West Pahadan Rail

The West Pahadan Railway Company & The Automata Arms Corporation
c.1906 - 1951
Flag
Motto: 'Crown, Company, Commerce'
Anthem: Anthem of the Clockwork Empire
WPR (purple), its vassals (striped) and the Clockwork Empire (orange)
Capital and largest city	Nakashigawa
Official languages	Onghiri, Pahadan
Ethnic groups	Xian, Shihoki, Taebong, Zhuyeian, Sangam and Rukhanan
Demonym(s)	Korrukan
Government	Colonial Stratocratic Corporatocracy
• CEO	Zhang Xieren
• Chairman	Liang Yating
Legislature	Regional Unity Committee
Colonial Corporation
• Korrukan Invasion of Asphotachal	1906 - 1910
• SECOND Initiative	1910
• Xieren's Appointment	1912
• The Pahadan War	1912 - 1921
Population
• 1918 estimate	38,912,331 (within WPR) 84,074,512 (within its vassals)
• 1920 census	122,986,843
Currency	leyi (¤; LY) (LY)
Time zone	IMT +3
Date format	yyyy.dd.mm
Driving side	right
Preceded by Succeeded by Various Pahadan Kingdoms Imperial Federation Republic of Western Pahadan

The West Pahadan Rail Company, officially called The West Pahadan Railway Company and Automata Arms Corporation and often referred to by the initialism of WPR, was a colonial corporate and military holding of the Clockwork Empire in Western Pahada. Spanning from the steppes of Tungnir to the tropical forests of central Pahada, the colonial holding was regarded as 'the most powerful company in the world', as it played an integral role in every aspect of civilian life within it.

It was formed on the onset of Clockwork's Second Initiative in an attempt to better accommodate Korrukan investment in the region, predominantly railways and telecommunication lines. Early into its operation it became a conglomeration with 'Automata Arms', an Imperial arms manufacturer that had defaulted on its debts.

Whilst its original and primary function was the operation of the railways and telecommunications, WPR soon came to dominate every aspect of civilian, military and economic life within its territories once noted military officer and Grand Commandant Zhang Xieren became CEO in 1912. During this period it underwent aggressive industrialisation of the Pahadan coast, forced reallocation of ethnic groups, ethnic colonisation and would go on to conquer numerous Pahadan states that would become its vassals.

WPR was noted for its own highly trained security force, its permitted status to control Imperial armies in the region, its aggressive campaign for Korukkan nationalism with its influence back at home and its disregard for international treaties against the Empire, which culminated in the company producing and operating its own maritime fleet.

Economy

Burkhardt Wechsler's theories of collectivisation helped the foundation of WPR's policies. He was declared an honourary shareholder of the company, and visited the colony numerous times.

Under WPR, the economic power of Asphotachal grew exponentially over its almost fifty year existence. At its height in the late 1930s, Asphotachal accounted for roughly 1/7 of the entirety of the revenue received in the Clockwork Empire. The economic policies of mass industrialisation, more often than not at detrimental costs to the native population, saw an explosion of collectivisation, mechanised agriculture, numerous industrial revolutions, the expanse of mining and the promotion of arms manufacturing and domestic ship-building. WPR utilised Clockwork's close relationship with Drachenstaat to bring in numerous economic theorists to better educate the empire's existing administrators, including the famed Wechsler -- who oversaw numerous of his policies initially implemented in the region before taking them back home with him.

Agriculture

Whilst Asphotachal had nominally been agriculturally self-sufficient, the food surpluses envisioned by the Five Star Committee and the broader parts of 'SECOND Initiative' aimed on turning the fertile coasts of the region into a global bread-basket.

Land, originally held by the land-owning castes of the numerous merchant city states and oligarchs was collectivised and placed under the direct control of the company and the military. Small farmers were encouraged to 'voluntarily' give up their land in exchange for double its worth at the time, a policy that proved economically lucrative following the soy-bean explosion.

However, numerous attempts to cultivate the globally popular wheat as a profitable economic export failed. Therefore it was relegated to domestic consumption and WPR began a project of erecting flour mills, notably the collective of the Shoshou Flour Milling company to mill flour both produced locally and from Clockwork.

