An Empire's folly: The Transsaharian railway is built in the 1880's

[Tanc49]

Personally, I do like the idea of a raised railway line being built across the Sahara, just because I love a good MegaEngineering project.

But it isn't going to work without substantial stations along the route - where the Tuaregs are going to be able to benefit from it.

Perhaps working with the Tuaregs to perform some sort of resource survey so that they can scout out good points for mines or quarries (or whatever else could be exploited) and setting these up as actual settlements where Tuaregs could get involved in the business, as well as transport - and which alongside encouragement and other deals - would create a local incentive to protect the railway.

"You mean that iron horse can move rocks that you'll pay me WHAT?! for? Fantastic, hurrah!"

"Wait, you have machines that I can dig how many emeralds out of the ground with?"

"Hmm, I like this opium, its very nice"

Obviously quarries will ONLY work if there are trains, but other resources that the Tuaregs could transport initially could create some incentive to protect new train lines. Admittedly, those doing the transport will need to be brought into the train services otherwise there is a conflict there.

The problems is that touaregs were traders, mostly interested in transporting stuff (including slaves) from one point to another with no mining industry or anything. That said I do like the idea of opium. Worked for the chinese, might work for the touaregs. Very devious though

Quite the opposite, it is said that the camels are the ones that scare horses. Note that even that may be a myth with no basis in reality (other than some horses possibly being scared by unknown animals bigger than them the first time they encounter them).

Sadly it is a long time since I last staged gladatorial combats with animals fighting each other so I don't really remember. I'm just quoting the report here, I assume they know what they're talking about but feel free to counter-source me, any knowledge is welcome

I'd like to expand on my initial post by saying that it really wouldn't have been that cost effective without something in the interior to take advantage of.

It could help in constructing earlier oil field pipelines, but I'm not even sure that this railway would be faster than shipping by boat after transporting goods to the coast.

Well there is a ton of mineral there, even if most of it is discovered later. Coast is not always an alternative cause you got to build the infrastructure to bring the goods to the coast. So no matter what, you end up building a railway, might as well build one that ends up on your side of the continent.

Plus the idea was to make it easier to colonise, and I think here we touch the most interesting possibilities. You could use the fertile lands to do agriculture, use the railway to transport water and create oasis and bore wells more easily, basically a variation of "turn the Sahara into a garden" sort of things. So the fruits would not come quite away but it was a long term project to transform inner West Africa in something actually profitable in term of tax revenues and production

 

[Alternate History]

Sadly it is a long time since I last staged gladatorial combats with animals fighting each other so I don't really remember. I'm just quoting the report here, I assume they know what they're talking about but feel free to counter-source me, any knowledge is welcome

Maybe it's the same thing: the two animals are scared of each other because they're not used to each other. The ones who made the report mistook that behavior for inherent fear. Xenophon, for his part, noticed the reverse - horses being scared of camels. That's actually the more commonly known myth and the one that inspired Camelry in the Age of Empires/Mythology series to be a counter-cavalry unit.

 

[Tanc49]

Would make sense then, French units with decades of experience in Algerian pacification would be used to camels

 

[galileo-034]

The OTL idea, if I remember, the estimated duration of the works was 4 years which the relative absence of needed artworks (excepted in the Atlas mountains) allowed.

As I found on this website (http://alger-roi.fr/Alger/transports/bouchet/pages/8_transsaharien_bouchet.htm), there is a possible POD :

In 1874, an explorer, great specialist of Algerian Great South, Soleillet, officially puts forward the question of a railroad through Sahara to link Algeria and French sudan.
[...]
In 1879, Maître-Devalon [engineer] travels to Algeria, goes as far as Laghouat or barely more to south. He brings back from this limited journey at one of the desert's doors a voluminous report in which it appears the construction is both desirable and possible. He succeeds in convincing the Public Works Minister, Freycinet, who prepares and publish that same year a plan for the development of metropolitan and Algerian railroad webs which bears his name. In December 1879, Freycinet gets from the Parliamant the vote of funds required to send into Sahara 4 expeditions to explore 5 envisaged itineraries. Freycinet also creates a ''High Commission of the Transsaharan'' which will be entrusted with studying reports.
[...]
The mission entrusted to Flatters is to explore the eastern itinerary through the Igharghar valley. If History did retain his name better than his colleagues', it's because of the tragic ending of his second journey. The first time, he left Ouargla on 5 March 1880 with 39 men. He was to meet the Amenokal (leader) of Ahaggar Tuaregs. He waited five days; then, fearing to lack provisions, and feeling maybe threatened, he left. It seems that the Aménokal had arrived the day after the departure of Flatters, and that he was very upsetted. Flatters arrived in Ouargla on 17 May and left again on 4 December with a stronger escort : 93 men [...] . Flatters ignored that the Azdjer and Ahaggar Tuaregs, allied against him, had come with 600 men.
[...]
This disaster caused a twenty years pause. The High Commission was dissolved in 1884.

