Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

55-57 Pearl Street, the two young industrialist duo arrived at the would-be the first street to have a power station in New York Manhattan.

Poul hefted the wooden crate out of the horse-drawn carriage with a grunt. It carried the electric motor which they'll demonstrate to Mister Russel later.

Jonathan scanned the building. The appearance is like every other building in New York only the difference of having a funnel on top of it where black smoke would be coming out from, and a sign that said: Russel Illuminating Company.

Poul stood next to Jonathan, taking in the sight of the building.

"So this is where electricity would be introduced to New York and to the world huh?" Poul commented.

"We should get inside," Jonathan suggested. "I'm sure Mister Russel and Morgan are waiting for us."

The young industrialist duo walked forward and entered the building. Inside, they were approached by a young man whom they have already met.

"Good day to you Sir Axelsen, Sir Nielsen. Welcome to the Russel Illuminating Company Pearl Street Station," the man welcomed.

"Sam Insull, was it?" Poul recognized his face and voice. "You are Russel's personal secretary. Nice to see you again."

"The box you are lifting must be heavy, why don't you let our guys carry it for you?" Sam offered.

Poul nodded to his offer. The wooden crate weighs about thirty kilograms, and though he is used to carrying such weight, moving it from one place to another is sure to hurt his arm and wrist.

Two workers of the company stepped forward and took the crate from his grip.

"Please follow me," Sam led the way upstairs with two workers trailing behind him. The two industrialist duo followed Sam up and a minute later, they arrived at an office.

Inside, he saw Mr. Morgan who was sitting on the armchair and reading a newspaper.

"You two are ten minutes early," Morgan folded the newspaper and set it on the armrest. He stood and extended his hand, offering them a handshake.

"Mister Morgan," Poul shook his hand.

"Mister Nielsen, Mister Axelsen, glad to see both of you in fine condition," Morgan shook Jonathan's hand.

"Where is Mister Russel?" Poul looked around and saw an empty chair behind the desk.

"He will be here soon. Why don't you two take a seat and have some coffee?" Morgan gestured to a couple of armchairs nearby. "Sam, could you please serve them some coffee."

"Of course, Mister Morgan," Sam acknowledged the order before exiting the room to carry out his duty.

After the young industrialist duo had seated themselves, Morgan asked them, "So, how is business?"

"Well Mister Morgan, business doing good as usual. We are filled with orders from major railroad companies and are working twenty-four hours to churn out air brakes, locomotive draft gear, and signaling equipment. Thanks to you, we have been busy a lot lately," Poul explained. Jonathan hummed in agreement.

Morgan smiled. "Oh well, you must understand that I have to make out the most of my investment in your company. The more profit that you earn, the more money that I will have."

Poul nodded. "Well without you, we wouldn't land a twenty-five million dollar contract from Mr. Wanderbilt. By the way, how is he doing?"

"He is not doing well," Morgan said and continued. "Despite announcing to the public that he will implement all of his locomotives with air brakes, he still faces an inevitable suit of indirect manslaughter. Company stocks are still dropping and the people are still wary of hopping on their trains."

"How was the investigation? What is the cause of the accident?" Jonathan inquired.

"The train was moving ten miles above the speed limit and as they were about to reach the curve, the brakes failed in spite of the efforts of the brakeman. It derailed,

"So speeding and brake malfunction?" Poul said, scoffing softly. "I think the driver is to blame here."

"Even if the trains speed a little, the brakeman can still slow it down. However, as I said, there was a brake malfunction. Have you two been in the stock market lately? This is the perfect opportunity for you to buy shares while the prices are still low."

Poul pondered for a moment, giving Morgan's suggestion a thought.

"Well, I think we will in the future."

"Why?" Jonathan demanded an explanation. "Wanderbilt's stocks are falling, aren't we going to lose money from it?"

"Well Jonathan, that drop is only temporary. Once everything is cleared, it'll rise up again as the confidence returns to the company. Wanderbilt's train company indeed had a tragic accident in the railway history of the United States, but you can't deny the fact of the importance of his company's rails in moving the economy forward."

"Wise words from Mister Nielsen," Morgan praised. "I see that you grasp the fundamentals."

"Mister Russel is sure it is taking too long," Jonathan noted.

"He'll arrive soon," Morgan assured them.

At that moment, the door opened revealing another young industrialist, this time, dressed in a gray business suit. He was tall and broad-shouldered. Dark blond hair framed his handsome face, contrasting his fair skin tone. His brown eyes shone under a dark pair of horn-rimmed glasses. And just like any gentleman in New York, he wears a black top hat.

The new arrival took off his shades to reveal a piercing gaze. He gave everyone a welcoming smile and extended his hand toward them. "You must be?"

