is even simpler to determine the railway standard based on the transportation capacity demand.

Soon the design standard was placed in front of Franz. He, a layman, could not understand other parameters. The only thing that caught his attention was the gauge.

The Ministry of Railways proposed four plans, namely: 1524mm standard system, 1600mm standard system, 1676mm standard system, and 1712mm standard system.

The main roads that started construction in the early stage are all bustling commercial areas.Both passenger and freight demand are the highest.

When establishing the railway standard system, it is natural to focus on the requirements of this region, and considering the 50-year period, the standard has naturally increased a lot.

There is no narrow-gauge railway. In this era, limited by train manufacturing technology, the transportation volume of narrow-gauge railway is limited. Due to insufficient stability, it is prone to safety accidents and is rarely used in the construction of main road railways.

The final right to choose is in the hands of the Austrian government. Theoretically speaking, the above solutions are all feasible now, and which one to choose has become a difficult problem.

Chapter 28 Headache Strategies

The problems in Franz's eyes are not problems in the eyes of people of this era.

From the perspective of construction cost, the largest gap between these four sets of standards is only 1.2%, which means that the construction cost of the railway is not the main factor affecting the decision.

It’s true to think about it. The gauge of railways in this era is generally relatively large. The gauge of the first railway of the Russians was still 1829mm. Later, in order to make money, the bureaucrats listened to the suggestion of American engineers and changed it to 1524mm.

How much did you save by shrinking from six feet to five feet?

It saved 3% of the budget. Of course, with the style of Russian bureaucrats, it will definitely not save much money in the end.

The standard gauge was promoted by the British to the world. Since 1846, John Bull has introduced laws. Since then, the 1435mm system has become the standard gauge of the British mainland and colonies.

However, India soon became an exception. The standard gauge cannot meet their transportation requirements. The British are pragmatic and enlarge it. Therefore, most of the railways in India are 1676mm standard, and there are naturally many other messy gauge railways. .

After nearly a hundred years of hard work by the British, it was not until the middle of the 20th century that the 1435mm system became the international standard gauge. The original purpose of Niu Niu was to promote the British technical system.

Whether there is a purpose of restricting the cargo capacity of mainland countries is unknown. Anyway, Franz does not believe that John Bull will be so kind.

With the technology in the mid-19th century, the freight volume of wide-gauge railways exceeds that of narrow-gauge railways, and the safety and speed are much higher, which is completely different from the 21st century.

Later generations relied on technology to solve the stability problem of trains, and the freight capacity and speed of narrow-gauge railways have been improved, which is impossible in this era.

Railroad maintenance costs are actually about the same.The structure of the railway is exactly the same after completion, the difference is only the length of the sleepers, and the maintenance of the narrow gauge railway is simple, which is unfounded.

The issue of the occupied area is completely nonsense. If there is no isolation zone on both sides of the railway, does it still need to use the land under the train?

... (Don't talk about it, it's almost a popular science)

"Your Majesty, since we want to unify the standards, it may be better for the Holy Roman League to unify the standards and gather everyone together to formulate a common standard." Metternich suggested

"Is there enough time, our railway has already started construction?" Prime Minister Felix asked with concern

"There is no problem. The railway construction has just begun. If a decision is made within a year, it will not affect the construction." Railway Minister Stein replied

Railway construction in this era is really slow, and the demolition is only now started. After the completion, the digging and filling should be done, and it will not take a year or two to reach the subgrade construction.

"Then let everyone work together. The Ministry of Railways is responsible for selecting an optimal plan. As our opinion, try to persuade everyone to implement it together.

If there are endless disputes, take out these sets of standards and let everyone vote. Anyway, these plans are suitable for Austria. "Frantz said indifferently.

"Then 1676mm, this standard can already meet our needs, and the safety is also guaranteed." Stein quickly gave the answer

As for the international railway standard, is there such a thing in this era?Who admits it?

We must know that when the British were repairing the Western Railway, they found that their standard system could not guarantee safety because of technology, so they switched to wide gauge.

Once the Holy Roman League establishes a new standard, there may be two sets of international railway gauge standards in the future.

Among other things, the railway standards of the South German states have been unified. Should Prussia follow up or not?