Chapter 441 Railway Construction

  Finally count

  It has been a full year since I returned to Europe, and it has been ten years since I first set foot on the land of Australia in 1876.

Recalling that I walked carefully and cautiously all the way to create the current situation of Novosibirsk, my heart suddenly rises with great pride, overlooking the prosperous metropolis of the Red River Valley, and the tall victory tower rushing into the sky, symbolizing the braveness of overseas Chinese immigrants. The fighting spirit before.

Turning my head and looking in another direction, among the lush green mountains, the magnificent dream castle stands tall, the white figure against the blue sky, the towering towers of zero-time comparison are very conspicuous, as if this The crown of this metropolis is generally dazzling, adding an infinite charm to this emerging metropolis of immigrants.

This magnificent castle, designed by the famous French architect Vereb-Duke himself, shows ingenious imagination. It is three times the size of the famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany and is even more magnificent and colorful. Majestic and extraordinary.

  As a result, I have to admire the unconstrained imagination of today's French architects.

  They are the best and most outstanding designers in the world. Whether the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Statue of Liberty, the Victory Tower, or the Dream Castle, they are all architectural treasures that can be passed on to future generations, all of which are made by French architects.

The   British-French submarine tunnel concept was also first proposed by a French designer. It has received strong support from the French emperor Napoleon in history, but it was only disturbed by the British.

  When he thought of the Anglo-French Undersea Tunnel, Li Fushou immediately thought of the tunnel project that was under construction across the Brisbane River. It has been 14 months since the start of construction, and less than one-third of the earthwork has been completed, which is far away from completion.

The Brisbane River Tunnel was constructed using the latest shield tunneling method, but there was no shield tunneling machine. Instead, a shield-shaped support was built on the excavated working surface with rough wood, and it was digging forward several meters to build a few meters. Meters, the excavated working face behind him is poured with reinforced concrete, and so on.

  The most used picks, shovels, and hammers in the entire project are almost entirely manpower used to dig forward. It is also necessary to always beware of roof fall and water leakage. Reinforcement is needed when encountering geologically loose areas. The progress is really slow.

  With the deepening of construction, the working face has gradually advanced to the depths of the Brisbane River. The possibility of sudden engineering accidents has greatly increased, and the progress of the project has slowed down.

  Let’s do it, the quality of the project is a century-old plan, this thing can't be impatient.

The city’s northward direction has been blocked by the rolling Brisbane River, both eastward and southward, surrounded by mountains. Now the Red River Valley City as a whole is developing westward. The River Bridge eases traffic pressure.

  With the development of the city

  The headquarters of Red River Valley University, which was originally on the fringe of the city, has been surrounded by dense urban buildings. It has become an elegant higher education institution in the urban area, cultivating more young talents.

Due to the shortage of land in the urban area, the main campus of Red River Valley University has already been moved to Qinglong City. There are spacious asphalt roads between the two places. The roads along the way are illuminated by street lights and various beautiful buildings have sprung up. There is a tendency to connect the two as one.

  Qinglong City is located in a long and narrow valley. There was not much land available for development. After these years of rapid development, it has gradually become saturated, and there is less and less room for development.

Xuanwu City is located in a steep mountain terrain. There was no room for urban development. It has reached the current population of 50,000 to 60,000. It is the ultimate. It guards the northeast gateway of Red River Valley City and serves as a fortress-type fortress city. To build.

  The real room for development is Baihu City in the West and Zhuque City in the South. According to the urban development plan, Baihu City will develop westward and Zhuque City will develop southward, trying to widen the distance from the core metropolis of the Red River Valley.

  Behind these two cities is an endless expanse of plains with plenty of room for development.

  The major transportation infrastructure construction projects in the plan have been completed one after another, which has contributed to economic construction and played a huge role immediately.

  After more than two years of reconstruction and expansion, the coastal railway double-track project and the old line reconstruction project are about to come to an end. The new line has been put into use, and the old line is still undergoing double-track reconstruction. It is expected to be completed and put into use before March next year.

  At that time, the new high-horsepower steam locomotive can tow more than 30 cars and run on the railway line at an average speed of 35-40 kilometers, which is twice the original speed and the cargo capacity has increased by nearly 70%.

  This is undoubtedly a great advantage for cities and towns along the railway line. Both cargo transportation and passenger transportation can arrive in a shorter time, which greatly improves efficiency and saves time.

In the plan, there are three horizontal and one vertical "Feng"-shaped railway lines. This longitudinal railway line is a double coastal railway line. It is the main artery of economic transportation for the entire Queensland. The importance is unparalleled.

  The three horizontal railway lines all extend from east to west, extending from the economically prosperous coastal areas of the east to the west inland, connecting an inland agricultural and pastoral town by rail. At present, all three horizontal railways have been completed and put into use.

