Chapter 208: Indecision
In August,
a sea breeze blowing in from the southeast brought heavy rain that lasted three days, soaking the streets.
Wherever there were no paved roads, the ground turned muddy, and anyone passing by ended up with thick layers of mud on their shoes.
After the rain cleared, people once again filled the streets, bustling with carts and horses. It was chaotic – something not often seen in East Africa, perhaps matched only by the developed areas of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
But in these cities, the police maintain order. Previously it was done by the army, yet after the reforms, some of the soldiers turned into policemen. So East African cities generally have good public order. The same is true even in rural areas, which also have their own local security. For now, those rural patrols remain in place, with only a handful of people per village, supervised by a nearby town or city police station.
…
"Father, I plan to build a test railway between Dar es Salaam and First Town," Ernst said over the phone to Prince Constantin. "It will strengthen the connection between Dar es Salaam and First Town, and also allow us to gain experience for East Africa's future railway construction."
Hearing about railways, Prince Constantin was very interested—especially since it would be a line that truly belonged to their family. In Europe, Heixingen itself was just a poor little spot with no real rivers and no rail lines, where travel depended on horse carts and on foot. The roads weren't good, and might not be any better than those in East Africa at the time. In Europe, up until the eighteenth century, roads didn't improve much; even some old Roman roads were just patched up for use, and they were already the best in Europe back then.
After the eighteenth century, Europeans began paying attention to transportation, and roads and railways developed rapidly—but that had nothing to do with Heixingen. Its geography, construction conditions, resources, and population simply couldn't support rebuilding roads, so at most they just made their dirt paths a bit smoother.
"That's great," Prince Constantin said, "but a railway isn't a normal project. Do you have a concrete plan?"
"Father, the Roens Railway Company I bought has already started heading to East Africa. Once they arrive, they'll plan out a route based on the local situation."
"Roens Railway Company? Never heard of them."
"It's a little firm from the Grand Duchy of Baden—so not very famous."
"And you trust them to handle such a project?"
"You can rest assured. They have experience; they used to help build railways in France."
"France?"
"Yes, though mostly as an outsourced contractor. South German labor is plentiful and cheaper, and they follow orders more reliably than French workers."
Prince Constantin nodded. "All right, that's good to know. My main concern was whether they had the right experience. But even so, what about the materials? How will you manage that?"
"For cement, East Africa can supply it. As for railroad ties, or sleepers, we can make them locally in East Africa. We don't need to worry about land, either. The locomotive, rails, and some parts and equipment will have to be imported from the German states. Besides, the distance between Dar es Salaam and First Town isn't that long, and the terrain is fairly level. So building that line shouldn't cost too much."
"So what do you want me to do?" Prince Constantin asked. "You've solved all these problems, so why the phone call?"
"Well, Father," Ernst explained, "I need to discuss some details with you. For instance, you mentioned wanting to build a defensive works at First Town. The railway is a strategic transport corridor. You remember the effect of Prussia using railways to move troops. We must give this line serious consideration in terms of defense. Dar es Salaam is quite close to First Town, and with a railway, they're even closer. So when you're building those fortifications, you must include the railroad's presence. We can't leave any gaps."
"I understand. Right now, the defense work hasn't begun. I'll have people arrange the checkpoints."
"We'll need cooperation between the design staff and the railway company," Ernst continued. "So we can't rush. We have to wait until they arrive in East Africa. Also, because it's a defense-related railroad, maybe we should set up a Ministry of Railways in the government while we're at it."
"Any other problems?"
"There's also the matter of the rail gauge. I can't decide. Right now, the main standards are 1000 mm, 1435 mm, 1520 mm, 1676 mm, and so on. The most widespread is 1435 mm. Prussia uses that, which would save costs. But the wider the gauge, the more freight capacity you get."
Prince Constantin thought for a moment. "I don't know much about railroads. Can you tell me more about the different gauges used by other countries?"
"There's no single standard for track gauge, so it's flexible," Ernst said. "For example, 1435 mm dates back to the width of Roman chariot wheels, also used by European horse carts. Britain was first to develop railways, so 1435 mm is used in Britain, its colonies, the U.S., and some parts of Europe.
"1000 mm is commonly used by France and its colonies, especially in mountain railways, because it's cheaper.
"1520 mm is wide gauge, used mainly by Russia. They wanted it for military reasons, so it wouldn't match Europe.
"1676 mm is even wider. Aside from these, there are plenty of others. So I'm stuck."
"I get it," Prince Constantin said. "1435 mm is the most common. Gauges smaller than that are cheaper and more flexible but have lower freight capacity, while those bigger than 1435 mm cost more and aren't as flexible but can carry more. Right?"
"It's not quite that," Ernst said. "Railway track is basically two parallel iron rails. The major cost is the rails themselves, so if it's just two straight lines, the difference isn't that big. A larger gauge might use more material for curves, plus a bit more for longer sleepers, and it occupies more land. But none of that is really a problem for East Africa. We have plenty of land, and lots of timber. The extra usage for curves can be offset by the bigger hauling capacity. Railways run long-term, so a slightly higher cost at the start can be worthwhile. You get higher capacity and more profit in the long run."
Hearing that, Prince Constantin understood completely. His son was clearly leaning toward wide gauge—he hadn't finished talking before he started giving reasons to prefer a wider gauge. Yet the world mostly used 1435 mm, especially Europe, so Ernst was uncertain. People often want to follow the crowd.
Prince Constantin said, "Let's go with a wide gauge. But, as you said, there are multiple wide-gauge standards. Let's wait for the railway company to move to East Africa and have our government's specialists do a field study. Then we can choose a standard."
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