Chapter 109 : Bratt: A Train? Buy It!
Chapter 109: Bratt: A Train? Buy It!
“After staying on this thing for a few days, I have to say... this truly is a creation that stirs one’s very soul~”
Before leaving, Bratt turned back to look at the steam train still stationed in place, his face showing a complex expression beyond words.
If at first, while on the train, he could still evaluate its pros and cons, then when he realized that this massive creation lying across the tracks showed not the slightest trace of magical energy.
How, then, was such a surging power output achieved? And by what principle did the lights inside the carriages stay bright day and night?
As a prince of the United Kingdom of Suria, he had visited countless kingdoms and empires, many of which also possessed large vehicles of similar grandeur.
Yet most of them regarded such machines as national wonders—
They usually ran along magical roads, moving at a sluggish pace while consuming vast quantities of magic crystals each day, serving purely as displays of imperial power rather than genuine means of public transportation.
But this nation used a power source he simply could not comprehend…
“I have a rather presumptuous request—might I be permitted to visit its power source?”
Coy was momentarily stunned, then smiled and nodded readily. “But of course.”
At Coy’s signal, several officers went ahead to speak with the train station’s security team.
Finally, under the conductor’s guidance, the two boarded the locomotive.
At that moment, the steam engine let out a long, resounding whistle and began to move slowly toward the factory for inspection and refueling.
Bratt, standing in the front cabin, looked around at the array of dials and gauges, but it was all incomprehensible to him.
Coy, smiling beside him, began to explain.
The locomotive before them was considered quite advanced by Seris standards.
Although it still employed a high-pressure steam return system, its power source was a crystal matrix engraved with a magic conversion circuit.
The crystal’s energy was purer and more lasting, and it even had the capacity to absorb magical elements from the atmosphere.
That was why it could run continuously for three days while supplying power to the generator unit.
When they arrived at the factory, Coy also showed him an earlier model of the steam locomotive—one powered by burning coal.
A coal tender was attached at the rear, and workers had to shovel the coal into the boiler manually.
Bratt watched the black crystalline lumps with fascination, listening as Coy explained that they provided great energy though the smoke’s smell left something to be desired.
A steam locomotive was neither overly complex nor overly simple. Its complexity lay in the densely packed mechanical components in the engine head enough to make one’s scalp tingle at a glance.
Yet at its core, it was simple: steam technology, in all its forms, always revolved around the same principle—converting high-pressure gas into motion through mechanical transmission.
If you understood it, good; if not—well, there was no helping it~
Coy wasn’t worried that Bratt could actually discern much.
He himself had once been curious about this big fellow and had pestered his elder sister for a detailed explanation of its workings.
The true essence of a steam locomotive or any kind of rail engine lay beneath it, in the fully enclosed wheel assembly.
The train wheels were designed as cones thicker inside, thinner outside. When running on rails, the reaction force acted vertically against the cone surface, keeping the wheels stable and better suited for turning.
When the train turned right, the wheels shifted to the right.
The right-side reaction force became greater than the left’s, generating a net horizontal force that pushed the wheels back leftward, restoring balance.
Furthermore, flanges on the inner rims made the force more controllable.
During a curve, the outer and inner rails differed in travel distance—the outer wheel traveled farther, meaning the inner one had to rotate more times in the same interval.
The conical design again proved its value: when the train tilted into a turn, the outer wheel’s radius increased while the inner decreased, creating a natural differential that allowed smooth cornering—this was the brilliance of engineering.
Not only the wheels, but even the couplings were masterpieces of mechanical engineering.
For outsiders without systematic scientific education, even if handed a locomotive, all they could do was marvel at it as a “miraculous creation.”
They would stand in awe of its magnitude while ignoring the true foundation that upheld its majesty.
As for building one from scratch—well, the progress of science had always been written in blood and lessons learned~
A single train encompassed countless raw materials and components—the assembly of parts, the laying of rail infrastructure, and much more. After all, once you built it, you had to build the roads for it to run on, didn’t you?
No matter how “basic” a steam locomotive might seem, behind it stood an entire national complex of steelmaking, energy, infrastructure, precision machining, and mechanical engineering.
Back in the Astal era, constructing steam locomotives had been a nationwide super-project—one the country undertook with gritted teeth and all its might.
To make use of such mobility required massive investment in railway construction.
The steel consumed by the rail network was immeasurable, and it was no wonder the national navy had only a few small ships bobbing weakly at sea year-round.
When they returned to the ground-level platform, Bratt stared blankly at the departing locomotive, then turned to Coy and asked, “I wonder… would it be possible for our United Kingdom of Suria to purchase a batch of these… trains?”
He knew that his nation had much to learn from this rising power.
Coy looked at the prince from the main continent in mild surprise, not expecting such a request.
After a moment’s thought, recalling the foreign trade list he had seen, Coy didn’t immediately say yes or no.
Instead, he kindly reminded, “The engine itself shouldn’t be a problem. But the tracks—these are built to a standard gauge of 2200mm. Can your people produce that?”
【Good brother, the engine only earns me a little profit—let us handle the whole railway system for you too!!!】
Bratt, a little puzzled, glanced at the two unassuming rails beneath their feet, even showing traces of rust. “You mean… we’d have to buy these as well? Are they difficult to make?”
Coy’s face lit up with a harmless, honest smile. “Naturally. With your current boiler technology, producing manganese alloy steel would be… ambitious. I’d recommend purchasing finished rails from us instead. Or, if you can produce steel, you could buy the manganese from us.”
“To bear the weight of such engines and cargo, ordinary iron simply won’t do. You don’t have to buy from us, of course—but if an accident happens, we can’t take responsibility.”
As Bratt stood there with a clouded, bewildered look, Coy’s smile grew even more “innocent.” “I don’t know much about the details myself—you can discuss it with our Minister of Industry later. He’ll explain everything clearly.”
He would, of course, quietly notify the Ministry afterward—to sell manganese at the price of silver!
If Mitia were here, she would surely rub her little brother’s head in approval—the boy was already showing signs of becoming a fine merchant!
Bratt nodded, half-understanding, and left the station reluctantly.
He truly admired the machine. As a prince, he had a military eye for such things.
If their kingdom could lay two longitudinal railways across its territory, their Mechanized Unit could be rapidly deployed within the realm—posing a formidable deterrent to neighboring nations.
For the United Kingdom of Suria, surrounded on all sides by potential enemies, this would be a tremendous strategic advantage.
As for money… well, for a nation born from a commercial alliance, money was the one thing they did not lack!