On December 20, Li Zhi and officials from Tianjin gathered on the railway tracks outside Fanjiazhuang and watched with great interest the newly released steam locomotive "Beidou." Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

After six full months of tackling key problems, the locomotive handed over by Su Laosan this time was much more professional. Li Zhi has worked hard to recall in the past six months and drew some partial design drawings for Su Laosan. So compared to the ugly shape of the reciprocating steam frame directly on the wheels last time, this time Su Laosan built a steam locomotive that resembled a 19th-century locomotive.

The Beidou was basically built in imitation of a steam locomotive of the early 19th century. This locomotive uses a horizontal multi-smoke tube boiler, which has a large heat transfer area and generates steam quickly. The pot carcass is spliced together with the firebox, and the boiler working pressure is three atmospheres. There are two cylinders angled to the horizon and mounted diagonally on the two rear sides of the boiler. There is a pair of moving wheels installed in the front of the locomotive, and the moving wheel axle is equipped with a bending crutch on the left and right, which is at right angles to each other, so that the locomotive moving wheel crank can be started at any position.

The exhaust vapor from the Beidou is ejected from the chimney to induce ventilation and promote combustion. The inner and outer fireboxes and smoke boxes of this steam locomotive horizontal boiler are made as a whole, which further strengthens the flow speed of steam.

Compared with the steam engine on the ship, the steam engine of this steam locomotive is highly concentrated and improved, which can be regarded as the most advanced machine in Fanjiazhuang. The locomotive weighed nine thousand pounds as a whole, that is, four and a half tons, which was significantly lighter than the steam engine on the ship.

The Beidou stopped on the tracks, and Su Laosan and three craftsmen kept transporting coal to the locomotive, preparing for a test run.

Li Zhi had three large carriages brought in, which were full of grain, more than 100 stones, and a load of almost 15 tons. This amount of load is equivalent to the load of twenty four-wheeled carriages.

This was the first time that the onlookers saw a steam locomotive, and they stood behind Li Zhi one by one and whispered, wondering if this locomotive could pull so much grain.

Li Xing tilted his head to look at the steam locomotive and said, "Big brother, if this car can run, then the carriage will be eliminated in the future!" ”

Zu Dashou looked at the locomotive repeatedly, shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of an iron car that can run on its own. ”

Su Laosan and the others finished transporting coal and began to burn the boiler of the steam locomotive. Billowing white water vapor began to spew out of the chimney of the steam locomotive, which was particularly thick in the cold weather of December. After a while, a cloud of steam almost formed over the locomotive.

Li Zhi saw that it was almost there, and waved his hand: "Drive!" ”

Su Laosan shouted and pulled down the driving shaft of the steam locomotive. The steam locomotive shook for a moment, and suddenly there was strength, and the moving wheels began to spin slowly.

The moving wheels slowly rotate on the rails, eventually driving the locomotive and carriage forward. In the exclamation of the crowd, the whole train accelerated little by little and ran on the steel tracks.

The horseless cart ran on its own, and the officials who witnessed it were astonished. They ran along with the slow-moving train, chasing the smoke-spitting monster on the dirt road next to the railroad.

Li Zhi was also quite interested, spreading his legs and running in front of everyone, to see how fast this locomotive could go.

But where can two legs run past a train? The locomotive ran faster and faster, and finally threw off all the onlookers who were chasing behind. The locomotive spewed black smoke and rode at a speed that only a healthy horse could have, all the way to the end of the railway.

Unable to catch up with the train, they stopped at the edge of the railway, shook their heads and sighed as they looked at the locomotive moving farther and farther away.

Li Xing ran out of fine sweat, wiped his sweat and said, "Big brother, this locomotive is too powerful, this speed is at least seven or eight times that of the loading carriage." In this way, one locomotive can be used as a hundred and fifty two-wheeled carriages. ”

Zu Dashou said: "And this train doesn't eat grain, it doesn't eat beans, it only needs a little coal to run." A two-wheeled carriage with a coachman costs three or four taels of silver a month. The train only needs a few drivers to drive, so the cost of transportation is probably not even a tenth of the original cost. ”

Everyone looked at Li Zhi happily, saying that this steam locomotive was powerful, and they didn't know how much freight they would save for the owners of the manors in Liaodong.

At present, the construction of the railway network in eastern Liaoning is in full swing, and at least 100,000 Henan refugees who fled to southern Shandong were recruited by Li Zhi and sent to Liaodong to build railways. According to the Tianjin Daily, when the spring wheat is ripe this fall, the first railway connecting Jinzhou and Shenyang will be able to open to traffic.

At that time, Liaodong wheat like a tide will pour into Tianjin through the railway, and then be sent from Tianjin to the various disaster areas in Daming where there is a shortage of grain.

Of course, by the standards of later generations, this steam locomotive was really primitive. The carrying capacity is very low, and it can only tow fifteen tons of cargo, which can only be said to be the prototype of a train. But for Li Zhi, the requirements for the first type of train should not be too high, and this prototype locomotive already has practical value.

Li Zhi looked at the locomotive that was running farther and farther, nodded and said, "This locomotive is good, it already looks like a look." ”

"Reward Su Laosan's team with 2,000 taels of silver, and let the steam engine workshop make every effort to produce this kind of locomotive, and produce more than 50 units before the first railway opens in July."

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On December 25, in the sound of firecrackers, Li Zhi and his second uncle Li Dao led the beaming directors and directors of major factories into the newly completed "Institute of Technology".

This polytechnic is located in the southeast corner of Fanjiazhuang New Town, with a two-story teaching building and 20 classrooms. There are five five-storey dormitories and 250 student dormitories. This polytechnic can accommodate 1,000 students and will be the cradle of engineers under Li Zhi's leadership.

After more than ten years of development, the industrial level under the leadership of Li Zhi has far exceeded this era, and a large number of factories use a large number of technologies from the 18th and 19th centuries to produce a variety of world-leading products.

If you stick to the old rules and produce products according to Li Zhi's inventions, you don't need engineers who know scientific knowledge. Even the machines of the 19th century were very simple to use and maintain, and the craftsman could basically master them after one or two years of training on the job.

But Li Zhi put forward higher requirements for each factory. Li Zhi hopes that the technology of each factory can continue to improve and produce better products in a more efficient way.

Relying on Li Zhi alone, he does not have the energy to take care of so many factories and engage in inventions and creations one by one. Li Zhi needed a group of engineers to help him improve the machine.

Improving the machine, this is not an ordinary job, and ordinary skilled craftsmen cannot complete such a task. This requires engineers who know science and engineering knowledge to stand up and improve machines and make inventions and innovations according to the scientific knowledge of science and engineering.

Therefore, the Polytechnic Institute in Fanjiazhuang came into being.

Li Zhi decided to teach physics and chemistry at the high school level at this polytechnic.

With the knowledge of the high school level of later generations, engineers have enough theoretical foundation to innovate and improve in all walks of life.