"Poul Nielsen, founder of the Axelsen and Nielsen Air Brake Company and the Union Switch and Signal Company. The man standing next to me is Jonathan Axelsen, the co-founder of the company."

"Good day to you, Sir Russel," Jonathan greeted Russel with a handshake.

After shaking their hands, Russel moved to Morgan.

"Mister Morgan, I appreciate you coming here," Russel said as he shook Morgan's hand. "Let us take a seat. I'm sure you have been waiting for me for so long so why don't we get started?"

Russel took his seat behind the desk, and the others did the same.

"So, Mister Nielsen and Axelsen. Mister Morgan here said to me that you have something to show me?"

"Yes, Mister Russel. With your permission, I would love to show you one of our inventions that can make electricity even more important to the industry than bringing light."

"My electricity not only brings light but heat, Mister Nielsen," Russel corrected.

"Ah…you have a cogeneration power plant here? You use the byproduct of the steam engine and transport it via a series of connecting pipes, providing the block with a steam heating system. An ingenious idea."

"You know your stuff huh?" Russel complimented.

As they were having a pleasant discussion, the door swung open and one gentleman entered with a tray of coffee.

"Sorry if I took too long making you coffee," Sam said apologetically as he handed them a coffee in a saucer.

"No problem. Sir Insull. Can you get the wooden crate inside? It contains something that we'd want to show Mister Russel," Poul said.

Insull flicked his hand and the two men promptly brought the wooden crate inside the office.

"Where would you like us to place it?" one of the men carrying the wooden crate asked.

"Mister Russel, can we place it on your desk?"

"Fine," Russel accepted and the men placed it on the desk.

They pried it open using a crowbar, causing the sides to fall, revealing a cylinder-shaped metal cage.

"What is this?" Russel examined the metal cylinder in front of him.

"That is a brushed direct current electric motor, Mister Russel. That is going to be the driving force of the industry henceforth," Poul introduced. "Do you have a battery here that we can use to hook them up?"

Russel looked at Insull meaningfully. Insull nodded.

Five minutes later, Insull returned with a battery.

As Poul was setting up the electric motor and the battery, Russel spoke to Jonathan.

"We are also working on an electric motor. How did the two of them learn the knowledge to build one?"

"Well, we have been studying the forces of electricity, Mister Russel. Our inspiration comes from the steam engine. If we can harness the power of steam, is it possible to harness the power of electricity to do work? From that principle, my partner here who has knowledge of electricity built a working prototype."

"He is speaking the truth, Mister Russel," Morgan chimed in. "I have seen one myself in their factories."

"Really?" Russel arched his brow. Two minutes later, Poul was finished.

"Now, with a flip of the switch, we are going to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy," after saying that, Poul flipped the switch.

The motor came to life, whirring and humming intimidatingly and the table started vibrating.

"This is kind of scaring me," Russel chuckled nervously. "Is this going to blow up?"

"Direct current has a high initial torque. By the way, the power of this electric motor is one horsepower. One horsepower is equivalent to five hundred fifty pounds per second or thirty-three thousand pounds per minute," Poul explained and continued. "You see the rotating shaft at the end? That is where we are going to connect the things we would want to move."

"Only one horsepower?" Russel asked.

"We can also build an electric motor with fifty horsepower. You can imagine the applications right in your head?"

"I do."

"It seems like we beat you to it, Russel," Poul said.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you are building a working electric motor. But we already made one and are already applying it to our factory."

"I see, and let me guess, you are going to give me the schematics?"

Poul flipped the switch off, causing the motor to stop running. Its noise is making for the people to understand one another.

"Unfortunately we can't show you the full schematics of it yet. We haven't patented it but we will in the coming weeks."

"So why did you show it to me?"

"I'd want to license you the technology, Mr. Russel. We will give you the technical know-how on how to mass produce and maintain them."

"And what do you get in return?" Russel asked.

"For every horsepower of direct current motors sold, you are going to pay us two dollars and fifty cents. For example, if you sell an electric motor with ten horsepower, you will pay us twenty-five dollars."

"How much does one electric motor usually cost?" Russel asked again.

"About sixty to eighty dollars. And to make one of them, you only need ten dollars. Naturally, the higher the power of the motor, the higher the price. So what do you say? Not only can you provide your customers with heat and electricity, but you can also give them the productivity, convenience, and comfort that the customers are after. You see, steam engines are expensive but electricity is cheaper. You'd see what they'd prefer if they discovered the electric motor right?" Poul smiled.

"I will help you market it," Morgan interjected.

"So, what's it going to be, Mister Russel? Are you in or out?" Poul asked.

"This electric motor of yours can power tools and appliances right?"

"Yes they do," Poul guaranteed.

"Then let us proceed to the contract," Russel decided.