The history of railways in China is not long, and it is only 100 years since the first herringbone railway in Zhan Tianyou. After the construction of railways in Zhan Tianyou, railways extending in all directions were gradually established. However, with the development of economy, all the tracks used in the Qing Dynasty were replaced, but there is still a railway that is still in use and has not rusted so far.
Speaking of railroad tracks, it is definitely inseparable from steel. The earliest government-run iron and steel enterprise in Qing Dynasty was Hanyang Iron Works. 1890, Governor Zhang Zhidong of Huguang invested in the construction of a steel plant in Guishan, Hubei. The whole plant includes pig iron plant, Bessemer steel plant, Ximenshi steel plant, rail plant, ironware plant and wrought iron plant, and has four small plants under its jurisdiction.
At first, Zhang Zhidong invested 2.46 million taels, which was completed in three years and cost 5 million taels. Due to poor planning, equipment and raw materials could not be put into use in time, so Zhang Zhidong borrowed money from Germany and bought the best smelting equipment Martin furnace from Germany.
In order to solve the problem of raw materials, you signed a contract with Japan again? Contracts for mutual sales of coal, coke and iron ore? By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Hanyang Iron Works could produce about 80,000 tons of pig iron, nearly 40,000 tons of steel and more than 20,000 tons of rails every year, but with War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, most of Hanyang Iron Works were demolished.
Until 20 15, the staff who inspected the railway tracks near Jialing River Bridge accidentally found some words engraved on a section of railway tracks. 1902 hanyang iron works? 、? M.C.- 1906-A.T？ 、? COCKERLL- 1908-AT？ And so on, although the staff didn't know some of the meanings, the engraving on the rails was not a trivial matter, so they reported it.
Later, after identification by the cultural relics department, these rails really belonged to Hanyang Iron Works. If it is worth millions in the circulation market, it is a cultural relic. This railway track is located in baoji-chengdu railway. Baoji-chengdu railway starts from Baoji City, Shaanxi Province in the north and crosses the Qinling Mountains to Chengdu City, Sichuan Province in the south, with a total length of 669 kilometers. Baoji-chengdu railway began to explore from 19 13.
However, construction did not start until 1952. At that time, China had just been established, and there were not many steel mills and limited equipment, so the rails made in Hanyang were not only Hanyang rails, but also some machines and factories left over from the Qing Dynasty.
Baoji-chengdu railway 1958 officially opened to traffic. It is not only the traffic artery connecting the northwest and southwest regions, but also the first electrified railway in China and the first arduous railway in New China. Its appearance has completely changed? Difficult road, difficult day? 20 18, baoji-chengdu railway was selected into the industrial heritage list.