Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

Year 881 in the continental calendar, the month was August, and the date is the sixteenth. Mister Morgan, a financier that invested in the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company, decided to visit the site of their factory in Pittsburgh with his daughter, Fiona.

Morgan doesn't know why she insisted on coming with him the moment he announced to his family that he'll be meeting with Poul and Jonathan. Could it be?

He has been troubled by the idea that his daughter got infatuated with Poul Nielsen. It must have been due to Poul saving her life at the time of the train accident. Though he is grateful for Poul saving her, the idea of her daughter liking an Albian would be bad for his reputation. If his fellow financier and friends were to know about it, it would be definitely embarrassing. So he can't let it happen.

Yet despite all that, Morgan still agreed to let her go along with him. Fiona said she wanted to express her gratitude personally to Poul. After it, is done, he won't let his daughter get near Poul Nielsen again.

Looking out of the window, Morgan can see smoke billowing out from the funnels atop the factories. There were four-story buildings here and there, and people walking lively on the streets on their way to the factory or somewhere else.

He can't hide the surprise on his face, as he had an initial impression of what their site is going to look like. A disorganized mess. Most of the time, factory owners wouldn't even give much effort to urban planning. They were haphazardly built in a pretty utilitarian design. A design that has no emphasis, is simply built because it needs to be built.

But this factory is different, giving him a vibe of a harmonious and united community where everyone works together to achieve a certain goal.

The carriage arrived at the main entrance of the factory. A man dressed in a police uniform approached their carriage and knocked on the window.

Morgan opened the door and the man spoke.

"Welcome to the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company headquarters, how can we help you?"

"I have an appointment with the company owners. The name is John Morgan." Morgan said without batting an eye at the guard.

"Ah…Mr. Morgan! I was informed about your visitation on this day and have been expecting you since morning. Very well, you may now proceed," the guard said pleasingly as he signaled his fellow guard to open the gate and let the carriage enter.

The coachman of John Morgan's carriage released the brake on the wheels and spurred the horse, prompting it to move forward. There was excitement in Fiona's eyes like she was going to receive a gift on her birthday.

After two minutes, the carriage stopped in front of a two-story house. Morgan glanced at it for a second and immediately inferred that it was the main office.

The coachman jumped off his seat and opened the door of the carriage, allowing Fiona and Morgan to step out of the carriage.

The door of the house opened and a man walked out of it. Morgan recognized the man immediately, it was Jonathan Axelsen, the co-founder of the company.

"Mister Morgan, it is a pleasure to meet you again," Jonathan smiled pleasingly as he said that, and extended his hand forward, offering a handshake.

"It's been a while, Jonathan," Morgan grabbed Jonathan's hand and shook it. "I'm sure you have already met my daughter, Fiona. She wanted me to bring her along here to express her gratitude to Poul."

"Hello Mr. Jonathan, my name is Fiona Morgan, it's nice to meet you," Fiona introduced herself politely with a curtsy.

"Nice to meet you too," Jonathan laughed softly as he found her introduction adorable. "You said you wanted to see Poul right? He's at the next building busy working with the engineers…"

"Is that so…" Fiona looked down at the ground somberly. Her cheerful expression that she has worn since has turned melancholic.

Jonathan felt bad seeing her look like that, so he quickly tried to change the atmosphere with his words. "He might not be able to meet us now, but if you told him that you have arrived, I'm sure Poul would immediately stop what he was working on and come outside to greet you."

Her melancholic expression brightened up instantly after hearing what Jonathan said.

"Really?! Thanks, Mister Jonathan!" Fiona exclaimed with joy.

"You're welcome," Jonathan smiled pleasantly. Then he motioned toward the building next to the house where Poul was working.

"Please follow me inside this office where Poul and the engineers are working. He is expecting your arrival, Mister Morgan, so I'm sure he'll come out the moment I mention your name."

"That would be great, thank you, Jonathan," Morgan said and continued. "I have a lot of questions that need answering, especially when there's only one month left before the deadline."

Jonathan's lips curled into a smile.

***

Inside the office, Jonathan knocked his hand on the door where Poul is working.

"Who is it?"

Morgan heard Poul's voice coming from inside.

"It's Jonathan, Morgan and his daughter are here to meet you. Come on out and greet them."

"Wait?! Really! Give me a second," there was a mix of sounds going on inside the workshop.

Moments later, they could hear the sound of footsteps approaching the door. It opened, revealing Poul.

"I apologize, I had to fix myself up a bit to appear presentable in front of you," Poul chuckled nervously and glanced behind Jonathan. There, he saw Morgan and Fiona staring at him.

"Mister John Morgan…and Miss Fiona. I didn't expect you to arrive for another hour. Regardless, I'm glad that you arrived here safely," Poul stepped out of the door and closed it behind him.

Fiona stepped forward nervously, her fingers fidgeting. "Uhm…Mr. Nielsen? We already met before…uhm…ehh…I believe I have never thanked you formally for saving my life and allowing me to live every passing day. So…I'm going to do it now...Thank you!"

She ended her words bashfully. Poul couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you. Your words have made my day."

"Ehem," Morgan coughed. "Now that it was settled, I'm sure you two know why I am here."

"Of course, Mr. Morgan. I have read the letters you sent beforehand. You were asking about an update right?"

"Should we discuss this in your office?" Morgan asked.

"No, I think there's something you need to see before that," Poul said. "If you would please come with me to the factory I can show you what we have done for the last eleven months. Jonathan, while I'm away, please watch over Fiona."

"I can't come with you?" Fiona asked, surprised.

Poul shook his head. "I'm sorry Fiona, I can't allow you to come inside the factory. There are a lot of men and pieces of machinery working inside and you might get yourself caught in an accident. So you should stay here with Jonathan and wait for me."

Fiona let out a depressed sigh and then nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

***

Inside the factory, Morgan couldn't help but gasp as he looked around the factory. There were beams of metal in the ceiling where cranes moved back and forth, carrying materials and parts. A long belt that runs from the steel mill to the factory delivered items at a constant speed. On one side, workers can be seen pouring a hot liquid into molds on the floor, processing it in casting machinery before putting it on the conveyor belt.

It was as if they were working as one unit, like a soldier, given a task.

"What you are seeing right now is only exclusive to our company. The electricity that James Russel provided using his dynamo allowed me to harness its power and turn it into a motion similar to how steam generates motion. But it's smaller, compact, and cheap. The thing that is delivering the items, I call it conveyor belt. It runs on a direct current electric motor."

"Electric motor?" Morgan tilted his head to the side, confused.

"A device that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy. Similar to how generators work but in the opposite way. This electric motor has ramped up the production of air brakes and locomotive draft gears. Nine months ago, we could only make forty air brakes and 20 locomotive draft gears, but now it's tripled. We already met the required amount of air brakes and draft gear and we are delivering it to them now as we speak. Now we focus on meeting future demands because I'm sure, railway accidents are still a thing, and it's only a matter of time before the government steps in and does something about it. Like mandating it for example."

"I like what I'm hearing. So what's this about you planning on starting a new venture? The railway signaling and interlocking systems?"

"Yeah, the profit that we will be making from the air brakes and draft gear will be used as funds to initiate the start-up."

"Another safety system product I assume," Morgan sighed.

"Yeah, train accidents are not only caused by brake failures but also due to the country's lack of signaling infrastructures."

"Why not focus on the electric motors? I'm sure that will be more profitable than the signaling system you come up with."

"Yeah but I haven't designed a way to mass-produce them yet. I'll notify you once it's finished," Poul said.

"Good, I guess this trip has been worth it."