Dick Simnel is inspired, by his father being turned into a cloud of furnace parts, flying metal, and pink steam, to invent the locomotive. He names her Iron Girder. This being Discworld, she's a bit more than her earthly counterparts. She is self aware and will defend her existence, as a would be saboteur learns.
Remember the pink steam? Simnel manages not only to avoid that, but to sell Sir Harry King on steam locomotives. King sells Lord Vetinari, who runs Ankh-Morpork, the big city on Discworld, and Vetinari appoints Moist von Lipwig (of Going Postal and other books) to ramrod the project. Vetinari want to go to Bonk Schmaltzberg to confer with the king of the trolls, without spending weeks on the trip.
Certain hardcases among the dwarfs don't like this, or anything not of dwarf tradition as they see it. So construction is underway on the big line, with a shorter one to Quirm (which resembles France as seen from England), to bring in fish. Yes, Ankh-Morpork is on a river, but you really don't want to eat anything out of there.
Then there are the clacks towers (semaphore signaling system), and a lady named Adora Belle.
Read more at Raising Steam, by Terry Pratchett | Fantasy | SFReader.com Book Review
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