Chapter 1184: A Genius Questioning His Life
The next day at noon, Joseph and the Marquis de Lessart discussed the expansion plans for the Brest Naval University.
This was an institution dedicated to teaching ship design, construction, and nautical astronomy, rather than a military academy.
Currently, France's largest maritime university only admitted 130 students a year, spread across fifteen different majors.
Joseph intended to double the school's capacity. As ships began to adopt steam power, the demand for specialized technicians was growing daily, and the training of talent had to keep pace.
"We could hire some senior technicians from the United Steam Engine Company to serve as professors..."
As Joseph spoke, Eman approached with a brisk pace and bowed. "Your Highness, Mr. Trevithick has arrived at the shipyard. He brought two steam engines with him."
Joseph nodded. "Please have him wait for me in the main design room."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Half an hour later, Joseph returned to the design building. Trevithick and three assistants immediately hurried forward to greet him with a bow.
Trevithick kept pace as they walked. "There was a torrential downpour in Saint-Malo. I was worried the steam engines would take on water, so I waited there for three days."
He pointed toward four carriages parked in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by a dozen guards. "Fortunately, they have been delivered safely."
"When can they be installed for testing?"
"It will only take half a day, Your Highness."
"Very good." Joseph entered an office on the second floor and signaled for Trevithick to take a seat. Once Eman had closed the door, he continued, "Your primary mission this time is to design a train—a steam locomotive that runs on tracks.
"I recall that six years ago, perhaps even earlier, you designed a steam carriage. If we were to improve upon that foundation using the latest 98-horsepower steam engine, do you think..."
"Please, wait a moment." Trevithick suddenly leaned down and pulled a stack of blueprints from his leather case, spreading them out before Joseph. "In truth, I’ve spent my spare time over the last two years redesigning one. However, I didn’t expect the power of steam engines to increase so rapidly, so its output is only 75 horsepower."
Joseph gave him a surprised look before turning his attention to the table full of drawings.
To be honest, it was a very strange-looking train. It looked as though four wheels had been stuck directly onto a horizontal boiler, with two smaller steering wheels at the very front.
The drive shaft extending from the cylinder was connected to a complex series of gears that transferred power to the rear wheels. On the other side of the cylinder sat a massive energy-storing flywheel.
The driver's position was right behind the boiler. He would operate the train via several control rods; Trevithick hadn't even designed a seat for him. Furthermore, he would be responsible for shoveling coal into the furnace.
Simultaneously, because the boiler was so tall and bulky, the driver couldn't see anything directly in front of the engine. Trevithick had been forced to designate a position for a lookout at the front.
If something unusual appeared ahead, the lookout would shout to alert the driver to take action.
Fortunately, Joseph was mentally prepared. He gave Trevithick a small, encouraging nod. "Your design is quite impressive."
There wasn't a hint of mockery in his voice. Trevithick didn't have the benefit of a "cheat system"; he had figured everything out through sheer trial and error. To reach this level was the mark of a genius among geniuses.
"However, I believe there are a few areas that could be improved." Joseph first pointed to the wheels.
The wheels on the blueprints had a groove cut into the metal surface, clearly intended to let the iron rails sit inside the groove to prevent derailment.
"For instance, here. If you simply add a raised flange to the inner edge of the wheel, you can ensure it stays on the track. This would significantly reduce the friction between the wheel and the rail."
Trevithick pondered this for two minutes before nodding in genuine admiration. "Indeed. Your Highness, how did you come up with such an ingenious design? That surely qualifies for a patent."
'Because I'm copying it from the future,' Joseph thought, but he simply waved it off. "You can include it as a component of the train when you apply for the patent later.
"Oh, and another thing. It would be best to design the contact surface between the wheel and the rail as a conical surface, thicker on the inside and thinner on the outside. This way, when turning, the outer wheel's rolling radius increases while the inner radius decreases, creating a natural differential for the turn."
Trevithick's eyes were practically bulging. He whipped out a notebook and began scribbling furiously.
Joseph had experienced this many times before and was used to it. Once the engineer finished writing, he continued, "Mounting the wheels directly onto the boiler will cause the boiler to deform or even crack under the stress. It would be better to design a flat frame beneath the boiler to bear the weight, and then connect the wheels to that frame.
"This would also allow the cab to be enlarged...
"The cab is the place for the driver. If you're worried about his line of sight, you can have the cab protrude toward the right side so the driver can lean out and see what's ahead...
"That would eliminate the need for the lookout at the front.
"Instead, the lookout should be moved into the cab to handle the coal. That will be a very grueling job."
He gave the designer a moment to digest the information before pointing to the boiler on the plans. "And most importantly, you could flip the boiler over. With the cylinders facing downward, you can drive the wheels directly through the pistons, eliminating a huge number of transmission gears. Of course, this would require some modifications to the steam engine, like moving the chimney to the bottom...
"Wait, yes, after you flip it, the chimney would face upward..."
By seven in the evening, when Trevithick walked out of the office clutching two notebooks filled with dense notes, he had begun to question his very existence.
The steam locomotive he had painstakingly designed and refined over two years felt like a toddler's random scribbles in the eyes of the Crown Prince—riddled with flaws and inadequacies.
He was certain that if he implemented the improvements the Crown Prince suggested, the performance of this steam locomotive—or "train," as the Prince called it—would increase by at least forty percent. As for its stability and durability, there was no telling how many times over they would be improved.
He looked at the notebook in his hand again and sighed, shaking his head. "Is this even my design anymore?"
Starting the next day, Trevithick spent his mornings instructing the shipyard technicians on the structure and performance of the LJ98 steam engine. From noon onward, he received guidance from the Crown Prince on the train's design.
In the evenings, he and his assistants would redraw the blueprints based on the Crown Prince's suggestions to prepare for further modifications the next day.
In truth, Joseph didn't actually understand the inner workings of trains; he was simply describing the general appearance of the old-fashioned locomotives he remembered from the future.
After a week of this frantic pace, Joseph looked at the wooden model Trevithick had constructed and finally nodded with a smile.
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