Empire Rising: Spain

Compared with ordinary locomotives, electric locomotives have many advantages, the most important of which are low pollution and low noise.

After all, it’s urban rail transit, and pollution and noise should be avoided as much as possible. This is also why rail transit in various countries would rather use horses as power than locomotives.

As early as last year, Germany’s Siemens Company had corresponding electric tram rail technology. But at that time, the electric power shown by Siemens was too poor, with an average speed of only 13 km per hour and could only hold a few people, obviously not suitable for commercial use.

In the technology exchange between Germany and Spain, Spain obtained this immature rail transit technology. After improvements by Tesla and the Electricity Laboratory, the current tram power has been significantly enhanced, and the average speed has also increased to about 20 to 25 km.

Trams are still very important for the development of the city, playing a role no less than buses and subways in later generations.

Of course, the capacity of trams is definitely not as good as that of subways, with a passenger capacity similar to that of a bus.

On March 27, 1880, Carlo saw Spain’s first tram at the Electricity Laboratory and personally experienced this improved tram.

Besides the significant increase in speed, the size of the tram’s front was also much smaller. Currently, from the outside, trams still look a lot like trains.

A speed of 20 to 25 km per hour is already entirely sufficient for trams, as they run on urban street tracks, and too much speed wouldn’t be appropriate.

The tram tracks are laid on the roads, and before the trams arrive, the people on the roads need to clear the tracks for the trams to pass. After the tram passes, the tracks can be used by people just like the roads.

The first impression the tram gave Carlo was its high speed, which could effectively improve the mobility efficiency of urban populations in Spain.

Once it was confirmed that such trams could already be marketed, Carlo didn’t hesitate and immediately decided to build trams in Spanish cities with populations over 100,000, so that all Spaniards could enjoy such a convenient mode of transport.

Of course, if all of this was to be built by the Spanish Government alone, it would undoubtedly be a significant expenditure.

Trams aren’t considered to be overly important transport tools, so Carlo naturally allowed domestic and international capital to participate in this project, for everyone to share the benefits.

As long as trams are popular, the revenue from them will return to the investing capitalists, who will profit, the public will enjoy convenient transport, and the Spanish Government will accelerate urban population movement and economic growth—it’s simply a win-win-win deal.

For Spain, which has already captured Europe’s attention with Madrid’s Nocturnal City, attracting foreign capital investment in trams has become a straightforward task.

On March 29, 1880, the Spanish Government announced that a tram exhibition would be held in Madrid on April 16, presenting another major breakthrough in Spain’s electricity sector to domestic and international media.

The reason for such fanfare, besides wanting to attract foreign capital to promote Spain’s tram development, is that Carlo also wants to take advantage of the fact that other countries’ tram technologies aren’t as mature as Spain’s to glean some benefits from them.

Although Siemens Company’s tram technology is indeed immature at present, historically, trams suitable for commercial use were only built in 1881.

This also means that if Spain doesn’t act quickly, other countries’ trams will catch up rapidly, leaving no room for profit.

But through this tram exhibition, more countries can be attracted to pay attention to Spain’s electricity technology. As long as they are interested in tram technology, Spain has various methods to exchange technology or acquire funds from them.

Acquiring technology and funds from other countries to develop Spain’s technology is undoubtedly beneficial, and Carlo certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

Sure enough, due to the brilliance of Madrid’s Nocturnal City, European media are highly attentive to Spain’s planned exhibition.

There are more than half a month from the announcement of the exhibition to its holding date, which is sufficient time for media from neighboring countries to come to Spain to see this so-called exhibition.

The only media that may not make it are those from Russia in Eastern Europe, but Russia’s economy is already the weakest among the Five Great European Powers, and Russian capital’s attention isn’t very crucial for Spain.

Previously, Madrid’s Nocturnal City didn’t really attract Russian media’s attention, let alone the current tram exhibition.

Spain only needs to attract the attention of capital from the UK, France, Germany, and Austria to bring in enough funds to build its rail transit.

Time flew by, and soon it was April 16, the day of the exhibition.

The attracted attendees weren’t just domestic and international media, but also numerous interested people, most of whom were local residents of Madrid, and many came from surrounding areas in Spain.

Of course, there were quite a few interested Portuguese as well. After the railway connection between the two countries, population movement has become slightly more frequent.

Although a considerable portion were Portuguese curious about Spain, many genuinely wished to immigrate to Spain.

As Portugal doesn’t place heavy emphasis on population size and considering Spain’s inherently strong power, the Portuguese Government couldn’t dare to complain at all.

The exhibition showcases not only the latest trams but also Spain’s high-power generators, electric motors, and samples of various power levels of light bulbs.

To ensure the exhibition proceeds smoothly, a circular track about one kilometer long was built on-site, with the purpose of testing the tram’s speed and stability.

Under the watchful eyes of the numerous public and media, the tram maintained a speed of approximately 22 km per hour, running steadily without any issues, which drew admiration from foreign media and excitement from the Spanish public.

Besides trams attracting plenty of attention, the high-power generators and motors, which weren’t disclosed previously, also captured significant media interest.

They snapped photographs and recorded these emerging electric devices and products, with some newspaper companies already planning their latest editions to gain the edge and secure headlines.

Spain has patented technology for carbon filament light bulbs, and besides these, patents for some metal filament bulbs that have longer illumination times have also been applied for by Spain.

Although patent technologies of this era don’t have much protection, as long as it can be proven that Spain is the inventor of the relevant light bulb technology, it will suffice.

Most countries won’t abide by these patent rules; for instance, in the United States, due to the Atlantic Ocean separating them from Europe, many U.S. companies are copying European patents without fearing foreign companies located thousands of miles away.

Even if European companies discover patent infringements, they have no means of redress. If they were to contest a cross-national patent infringement case, it would not only require a lot of time but could also end in defeat.

One shouldn’t underestimate the power of American capital. Especially those capitalists with significant influence; suing them is extremely challenging, and even if one wins, the prolonged process would lead to company losses.

After Madrid’s Nocturnal City, Spain once again became a country under the spotlight, with Madrid frequently hitting the front pages of newspapers in various countries.

Spain’s newspapers, meanwhile, enthusiastically touted Spain as a powerhouse in the electricity sector, with some small tabloid companies even unabashedly claiming that Spain is poised to lead an electrical age and create a glorious history far greater than during the Sun Never Sets Empire era.

Carlo didn’t stop these newspapers from praising the country. Properly fostering national pride is indeed necessary, and Spaniards would feel more passionate about serving their country.

Of course, there’s no need for excessive praise. If Spaniards discover that such praises are in the end just empty talk, they will not only be disappointed in Spain’s future but also in the Government and the Royal Family.

To avoid such a situation, Carlo specifically instructed the public relations department to closely monitor the news coverage by domestic newspapers to prevent any occurrences of overly exaggerated flattery.

Praising one’s country is acceptable, but when it comes to boundless flattery, it’s unnecessary. Carlo believes that Spain can remain at the forefront of electricity globally, but to claim a comprehensive lead over other countries and to create even greater history seems rather far-fetched.