 

[Tanc49]

Wow, I didn't know the reason it had been attacked was so trivial.

Flatters waits one day, now that's a great PoD, not too big and with massive consequences! If he can strike a deal with the tuaregs not to be attacked, it means two things.

• The Transsaharian can be built faster.
• The French do not overestimate tuaregs strength and will attack the region if needed instead of emboldening them

So you'd have a completely pacified South by the 1890's

 

[galileo-034]

To give just an idea of why it was thought it would be easy to build a railroad:
that photo is Tanezrouft, a flat but arid land where should have been built the Transsaharan, and you can guess that there is no need of major artworks, that there can be long straight lines of railroad laid almost on the very ground.

And there the proposals of plan.

 

[Tanc49]

Bumpity bump bump.

Anybody has any idea about the impact it might have, in term of budget drain, cultural integration, tactical advantage, etc...?

 

[GdwnsnHo]

Well, if successful, you've eliminated the need for ships to transport troops in the French colonies.

Plus any resource extraction is not only easier, but will allow the French to industrialise further, or even use the resources to create what they need in Algeria or W.Africa and can easily ship between them.

Any depots in the desert are essentially untouchable in war, as long as the rails are intact, giving the French a huge advantage in a colonial war.

 

[Pomphis]

OTOH: how expensive would it be to supply the steam locomotives with coal and water ? Woudln´t it be an even worse logistical situation than the one the africa corps faced, where (IIRC) the majority of the fuel was needed to transport the fuel itself ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive#Performance

Steam engines have considerably less thermal efficiency than modern diesels, requiring constant maintenance and labour to keep them operational.[50] Water is required at many points throughout a rail network and becomes a major problem in desert areas, as are found in some regions within the United States, Australia and South Africa. In other localities the local water is unsuitable. The reciprocating mechanism on the driving wheels of a two-cylinder single expansion steam locomotive tended to pound the rails (see "hammer blow"), thus requiring more maintenance.

 

[Tanc49]

Interesting Pomphis! I am no engineer and have limited grasp of the concept you're presenting, could you elaborate a bit?

For the water, there are a lot of oasis along the way but I'm just not sure how often you need them. I am however deeply interested in that.

I also saw the explosion motor was invented before then, could it not be applied? Why? Since it's an internet forum and you don't see my face, I'll repeat that I'm asking that in honest curiosity, it's a subject I have not a clue about but in which I am quite interested

 

[funnyhat]

One consequence of such a railroad might be that you could see more Sub-Saharan migration to Algeria to provide labor. Algeria could become a very multiracial society.

By the way, something I've always wondered: why were Algeria's borders drawn the way they were, to include that diamond-shaped portion of the Sahara?

 

[Pomphis]

Interesting Pomphis! I am no engineer and have limited grasp of the concept you're presenting, could you elaborate a bit?

For the water, there are a lot of oasis along the way but I'm just not sure how often you need them. I am however deeply interested in that.

I also saw the explosion motor was invented before then, could it not be applied? Why? Since it's an internet forum and you don't see my face, I'll repeat that I'm asking that in honest curiosity, it's a subject I have not a clue about but in which I am quite interested

I am no engineer either, but I recall reading about one of the problems the Wehrmacht faced in russia being that russian locomotives carried more water than german ones, so they not only had to regauge the tracks, but also to build and supply lots of new water towers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tender_(rail)#Water_supply

One pound of coal could turn six pounds of water (0.7 gallons) to steam. Therefore, tender capacity ratios were normally close to 14 tons of coal per 10,000 gallons of water.
The water supply in a tender was replenished at water stops and locomotive depots from a dedicated water tower connected to water cranes or gantries. Refilling the tender is the job of the fireman, who is responsible for maintaining the locomotive's fire, steam pressure, and supply of fuel and water.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,2722254

Surprisingly, 3985 doesn't really use THAT much water "at speed", probably only about 150 t0 200 gallons per mile at 60MPH or faster. However, at 20 or 30MPH, with a heavy throttle while ascending steep grades with a heavy passenger train, 3985 will generally exceed 300 to 500 gallons per mile water consumption.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_stop

During the very early days of steam locomotives, water stops were necessary every 7–10 miles (11-16 km) and consumed much travel time.[1][nb 1] With the introduction of tenders (a special car containing water and fuel), trains could run 100–150 miles (160–240 km) without a refill.

 

[fasquardon]

I could see this speeding up the development of Northern Nigeria if it was linked with the British network there.

A big advantage of this railroad would be if the French are threatened either in the Med or the Atlantic, they can use the Transsaharan to shift at least some traffic to ports on the other sea.

