1905, the Qing government decided to build the first railway in China-Jing-Zhang Railway. Both Britain and China wanted to intervene, but their attempts failed because of the strong opposition of the Russian people. The British and Russian envoys said in a threatening tone: "If the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was built by Russian engineers themselves, it has nothing to do with Britain and Russia." They think that, in this way, it is impossible to build a railway in China. At this critical moment, Zhan Tianyou accepted this arduous task without hesitation and was solely responsible for the construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway. News came that some imperialists and British newspapers sarcastically said, "The engineer who can build this railway in China has not been born in the womb! China people want to build railways without foreigners, even if it is not a dream, it will take at least 50 years. " They even attacked Zhan Tianyou, the general manager and chief engineer, for being "arrogant" and "overreaching". Under pressure, Zhan Tianyou insisted on not appointing foreign engineers, and said: "China is vast and rich in resources, and I feel ashamed to rely on outsiders all the way to work!" "China has awakened, and China people will use their own engineers and their own money to build railways."

1In August, 905, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was officially started, and intense exploration and route selection began. Zhan Tianyou ran around the rugged mountain day and night with the measuring team and instruments on his back. One evening, the fierce northwest wind roared in Badaling area, whizzing past with dust, which made people unable to open their eyes. The survey team finished the work in a hurry, filled in the survey figures and climbed down from the rock wall. Zhan Tianyou took the notebook, looked at the figures and asked doubtfully, "Is the data accurate?" ? "Almost," replied the surveyor. Zhan Tianyou said seriously: "The first requirement of technology is accuracy, and there can be no ambiguity or rashness. Statements like' probably' and' almost' should not come from engineers. " Then, he picked up the instrument, braved the wind and sand, and labored to climb to the rock wall again, carefully retest and corrected a mistake. When he came down, his lips were purple with cold.

Soon, exploration and construction entered the most difficult stage. At Badaling and Qinglong Bridge, there are overlapping mountains and steep walls hanging rocks, and four tunnels will be opened, the longest of which is more than 1000 meters. After accurate calculation, Zhan Tianyou decided to adopt the method of sectional construction: simultaneously drilling from the north and south ends of the mountain, opening a large well in the middle of the mountain, and then drilling from the north and south ends in the well. This not only ensures the construction quality, but also speeds up the project progress. When digging a hole, I dug a lot of stones by hand and picked out the spewing spring water one by one. Zhan Tianyou, as the chief engineer, has no shelf. He digs stones and carries water with the workers, and his face is covered with mud and sweat. He also encouraged everyone to say, "The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is the first railway that we built with our own people and our own money. The eyes of the whole world are watching us, and we must succeed! " "No matter success or failure, it is definitely not our own success or failure, but the success or failure of our country!"

In order to overcome the difficulty of driving on steep slopes and ensure the train to climb up Badaling safely, Zhan Tianyou creatively used the principle of "turn-back line" to design a herringbone line on the steep Qinglong Bridge section in mountainous areas, which reduced the tunnel excavation and slope. When the train arrives here, it will cooperate with two high-powered locomotives to push and pull to ensure the safety of the train uphill.

Zhan Tianyou once put forward three requirements for the whole project: "less money, good quality and quick completion". After several struggles by workers, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was finally opened to traffic in September 1909. It was originally planned to be completed in six years, but it was completed four years ahead of schedule, and the project cost was only one-fifth of that estimated by foreigners. Some European and American engineers paid tribute to Zhan Tianyou after visiting by bus. But Zhan Tianyou said modestly: "This is the strength of more than 10,000 employees of Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, not my personal credit. Glory should belong to everyone. "

After the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was completed, Zhan Tianyou succeeded as the supervisor and chief engineer of the Guangdong-Han Railway. At this time, the United States decided to grant him a doctorate in engineering and asked him to go to the United States to attend the conferring ceremony in person. He gave up this honor in order to devote himself to the railway construction of the motherland.

After the Revolution of 1911, in order to revitalize the railway industry, Zhan Tianyou and his colleagues established the China Engineering Society, and was promoted to president. During this period, he devoted a lot of efforts to the training of young engineers and technicians. In addition to setting an example, he also encouraged young people to "study hard for invention" and asked them not to "favor one over the other, and not to fish for fame". Take others with sincerity, not yourself as a mirror. "

Zhan Tianyou has been engaged in the railway industry for more than 30 years. At that time, almost every railway in China had different degrees of relationship. Old age breaks down from overwork 19 19. Comrade Zhou Enlai once spoke highly of Zhan Tianyou's achievements, calling him "the glory of the people of China".