It was in fact a misunderstanding that began WPR's dominance of the soon-to-be immensely lucrative global trade in soya. A popular story of the time is that the armies stationed in Pahada demanded a greater increase in soy sauce. Hoping to capitalise on the effort and cut transporation costs, the government began planting soy farms for the sole purpose of soy sauce production. When their yields were immense and incredibly profitable, the mass-planting of soy beans began. WPR's production of soy was so immense, that by the early 1920s it accounted for over 85% of global production. All of these soy plantations were completed under the government industry and subsidiary of WPR: Seishan Soya. WPR had an annual production of roughly 6.12 million tonnes of soy.

The mechanisation of agriculture saw the introduction of numerous automatons that slowly replaced the native Pahadans, increasing their persecution as they were now considered 'obsolete.' A journalist at the time reported that in Asphotachal's huge farming complexes, one could 'not see a single soul, for the soil was under the control of the machines.'

Other crops produced by WPR included rice, potatoes, carrots and onions for domestic consumption and coffee, cacao, tea and sugar for export. Asphotachal's historic orchards were orange and apple and this maintained the case under WPR. With the advent of refrigeration, over half of both of the borne fruit was used for juice or cider, with the rest remaining in a raw form or for use as purees, an ingredient in baked goods or as rations.

Rubber was produced in the vassal states of WPR, predominantly in the Nirni Raj and the Republic of Negara. Their otherwise domestic efforts were overseen by the Ritomo Rubber and Hydraulics Co., often called 'Rito Rubber'.

Animal Husbandry

By sheer numbers alone, the most domesticated animal in WPR was the silk worm. The Korukkans utilised expertise of silk production to industrialise it on an unprecedented scale within WPR, working the worms to produce huge quantities of silk ready to be dyed at coastal dye plants before being exported to the Empire or to nations such as Inoroth, Fanagalia and Drachenstaat.

WPR co-opted Imperial Propaganda as its own incentives, promising to be the 'land of tomorrow' with ample employment opportunities, prime real estate for Korukkans and the 'freedom to do.'

Aside from this, WPR had large stocks of animals: ranging from the common sheep, cow, pig and chicken ranches (which would supply wool, leather, meat, dairy, feathers and eggs) to a more exotic selection of camels, elephants and even large bipedal birds. Horses were imported from Tungnir as needed. It was within WPR that the 'sexing' of chickens was developed which resulted in an overnight chicken population boom as male chicks could be discarded in favour of egg-laying females.

Though plentiful and abundant, meat from WPR had a negative reputation of being 'industrial meat' and was often processed into canned goods in an attempt to avoid the stigma. It featured prominently in Imperial rations, earning them the repute of 'bottom feeders.'

Fishing

The Nakashigawa Port Authority was officially responsible for allowing permits on who was able to fish or not, but the right of private fishing was maintained solely for rivers and lake. Oceanic fishing was collectivised under the Sea of Dragons Fishery Company, which served as the only permitted authority to fish. If found fishing illegally, an individual was immediately executed. The SDFC prioritised whaling, shark fishing, crustaceans and large fish such as cod, salmon and trout. 'Imitation crab' became a secret of the Five Star Committee, who would export taste-modified plain white fish as crab to the global market.

Industry

Whilst industry did exist in the cities of Asphotacahl before the Korrukkans arrived, mass industrialisation was certainly driven by the West Pahadan Rail Company. WPR set up a division of itself concerned with all things industrial: Pahadan Heavy Industrial Development Corporation. Through forced labour of the native population and an immigrant workforce of Korukkans, WPR set up a plethora of industrial projects in its region, including the renowned Takushan Iron and Steel Works and the Asphotachal Airplane Manufacturing Company (Amcho).

Takusan Iron and Steel Works was a large employer in the Nakashigawa region and became famed for its unrestricted support in the maritime industry developed in WPR, against international treaties imposed on Clockwork.

