Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

At the construction site, Jonathan oversaw the construction of the extension of the factory. He has been keeping a watchful eye on the development as he had seen workers making erroneous decisions while working on it. As the one who designed the facilities in the company town, he knew more than anyone else how everything should be done.

And as he was watching the workers delivering concrete from one place to another, cranes lifting construction materials from the ground to the top, a man approached him from the side.

"Sir Axelsen, may I borrow some of your time?"

Jonathan recognized the voice, it was from Walter, their top engineer in the company. He glanced down at Walter, still couldn\'t get over his short height, and spoke.

"How can I help you?"

"I\'d like you to check my design, I believe we can offer the trains more than air brakes and draft gears."

"If it\'s about the trains, then better consult with Poul," Jonathan said, his tone somewhat melancholic. "He\'s the expert when it comes to locomotives and the parts."

"But Sir Nielsen is busy at the moment as he was checking Timothy\'s design. You see, we have drawn a device that you could add to the company. Please, a glance would do."

Jonathan sighed. "Fine," and took the blueprint from Walter.

Jonathan unfolded the blueprint and scanned the detailed schematics of the drawing.

"This is a piping diagram of the locomotive…so the steam travels from the boiler to the pipes that run along the carriage, and then transferred to air using radiators. Could it be that you are using steam as a form of heating for the train carriages?"

"You spot on that quick, Sir Axelsen," Walter smiled, genuinely impressed. "Well, I have been wondering to myself how we can provide heat to the carriage. During the winter season when the temperature decreases below thirty degrees Fahrenheit, it would be an uncomfortable experience for the passengers. Though there are some solutions provided such as burning wood or coal in the stove those who were seated near it find it uncomfortably hot while those who are seated afar from the stove face a cold ride."

"So you designed this heating system to provide equal heat to each car of the train, am I right?"

"That\'s right," Walter nodded in confirmation. "What do you think?"

"I think this is a great idea," Jonathan gave Walter a warm smile before handing back the paper. "Let\'s go ask Poul for his opinions, shall we?"

The two walked together as they headed back to building office B. Building office A is where the two industrialist duo worked and slept while building office B, which is located next to office building A, was where the engineers worked and slept.

The two arrived in office building A, believing that Poul was in this building. They entered the house and into the office room. There, instead of seeing Poul, they saw a girl, surrounded by a stack while reading a file in her hand.

It was Amelia.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw two gentlemen stepping inside the office. She recognized one of them, Jonathan Axelsen.

"Sir Axelsen, are you perhaps looking for Sir Nielsen?"

"Uhm…yeah, do you know where he went? I have something to discuss with him," Jonathan said.

"Ah, he was with Sir Timothy, I believe they are in the drawing room? I just heard it from Sir Nielsen."

"I see…oh by the way, I would like to introduce you to Walter Schneider, one of our engineers working here in the company," Jonathan introduced the man standing next to him.

Walter stepped forward and bowed his head. "Good day to you, Miss?"

"Amelia. Amelia Weiss," Amelia replied and returned the bow. The first thing she noticed about him is his height. He was short and had the face of a cute child. Though his deep voice betrayed the fact that he is actually older than his looks.

"I see that you have a lot of work to do, Miss Amelia," Jonathan said, glancing at the piles of documents. "We won\'t be taking your time, so we\'ll leave you be…"

"Take care," Amelia waved goodbye. The two men left her office, leaving her alone in the office again.

In the drawing room of office building B, Jonathan, and Walter saw Poul and Jonathan talking to one another.

"Oh, speaking of the devil," Poul said the moment he saw Jonathan stepping inside the drawing room with Walter.

"Poul, Walter just proposed a steam heating design, and I want to know the feasibility of it."

"I just heard that from Timothy, though I didn\'t know what it was until you mentioned it," Poul said. "Steam heating you say? Is it drawing steam from the boiler of the steam locomotive and transferring it through a network of pipes under the cars?"

"How did you know?" Walter asked, surprised when Poul guessed correctly about his designs.

"Logically speaking, that\'s the only way you can draw heat from the boilers, through a pipe," Poul replied and continued. "So Timothy came up with a suspension system and Walter a heating system. You two are really a gift to this company. Very well, I\'ll take both of your designs into consideration, and we will polish your design and build a prototype. If it\'s satisfactory, we can roll it out among others."

"Thank you, Sir Nielsen," Timothy and Walter intoned together.

"Oh lastly, Jonathan. I think I\'m going to need your help."

"About what?"

"You see, the company town is missing the spirit of Christmas. Why don\'t we decorate? There\'s still three days before Christmas."

"That\'s a good idea," Jonathan agreed to his proposal. "I will contact a company that grows pines and see if it can be delivered tomorrow."

"Well you better contact them now," Poul suggested. "After all, it\'s quarter past five."

"Right, I\'ll see you later," Jonathan said. "Walter, since you are the one who came up with the idea of steam heating, you should discuss more it with Poul. As you all may know, I\'m not the expert you should consult about those things."

Poul pressed his lips, his face frowning. Why is Jonathan saying that? What\'s making him have a low opinion of himself? He knew the reason, maybe after all the years they have been working together, Jonathan has never done something significant. He must be longing for something that would awaken his passion for working in his field. Just like him inventing air brakes, draft gears, and signaling equipment. He too wanted to create a thing that he could call his.

Poul pondered for an idea that could somehow do just that. And he came up with one.

But before he can tell him the details, Jonathan already left.

"I guess I\'ll tell him about it later," Poul muttered under his breath.