I do wonder if a big project like this would drive economic development in France itself in different ways.

And given how early this is in the race for Africa, how does it change the final colonial division of the world?

fasquardon

 

[Driftless]

I'm no engineer either, but I think the water is best if it is low mineral content too. As steam is created, the minerals are left behind in the boiler, eventually reducing efficiency. I realize there is a lack of abundant surface water in the Sahara, but no idea on it's mineral level.

http://www.nationalboard.org/index.aspx?pageID=164&ID=238

(This is in regard to modern steam ops, but the principle is similar I believe)

Poor Water Treatment

Boiler feedwater is treated to protect it from two basic problems: the buildup of solid deposits on the interior or water side of the tubes, and corrosion.
Prevention of scaling or buildup - The need for proper feedwater treatment is obvious if you will consider the comparison of a boiler and a pot of boiling water on the stove. The boiler is actually an oversized distillery in that the water that enters the boiler is vaporized to steam, leaving the solids behind. Depending on the amount of solids in the water, or hardness, the residue is sometimes visible when a pot containing water is boiled until all water is vaporized.

This same thing occurs inside the boiler and, if left unchecked, can destroy it. Boilers rely on the water to protect the steel boiler tubes from the temperatures in the furnace which greatly exceed the melting point of the tube material. A buildup of deposits inside the tubes will produce an insulating layer which inhibits the ability of the water to remove the heat from the tube. If this continues long enough, the result is localized overheating of the tube and eventual blowout.

If you got track laid and the locals are at least pacified to the idea; might you see an earlier shift to diesel or other internal combustion engines for the locomotives?

 

[173rd LRRP]

Sounds like something out of Beau Geste and Beau Sabeur with Major Henri de Beaujolais of the Spahis and the French Secret Service being successful this time. O' but those were badly written books but I loved them as a sub-teenager.

 

[Bureaucromancer]

Much later definitely, but it strikes me that if this became a significant trade link of any sort the argument for a Gibraltar bridge becomes a lot more persuasive.

 

[Tanc49]

Much later definitely, but it strikes me that if this became a significant trade link of any sort the argument for a Gibraltar bridge becomes a lot more persuasive.

Dakar to Paris without changing trains? Now that's interesting!

Sounds like something out of Beau Geste and Beau Sabeur with Major Henri de Beaujolais of the Spahis and the French Secret Service being successful this time. O' but those were badly written books but I loved them as a sub-teenager.

Pulp! Yay! Thanks! You should check the adventures of the Commandant Marchand, with a bit of luck it's translated in English. Haven't read it yet but it seems like colonial pulp

If you got track laid and the locals are at least pacified to the idea; might you see an earlier shift to diesel or other internal combustion engines for the locomotives?

How early do you think? I saw it was not put in place before the 1940's? But then there was way less pressure to build it

 

[Driftless]

If you got track laid and the locals are at least pacified to the idea; might you see an earlier shift to diesel or other internal combustion engines for the locomotives?

How early do you think? I saw it was not put in place before the 1940's? But then there was way less pressure to build it

The Trans-Australia railroad ran into the water availability and water quality issue too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_locomotive

OTL, it was the mid-1920's when various forms of Diesel locomotives started to catch on more extensively. Work had been done going back to the 1890's, but some of the technical evolution had to come along; plus there was a lot of steam locomotives successfully in use, so why switch? That would be both on the expensive rolling stock front and the operational knowledge base was there for steam. That may be a big reason for the French being behind the curve on Diesel locomotives (OTL). With a greater need for alternatives to steam for a Trans-Sahara railroad, perhaps the development cycle gets pushed?

Diesel-Mechanical propulsion worked, but if you were pulling a lot of weight, the clutches apparently burnt out quickly with frequent starts & stops. The Trans-Sahara route would have the train running for hours at a steady speed, so that wear-and-tear issue shouldn't be as bad.

Diesel-Electric became much more practical, following developments by Lenz at General Electric in the mid 20's

Another large point in favor of Diesel locomotion for freight is the much easier ability to couple multiple engines together to haul heavy, long trains. It's both the simplified crew and the fuel/water combo for steam.

For passenger trains, I could see some form of the rail-motor type system, and there the French did have some early experience - The Weitzer Railmotor, going back to 1903.

Or, the similar McKeen Railmotor

I could see the Railmotor option being favored by government & business passengers.
Interior view of a McKeen:

 

[galileo-034]

I wonder if prospection to find artesian aquifers for the railroad could lead to an earlier discovery of oil in this region.

 

[Driftless]

I wonder if prospection to find artesian aquifers for the railroad could lead to an earlier discovery of oil in this region.

Yup, and with a mechanism for moving the oil economically, it may be used as a resource. Tank cars - at least in the beginning?