Existing industries were nationalised by the government in all fields, ranging from pharmaceutical production, to glass works, radios and construction firms. WPR became home to over 30 internationally recognisable brands in this period and even had its own domestic cinema production: Rikoa Filmography Inc. which produced propaganda videos for the empire at large and, in addition, numerous videos showcasing the 'opportunities' one had if they emigrated to WPR.

Under the Korukkan Mining and Metals Company production of coal skyrocketed in regions such as Enzawa, Kengawa and Furubiro. Enzawa was known as the 'capital of coal', aiding WPR in its 22 million metric tonne of coal production ever year. Other notable exploits include their fracking subsidiary, who mined and refined natural gasses and the Fusang Helium Deposit, noted for being one of the world's most easily accessible -- if not the largest -- reserve of helium. This was used to maintain the company's and imperial air fleets, most notably the famed flagship 'Weakness.'

With Clockwork's acquisition of the State of Kadaura, WPR came into possession of the largest gold mine in the world. Under WPR, the mine was expanded, veins of copper, silver and arsenic were also found and the gradual replacement of the Pahadan workers with more efficient and less susceptible to death automatons took place. In 1933, the Shenyang-Xieren Gold Mine produced over 27,000 kg of gold, 600,000 kg of copper, 102,000 kg of silver and an undisclosed amount of lead.

The most notable of the Korrukkan Industries were:

• Pahadan Heavy Industrial Development Corporation
• Korukkan Mining and Metals Company
• Nakashigawa Automotive Industries
• Asphotachal Heavy Industries
• Asphotachal Airplane Manufacturing Company (Amcho)
• Colyon Sheet Glass
• Heime Chemical Works (fertilizers, etc)
• Chizuna Pharmaceuticals
• Himogumi Construction
• Dulken Rubber Industries
• Ritomo Rubber and Hydraulics Co.
• Takushan Iron & Steel Works
• Itoten Corporation Ltd (cereal and paper pulp trading)
• Heisou Radio
• Teshu Special Steel
• Rikoa Filmography Inc.
• Donghai Communications and Wiring Corp.
• Jeiyonshan Lumber and Forestry
• Tae Agricultural Interests

Transport

Train

The West Pahadan Railway Company began its investments and control of Asphotachal through the annexation, construction, expansion and maintenance of existing railways. While in 1910 there was just over 1,000km of rail in the region, by 1923 this had increased to 15,329km. WPR's increase in the railway networks were almost self-fulfilling, in that they were born out of economic activity and sustained it through its expansion and transportation of people, capital, goods and services.

The central hub of the rail networks in WPR was the port-capital of Nakashigawa. Whilst private investment was permitted in WPR, this was very unlikely, and no domestic or foreign nationals were permitted to own railways. Foreign locomotives may have run on WPR's lines, yet the 'tax' placed on this detered all but WPR's own tax-exempted locomotives.

The rail network was primarily economic in terms of freight trains, but a key element of migration incentive within WPR was a policy of 'trains running on time.' WPR's train conductors were drilled to a 'standard of excellence' and trains were expected to run to a perfect timetable. Faltering from this timetable was seen as a great dishonour and could result in repercussions from the company. Public transportation through trains was vastly encouraged by the company.

Around 10% of the trains that ran on WPR's lines were exclusively used by the military and security forces of the region. All trains, military or otherwise, were equipped with defensive capabilities due to lessons learned in Tungnir.

Tram Lines

Within urban centres and cities, WPR prioritised a public transportation of trams. These were in part to remove animals from city centres, impose an existing class within the society -- Korukkans rode for free -- and to accentuate modernised city-planning. New cities were built around pre-existing conceptions for tram lines that attempted to develop sectioned urban centres, individuals would pick up the trams from domestic quarters and travel to a workplace quarter, or a leisure quarter. This was most notably attempted at Yokotori.

Trams within WPR were well maintained, featured luxury seating and were regularly washed, maintained and improved. Zhang Xieren once famously declared that "Why walk, drive or ride on horseback? We have the tram."

Trams delivered milk, produce and even post to individuals. Hospitals, police-men and fire-fighters all operated their own 'priority trams'.