Zhangjiakou is the key for Beijing to enter Inner Mongolia, and it is also the only way for business travel between north and south. The construction of Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway has obvious military, economic and political value.
Once the plan was put forward, it was fiercely contested by China powers. Britain, the most powerful country, is bound to win, and Russia, which regards the north of the Great Wall as its sphere of influence, will not give in. At loggerheads, the two sides finally reached an agreement: if the Qing court did not borrow foreign debts or use foreign craftsmen, it would be built by China people themselves, and the two sides would not reach out to each other.
1April, 905, Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili, wrote to the imperial court, applying for the construction of a railway with a budget of 5 million taels of silver, and put forward the idea of replacing foreign craftsmen with China capital in the memorial. At that time, the internal and external railways (1907 was renamed as Jingfeng Railway) operated well and made considerable profits. He proposed to use the operating income of the railway outside the customs to build the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway.
At the same time, Liang Ruhao, general manager of Guanwai Railway, recommended Zhan Tianyou to Yuan Shikai. He said that the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is an important passage to Inner Mongolia, and no country can get their hands on it. He is the only China person who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, and I am willing to use my own body to guarantee it. Yuan Shikai listened to the recommendation and decided to use "turtle" Zhan Tianyou.
1in may, 905, yuan Shikai reported to the Qing court the plan to build the third section of Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway from Fengtai to Zhangjiakou for more than 360 miles. Due to the repeated requests of local businessmen for several years and the consideration of strengthening political ties with outer Mongolia, the request was finally formally approved. Subsequently, the Beijing-Zhangjia Railway Bureau was established in Tianjin, with Chen Zhao, an important member of the Westernization School, as the permanent general manager and Zhan Tianyou as the general manager and chief engineer.
Extended data
Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway started in September, 1905. The whole journey is divided into three sections. The first section from Fengtai to Nankou was fully opened to traffic on September 1906. The second section is from Nankou to Qinglongqiao Guangou section. Guangou section crosses Dujun Mountain, with mountains and rivers criss-crossing, curve radius of182.5m, and 4 tunnels with length of1644m. This project is very arduous.
First of all, we should open four tunnels: Juyongguan, Wuguitou, Shifosi and Badaling. The longest Badaling tunnel is1092m, which requires not only accurate calculation and correct command, but also new mountain cutters, ventilators and pumps. The former was not a problem for Zhan Tianyou, and the latter did not exist at all in China at that time, but only relied on the hands of workers, who only overcame many difficulties.
Secondly, the Guangou section is not only steep, but also steep, with a maximum slope of 33‰ (that is, the slope rises by 33 meters per 1 1,000 meters). At that time, the maximum climbing rate of the train could only reach 25‰, and the engineering difficulty could be imagined.
Zhan Tianyou used the design of American alpine railway for reference, and designed a herringbone railway, also called zigzag track, at Qinglong Bridge, which changed "length" into "height", thus reducing the height difference and successfully solving the problem that cars can't climb hills and turn directly. In September, 1908, the second bid section was completed.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway