Infrastructure and transportion in an industrialized Roman Empire?

Had the Roman Empire industrialized while at its OTL peak instead of declining, where would it likely build its first rails? How much of a rush would it be in to connect the entire Empire by rail? How would it likely handle building railroad in non Roman parts of the world, like setting up a connection with China?

What do you think the ideal places for rail, road, and ports would have been?
 
Well, you first need the paths to industry. Iron ore processing must happen. That needs a heat source from an energy-intense fuel, such as hard coal or coked hardwood.

That makes iron and railroads, and soon steel would come up. Now, how to power the trains. The steam engine is quite intricate, with pistons, seals, valves. It took a long line of technology to harness steam power in OTL.

Then there is the other alternative: electricity. It would have been possible for a single Edison-like mind to experiment with copper wire strands, magnets and beeswax (as an insulator) and come up with a crude electric motor-generator set. The original would resemble a grade-school science project today. Teams of inventors could build on it.

The bottom line is a plausible timeline for technology.
 
Ignoring the how and why: wouldn't it make sense for the railroads to simply follow the main roadways?

Certainly not closely. Roman roads are infamous for being straight and not conforming to the landscape. Railroads need much gentler slopes.

Mind, the whole question is pretty moot, as the changes needed to accomplish the WI are so mucking huge.
 
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