  The first horizontal railway on the top is a double-track railway. It crosses the Great Dividing Range from Brisbane to the southwest to reach Xuanwu City, and then from Xuanwu City to Red River Valley City. This section is a double-track railway that has been completed and put into operation a long time ago.

The new extension line runs westward from Red River Valley City and passes through several inland towns along the way to Thylacine Rock. This is the old battlefield where "Wild Wolf Birken" was once killed. Now it has developed into a rock with a population of more than 22,000. The town then continues to extend westward for more than 100 kilometers, until it reaches the Season Lake near the Gobi Desert, with a total length of about 270 kilometers.

  The horizontal railway in the middle is a single-track railway. It runs from Songjiang Town to the west to Songjiang Reservoir. There is a new town called Reservoir Town. From Reservoir Town to the west, it enters the steep mountains and reaches the strategic reserve base hidden here.

  The total length of the railway line is 57.7 kilometers, which is the shortest of the three horizontal railways.

The third horizontal railway line starts from Beilun City and extends westward through several inland agricultural and pastoral towns. It goes more than 100 kilometers and then turns to the southwest. It goes deeper than the river for about 300 kilometers, and ends at the westernmost one. Nomadic point.

  This railway line will continue to extend westward in the future, from east to west across Australia's southernmost peninsular area, and eventually connect with the capital of South Australia, Adelaide, and become a railway transportation artery. The railway line has a total length of 1,410 kilometers and is an important part of the long-term plan for the Central-Australia railway network.

To the south of this railway line is Victoria, the home base of conservative white forces. In this autonomous state, which is world-famous for gold mining, it has Australia’s once largest city, Melbourne, and because of its rich resources, it also has the highest life in Australia. level.

  Now after being born in Queensland, everything has changed.

The Red River Valley and Brisbane successively took away Melbourne's first place in the city rankings, and Songjiang City has sprung up again. In the first half of 1885, it has surpassed Melbourne as the third largest city in Australia and will stop. Melbourne squeezed to fourth place.

Looking at the surpassing of these booming cities one after another, Melbourne’s mood is mixed, sour sarcasm and complaints become the mainstream of public opinion, but they have never seriously reflected on themselves, but more stubbornly refuse the entry of Chinese overseas immigrants. White conservatives have intensified their suppression and humiliation of the Chinese settlers in the state.

More than 80% of Victoria’s economic output comes from Melbourne, and more than 70% of Melbourne’s economic output comes from gold mines. The rest is animal husbandry and commercial trade. The rich gold resources make this city able to Maintaining a high standard of living and leading a leisurely and prosperous life do not need to look at the faces of northern Queenslanders.

  The rise or fall of wool prices will have minimal impact on Victoria’s economy.

  At this point, New South Wales has been more passive. Due to the large number of white ranchers in the country, animal husbandry accounts for more than 70% of the economic output of New South Wales and is the most important pillar industry.

  As a result, New South Wales is extremely dependent on the woolen mills in the north, which makes them restless.

  Having been looking for a solution to the problem, it proved to be in vain in the end.

  Faced with the northern forces, the limelight became more and more prosperous. New South Wales and Victoria have tightened their fences to prohibit overseas Chinese immigrants from entering.

  This means that they can only rely on the natural growth of the population. The original situation of more men and fewer women is even more severe. The contradiction in employment is extremely prominent, and it is impossible to find enough female workers to operate the wool spinning machinery.

  So in Australia, such a strange phenomenon has appeared.

   takes Beilun Town and Sydney across the strait as the dividing line, extending from east to west into the inland arid area, forming a clear dividing line.

  In the area north of the dividing line

Queensland continues to increase the introduction of Chinese immigrants, which greatly expands the consumer market and demand, and strongly drives the economy to rise step by step. Various industries at the economic level are booming. The income of residents has increased year by year. Consumer market, thus forming a virtuous circle.

  In the area south of the dividing line

Mainly the white conservatives in New South Wales and Victoria. They have stubbornly introduced various bills to restrict the inflow of immigrants, deprive the Chinese of normal business and wealth rights, discriminate against and suppress the Chinese chambers of commerce in the region, and are making big shit. Running wildly on the previous road without looking back.

  A variety of reasons have led to the strange phenomenon of spiraling downward in the economic level of these two states. Compared with northern Queensland, one is hot and the other is cold, as if they are in two worlds.

  You can’t wake up a person who pretends to be asleep. Now this is the situation where the north and the south are incompatible.

As for the so-called Tasmania, there is no need to think about it. That remote ghost place does not even have 5,000 people. With the loss of a large number of Chinese, the population here has broken through the 3,000 mark and only 2,000 are left. The descendants of hundreds of white people have a tendency to become inaccessible.

  (End of this chapter)