In the last four years, many workers had been better trained as new methods and rapid innovation of production techniques came out through the passage of time. This has led Kylia's industries to become more efficient, faster, and can churn out products of better quality.
However, this has now resulted in a shortage of raw materials as many of Kylia's resource industries such as mines and forestry are further inland, away from the Rosian and Roscof River's transportation network. This means that resources have to be delivered to the factories in wagons, limiting production.
With a railroad stretching between those two places, all of these transportation problems can be easily solved with the massive transportation capacity of a train.
The sun was just peeking over the autumn horizon, casting a golden glow on the not so small Kingdom of Kylia. At the industrial district on the banks of the Roscof River, Kylia was inspecting a newly built experimental steam engine that was created with Stalevi's team with help from Kylia.
The heavy wooden doors creaked open, and Kylia stepped into the hushed atmosphere of the engineering warehouse. Sunlight pierced through the cracks, illuminating an assortment of tools, blueprints, and the experimental steam engine.
"Good morning, my esteemed engineers!" her voice rang through the space, drawing the attention of Stalevi's men. They lowered their hats and straightened their posture, excited to show off their creation.
"Your Majesty," said Stalevi, all covered in soot and grime, "we have been eagerly anticipating your arrival! We believe the steam engine here is ready for your inspection."
Kylia approached what appeared to be a model of the R. Stephenson & Co – Star Class locomotive, known as the most reliable of the early locomotives in the 1840s. The Great Western Railway Star Class of 2-2-2 broad gauge steam locomotives were used for passenger train work however for Kylia's purposes they were modified to also do industrial work.
"So…does it have a name?" Kylia asked, while examining the intricate brass fittings, steel body and polished wood. Stalevi grinned, wiping his hands on his stained trousers. "We call her the 'Honey Badger.' She may look small but she is ferocious to handle." Kylia's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "How many tonnes can it pull?"
"190 tonnes," he replied, pride swelling in his chest. "We've engineered her to be both powerful and efficient, capable of traversing the steep grade between the mines and our factories…wanna try her out?"
Kylia's replies. "Of course! I didn't come out here just to talk!" Kylia quickly climbed aboard the Honey Badger. "Ready?" she called out, gripping the controls. Stalevi's men shouted in unison, "Aye!" as they climbed onto the Honey Badger's tender.
With a deep rumble, the engine roared to life, steam started to billow out of the chimney, creating white puffs as the engine rolled out of the warehouse. A wooden track of about 100 meters was just long enough to test the initial speed of the engine.
Crossing the halfway point a few minutes later at 10 kilometers per hour, Kylia then pulled a lever to apply the brakes.
The Honey Badger screeched to a halt, taking as long to decelerate as when to accelerate. "Impressive!" Kylia exclaimed, then questioned "how fast could it really go if the track was long enough?"
Stalevi answered, "20 kilometers without a load, however the Honey Badger will probably operate somewhere around 15 kilometers per hour."
Compared to some of the trains in the 1840s, with a speed of only 6kmph, this is already premium performance, unless if Kylia switches to a more advanced design, the Honey Badger will be the only type of locomotive the Kingdom of Kylia will be building for a while.
Stalevi continued, "we already started work on a proper steel rail line that will connect the industrial district with a resource station inland, estimation time of completion is around the end of next year. Then we will create a new line that will connect the industrial district with the residential and commercial districts. This line would take another year to complete, using the excess resources that will be processed after the old line was built, which will speed up construction speed by a fair amount. Sadly, because of the agricultural district being on the south side of the Rosa river, we will have to construct a bridge extending a gap of 2 miles and supporting an enormous weight, which is far beyond our capabilities."
The average width of the Rosa River is 2 miles wide, which is twice the average width of the Mississippi and is also twice as deep. Naturally, this makes the Rosa River a geographical barrier that the Kingdom of Kylia cannot bridge with the current technology, resources and time.
"Don't underestimate yourself", Kylia reassured, "If we had more steel and workers let alone crossing a river, we can cross an entire continent by rail. Imagine being able to travel to Sovi City in weeks instead of the years that it usually takes, or mobilize troops and supplies all over the Kingdom in weeks, that will be the future of rail."
Stalevi's eyes widened at Kylia's vision. "Sovi City? That's ambitious, Your Majesty. But how do we secure the resources for such a venture?"
"I have an ambition." Kylia started to explain. "In a decade, we will definitely go to war against the Rosian's. Hell, we may be the attackers instead of them in order to take the initiative of the eventual war. And if or when we win, the Coalition will definitely follow and attack with vigour. However, for the Coalition, their military strength was never that good and may even be accidently annexed by us. The Kingdom of Kylia would then expand 10 fold in both territory and population. With a population of a hundred thousand, it wouldn't be too hard to even create a transnational railroad."
Kylia really does think its possible, after all in the human world, the US employed around 10 to 20 thousand workers to construct the transcontinental railroad that crosses the mountainous west in a couple of years, so it really wouldn't be a stretch for Kylia to employ a couple thousand to create a transnational railroad that crosses the relatively flat Rosa Basin in a decade or so.
Of course this all matters if the Kingdom of Kylia can defeat its advisories in the war, yet even with a partial victory, the Kingdom of Kylia would gain enough land to truly stand among the Valor States and replace Rosa as the sole power of the Rosa Basin.