Kickstarting the Charisian economy

In LAMA there is an extensive scene in which Empress Sharleyan is discussing ways to try and open up areas of Chisholm where the river and canal control is being blocked by local nobility. After reading it I keep coming up with the idea from her comments that she's hinting that she just might know another way to transport goods that could end around it. Every time I read that section the word "Railroad" suggests itself to me. While that might not be what she's getting at, (and certainly most of her suggestions thereafter concern economic carrots and sticks) I can't help thinking that building the initial ironworks to produce rails and a wood chopping business to provide cross-ties could certainly start an economic boom. Engines might need to be transported from Charis till higher quality manufacturing capacity ramped up and more intricate parts to tighter tolerances could be built, but making rails and rail spikes is relatively simple, doesn't compete with traditional trade guild work, and you could then order the rail carriages from the traditional guilds to keep them happy while you build up the manufacturing capacity that in the end undercuts them badly. So is it possible we might see a rail line on Chisholm? Or is there someplace else that would be better suited for a start? Heck the Imperial Chisholm and Charis Rail Company sounds pretty good to me. All aboard!
(Or it could just be the train nut in me that just really wants to see that first grasshopper Tom Thumb flying down the lines!)

Yes, almost everybody on this forum agrees there are going to be railroads. As you allude to, there were some fairly serious hints in LAMA regarding railroads. The only real question is how soon can the rails be produced and the track laid.

Henry Brown wrote:Yes, almost everybody on this forum agrees there are going to be railroads. As you allude to, there were some fairly serious hints in LAMA regarding railroads. The only real question is how soon can the rails be produced and the track laid.

Yep. In fact in one of those discussions with her advisors, Sharleyan alludes to the possibility of railroads-- although she doesn't use that exact terminology-- as providing a way for manufacture to be located in places not handy to rivers or canals.

The main holdup at the moment is a manpower shortage. That is to say that the EOC does not have enough skilled people to undergird its war effort and do all of the other things that need to be done. While they are still unable to manufacture guns in the quantity needed to arm the soldiers they are able to recruit, I suspect that rail will continue to take a back seat.

But it is all going to come. With Howsmyn starting his steel works in Chisholm, there will soon be an expanding core of skilled workers available and additional factories put into play that will solve the immediate problem and allow the Empire's vision of what can be done to expand.

Don

Larry wrote: So is it possible we might see a rail line on Chisholm? Or is there someplace else that would be better suited for a start? Heck the Imperial Chisholm and Charis Rail Company sounds pretty good to me. All aboard!

I'm sure Chisholm could use railroads, though they'd still have to negotiate with the landowning nobles for rights-of-way across their land for them, and that may end up with tolls being paid anyway. Granted, you'd have a different choice of routes, and that may be enough to cut out the die-hard no-goodniks. (And the threat of it may be enough to make the wishy-washy ones settle on tolerable terms.)

I imagine shorter lines may be useful for where rivers, Howell Bay, and the sea don't make for convenient routes in Charis. One in particular would be a route across the isthmus between Charis proper and Margaret's Land. The mountains there will make it quite an undertaking, but then, it'd be a lot worse for a canal. Railroads would really have a shot at knitting Corisande together and give it a robust political and economic identity - not one in competition with its sense of membership in the Empire, but rather as a single component instead of a nominally united bunch of duchies under a constrained crown.

n7axw wrote:Yep. In fact in one of those discussions with her advisors, Sharleyan alludes to the possibility of railroads-- although she doesn't use that exact terminology-- as providing a way for manufacture to be located in places not handy to rivers or canals.

The main holdup at the moment is a manpower shortage. That is to say that the EOC does not have enough skilled people to undergird its war effort and do all of the other things that need to be done. While they are still unable to manufacture guns in the quantity needed to arm the soldiers they are able to recruit, I suspect that rail will continue to take a back seat.

But it is all going to come. With Howsmyn starting his steel works in Chisholm, there will soon be an expanding core of skilled workers available and additional factories put into play that will solve the immediate problem and allow the Empire's vision of what can be done to expand.

Don

Actually I think that the process of laying track is going to move faster than expected once production of the rails begins. Safehold has an extensive canal network. We have also seen textev of a very good road network. And the construction of good canals and roads indicates good engineering and earthmoving knowledge. These skillsets should translate well to preparing grade in order to lay track.
*edited once

Another thing I wouldn't be surprised to see is the addition of track laid along both sides of a canal allowing barges to be pulled up stream by steam.
.

Henry Brown wrote:

n7axw wrote:Yep. In fact in one of those discussions with her advisors, Sharleyan alludes to the possibility of railroads-- although she doesn't use that exact terminology-- as providing a way for manufacture to be located in places not handy to rivers or canals.

The main holdup at the moment is a manpower shortage. That is to say that the EOC does not have enough skilled people to undergird its war effort and do all of the other things that need to be done. While they are still unable to manufacture guns in the quantity needed to arm the soldiers they are able to recruit, I suspect that rail will continue to take a back seat.

But it is all going to come. With Howsmyn starting his steel works in Chisholm, there will soon be an expanding core of skilled workers available and additional factories put into play that will solve the immediate problem and allow the Empire's vision of what can be done to expand.

Don

Actually I think that the process of laying track is going to move faster than expected once production of the rails begins. Safehold has an extensive canal network. We have also seen textev of a very good road network. And the construction of good canals and roads indicates good engineering and earthmoving knowledge. These skillsets should translate well to preparing grade in order to lay track.
*edited once

Most of the canals are on the mainland, the most developed areas being Siddarmark, Silkiah and the Temple Lands with Dohlar also in the mix. How much actual use of rail for development happens will depend heavily on the political situation that follows the war. But I would predict that whatever else happens, it is more or less a no brainer to say that Siddarmark will lead the way.

In the islands, Charis hasn't needed to develop canals and the mountainous terrain discouraging them anyway. Most of Charis' industry has been along the shore of Howell Bay which more or less serves as a canal. On Chisholm we are aware of that canal between Maiklenburg and Chereth. In the Empire, I suspect that Chisholm has the best chance to use rail to develop her industry, given the largely under developed state of her economy. Charis can use the rails to overcome her mountainous terrain and expand development to areas not previously practical. Corisande will develop, but I don't really have a good feel for how rail will impact that, given how much of her population seems to be near the coast. Nor do I really have a feel for how Tarot, Emerald and Zebediah will find their niche.

Don