Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

October 15th, 881 in the continental calendar was the last day of the contract deadline. It stated that the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company has to produce a certain number of air brakes and locomotive draft gears that will be retrofitted on the trains of the three railroad company giants in Avalonia.

And the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company did just that. In ten months, the company was able to produce 11,230 air brakes and 5,620 locomotive draft gear. All of it was delivered to the railroad company and the company hired a locomotive engineering firm that will help the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company retrofit the device on their trains.

With that, the company made its first sales.

Poul and Jonathan were cooped up in their office, reading a statistic of their sales for this year.

"So we made a total revenue of five hundred thousand and two hundred and sixty dollars. Deducting all the expenses, our total profit would be four hundred and seventy-two thousand dollars," Jonathan read the sales report in his hand. "I'd say this is not bad for a fledgling company. After all, we only retrofitted eleven hundred trains. The United States of Avalonia has over twenty-five thousand and is increasing dramatically as new railroad companies are emerging."

"Yeah, we haven't tapped all the markets yet so we can celebrate with this. Let's hope that our invention will work as advertised. Because if it did then it would attract more customers."

"It will work," Jonathan said as he set down the paper on his desk and continued. "Because you guaranteed it. Just have faith, and I'm sure this air brake company will take the world by surprise."

"I have faith in my creation, but you can't always be certain about everything. There is always a minute chance of everything going wrong," Poul said somberly.

Jonathan tilted his head to the side, this is the first time he had seen Poul like this. Usually, he is optimistic, backed with confidence and pride, yet now he looks at this time, there's a small glimmer of doubt as if he didn't fully believe his own words.

After an awkward moment of silence between them, Jonathan broke the ice. He spoke quietly, "Look at this," he handed out another written report. "This is the projected sale in the business plan I wrote. It's higher than I estimated, this is a good sign that our company is doing well. And wearing a long face doesn't suit you well Poul, to be honest. Come on, I thought you had faith in your creation?"

"I do have faith," Poul repeated. He gave Jonathan his trademark smile that is supposed to make anyone feel better immediately. "We are a fledgling company. If something goes wrong with our air brake when it assures the customer that it will make the roaring train stop in just a second and it fails, it will blow to our face and that's it to our company. That's what I'm worried about. Sometimes, you have to account for that slim chance of failure and there's nothing wrong with that."

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"Yeah, I understand your anxiety, given that this is our first business," Jonathan chuckled.

Poul brought his both hands up and slapped his face lightly. Gave him a playful shove, and rose to his feet. "Okay, I think I'm good now. I'll go work on the railway signaling system, and then tomorrow on the electric motors. I want to see if the boys are making progress."

"Okay, good luck with that. I'll handle all business affairs for a moment," Jonathan said as he glanced at the mountain of papers on the table. He slightly regretted his decision of volunteering to do the paperwork. "We could really use some secretary but why is it that it's hard to find here?"

"Now you are the one who is sulking," Poul laughed at his partner after seeing the dismayed look on his face. "Well, there's no turning back now. You handle all the paperwork while I stay with the engineers perfecting the design. Oh, if you think about it, we are saving money as we don't have a secretary that we have to pay."

"Yeah but the secretary gets the job done more efficiently. I'm not a clerical worker, I'm a civil engineer, I'm supposed to be in the field overseeing the construction of structures."

"Well, it's either that or we let those paperwork rot in the office. We don't have a choice and it's not like the papers can stamp themselves anyway. Look, I will go now."

"Yeah, see you at dinner," Jonathan waved his hand at Poul and then picked up the stack of paperwork that had piled up beside the typewriter.

***

Time passed like water through a sieve. The Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company has finished its first contracts with The Union Pacific Railroad Company, Ohio and Baltimore Railroad Company, and Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The invention of air brakes received recognition across the state, gaining traction as the performance of the new braking systems exceeded expectations.

Seeing the effectiveness of the product, the companies started laying off brakemen whose sole purpose was to manually apply brakes on each car of the trains. This would save them from accumulating and opt for an air brake where its maintenance is cheaper than paying one dollar and fifty to each brakeman.

As for the locomotive draft gear, the passengers of the trains gave positive remarks and comments about its function. The way it absorbed the pulling, pushing, and stopping forces of the car gave a comfortable and pleasant ride for customers. Not only that, fragile goods that are often damaged upon arriving at their destination were saved from unwanted forces thanks to the draft gear. With that, the railroad company decided to install more air brakes and locomotive draft gears, resulting in a large influx of orders and profit to the Axelsen & Nielsen Company, purchasing hundreds, if not thousands of their inventions as fast as they could produce them.

Not only the three giants of the railroad companies were interested in the product but the others were as well. Though they don't have the same amount of fleet compared to the giants, the fact that it was becoming popular and being well-received by the masses prompted them to get one for themselves.

It may cost eighty dollars for the two devices but it will be worth it in the long run. After all, it will ensure that their locomotives won't suffer major accidents such as derailments and brake failures.

In the month of July in the year 882, the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company's revenue tripled and the profit they made from it allowed the company to establish a new company, the Axelsen & Nielsen Union Switch & Signal Company. A subsidiary of the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company with the purpose of making railway signaling equipment, systems, and services.

It was first demonstrated with the help of The Union Pacific Railroad Company which first adopted their systems. Thanks to that, the drivers of the locomotive are now aware of the tracks they are running on.

It was a heyday for the young industrialist duo but not enough to make them a millionaire just yet, but the positive remarks from the customers, the company, and the public, sure made them popular.

However, not every railroad company joined the hype of the air brake or adopted the new signaling system of the industrialist duo.

Adam Wandervilt was one of them. He is the owner of the biggest railway system in the United States of Avalonia. He owned the Hudson River Railroad, the New York Central Railroad, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and the whole of the Canadian Railway, and is even planning to construct the railway interstate system that will connect every state with his railroad. One of the huge projects that he wanted to come into reality before he died. His company had a fleet of over 110,000 locomotives, an astonishing amount of locomotives at the time.

He is the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company's largest market but he just won't give in.

Wandervilt was reading the newspaper about the roaring success of the Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company.

"I didn't expect them to grow so much in this short amount of time," he said.

"Well, it offers safety, one that the transportation system lacked," his partner, Moses Corning said as he puffed on his tobacco.

"It's just a waste of money. It won't bring us profit if we install their air brakes and draft gear or adopt their signaling systems."

"But don't you think our customers' satisfaction is important?" Moses asked, subtly pressing him to adopt the new system.

"We gave them transportation, which we didn't have back in our time. People these days keep demanding more and more than their pockets can afford. Anyways, as long as I am living, there'll never be Axelsen and Nielsen air brakes in my company."

As they were having a conversation, one of the manservants entered the Wandervilt office and handed him a letter.

"What's this?" Wanderbilt asked as he unfold the letter. He perused the contents and after finishing it, his eyes widened in horror.

"What is it?" Moses asked as soon as he noticed how pale Wanderbilt has become. He leaned forward to have a look at himself. And when he read it, his eyes widened as well.