Prototype Testing

After Luo Chong gave the order, the researchers began testing the machine. First, they opened the boiler's air inlet, then poked around inside with a fire hook so the coal could get plenty of air. Next, they added some fresh coal and simply waited for the water to boil and the steam pressure to rise.

When Luo Chong first proposed developing steam engines, he immediately launched three research projects: Iron Horse Type 1, Iron Ox Type 1, and the Narrow-Gauge Steam Locomotive project, which was intended to provide power for locomotives.

Although they were all steam engines, their differences could be seen from their names alone. As the name suggested, Iron Horse was a steam engine that pursued horsepower and rotational speed. It was mainly used to power light machinery and machines requiring extremely high rotational speeds, such as table saws and lathes.

Iron Ox, on the other hand, was mainly used to power machinery requiring tremendous traction, such as millstones, carts, cranes, Automatic Forging Hammers, Rolling Mills, and Stone Crushers. It did not seek a particularly high rotational speed, only enough output force. As a result, Iron Ox's cylinder was much more robust than Iron Horse's.

The one being tested now was Iron Horse. Once the researchers stoked the fire, it took only a moment for the sound of boiling water to begin gurgling inside. However, this was only the beginning, and the pressure was still nowhere near its maximum.

Because of the limitations of current technology, Luo Chong's steam engine could not yet measure steam pressure. The Han Tribe could not yet manufacture a pressure gauge with a dial and pointer, but air pressure was a real and extremely important figure.

So Luo Chong had his own solution: replacing the pressure gauge with a device similar to a