Struggle in the Steam Age

In addition to those plant resources, the teams in the investigation also checked the mineral resources around the Blue Mountain Pass Fortress. It's just that compared with those teams that inspect this kind of biological resources, inspecting mineral resources requires more energy and labor, so the collection of mineral resource information may take longer.

As for animal resources, terrestrial animals are really not worth mentioning, because the animals on the island are all widely distributed in the entire area and even the mainland, so there is nothing special about them. Not to mention that the number of terrestrial animal populations in this area itself was relatively small due to a large number of goblin activities in this area. Some level of protection is more needed than how it is exploited.

After the Roka murloc team investigated the local aquatic animals, they found that the population of the local aquatic organisms was very good probably because of the poor technical level of the goblins. They could catch a lot of eels and catfish from the surrounding water bodies. and fish such as freshwater salmon.

In addition, according to the statistics made by the Loca murlocs, the local environment is more suitable for the development of cold water aquaculture. However, considering the huge cost in the early stage of sustainable development, Lawrence thinks that it is best to wait for the city at the Blue Mountain Pass to really develop.

So while waiting for the teams in charge of the mining investigation to return, Lawrence and the others, together with members of several churches and scholars, began to plan the location and layout of the plantations. According to the plan, in the first phase of the operation, they will be able to develop 200 hectares of Ainaxiang plantations around the city.

When the plantation first started operating, the harvested herbs would be carried by boats downriver to the port of New Sauer, where they would be refined and processed in a factory affiliated with the medical institution. After the planting area is expanded, a refining plant will be built in this area to complete the most basic refining work and reduce the pressure on water transportation.

"It would be great if there was a railway on the island." Lawrence looked at the red dotted line on the map that marked the waterway route and sighed. Although the river on this island in the tropics has sufficient water to replenish throughout the year and is only occasionally interrupted during the typhoon season, the speed and flexibility of water transportation still make him feel a little dissatisfied.

"The materials related to the railway are not difficult to buy, and the personnel who operate the railway are also easy to find. At least we now have nearly a hundred railway workers who escaped from the south and work in various factories on the island." Safiel, who spoke in detail, said after hearing Lawrence's complaints.

"But for us, the biggest problem with building the railway is that the only place on the island that can be called a city is the Port of Nova Sauer, and the density of population and resources in other areas leads to the shortage of materials between areas. There is no need for railroads to communicate with people.”

Sai Feier mentioned one of the biggest problems of the island's railway construction, that is, there is basically no demand for railways on the island. Because the core of the previous development was either close to the sea around the urban area, or the farms that planted various crops were close to the river, so water transportation alone was enough.

"Uh—what you said is indeed a problem." Lawrence scratched his hair in embarrassment. In fact, he has always been a technology supremacist in his bones, and occasionally blindly pursues certain advanced technologies so that he forgets. In order to consider whether those technologies are suitable for use at this time.

At least for now, it seems that the various areas on New Sauer Island do not need railway transportation for the time being. At this time, pure water transportation is sufficient to meet most of the transportation needs of the island. But Lawrence quickly found the place where the railway can now be built after carefully checking the map.

"I think we can build some internal railways in this place first, so that on the one hand, we can accumulate experience and train personnel, and at the same time reduce the cost of transportation." Lawrence searched on the map and clicked on the area around New Sauer. The industrial area said, "I think this should be the only place on the island where a railway line can be built."

Lawrence's plan is to build a railway in the future industrial zone that connects the factories and the urban area. After all, if you only rely on water transportation, it will take some extra time and energy to get on and off the finished products and raw materials, and it will be difficult for the employees. , now it doesn't feel good to take those small boats to and from work every day, and it also takes a lot of time.

"Well——you put it this way, I think this railway is indeed necessary." After hearing Lawrence's words, Safir took over the railway planning map handed over by Shumei, looked at it carefully and said. "And we can repair the 37 kilometers of railway in the factory area at one go, which is more appropriate in terms of cost."

After a brief comparison of the railway systems of several countries and a series of related things in the surrounding area, they found that the regional rail system of the White Eagle Federation was the most suitable for the situation on the island. Because it is too expensive to transport these things from the old continent, and the Republic of New Island, another manufacturing powerhouse, is better at making long-distance heavy trains for long-distance travel.

The railways in this world have very uniform specifications because of the participation of the church. The most important of these are naturally those heavy trunk railways with a gauge of 3 meters 5, which are used to connect various large settlements and countries. But besides these main rails there are two other sizes of railroads.

Another type of railway system is a branch railway with a gauge of 1.5 meters. This railway system is often only used in relatively safe areas, such as those inhabited areas around cities or short-distance travel in densely populated areas. . And use it as a powerful supplement to the previous heavy trunk railways.

After all, although that kind of heavy-duty train is excellent in all aspects, not every place needs this level of carrying capacity.

The last type is a small railway with a gauge of only 1 meter. This kind of railway is basically not the kind of public railway, but is generally used in various factories, mining areas, or military defense. For example, Lawrence previously built such a railway on the peninsula at the entrance of the harbor for the mobilization of soldiers and heavy fire support.

The reason why Lawrence chose the regional track system with a gauge of 1.5 meters is because the population carrying capacity of his own island is placed there, and there are not too many or too strong evil wilderness races on the island. Therefore, this kind of regional rail system is completely sufficient, and there is no need to lay that kind of main line railway on the island.

After making a decision, Lawrence immediately drew up a telegram and sent it to the Eagle's Nest Special Zone negotiating team, asking them to help contact this matter by the way. Because for the negotiation on the allocation of spoils, the team sent by Lawrence included almost all the diplomats on the island, so they could only work harder at this time.

In addition to planning the future rail transit on the island, Lawrence and the others also participated in the construction of the cable system during this period. Because the river from the fortress has a large drop and the current is very turbulent, it is basically impossible to carry out water transportation. The roads previously opened up in the valley were barely usable and could not meet the transportation volume during the next major construction period.

Therefore, considering the next traffic problem, Lawrence proposed to build a steel cable in this mountainous area and equip it with a steam hoist to transport personnel and materials. Soon, the proposal was passed. Because compared to the method of widening the road on the stone wall, the solution proposed by Lawrence is much more economical.

So in the rest of the week, a lot of manpower and material resources were invested in the construction of this cable transportation line. Everyone is very busy, even Lawrence, the most noble person on the island, is no exception.