It's a courier car, mostly for nuclear-fuel shipments (which when new contain enriched uranium, and when spent contain a range of decay daughters). As noted, the effective 'defense' functions (for example against those who might try to capture spent material to make radiological weapons) only involve short-time reaction; the NNPP indicates this is more a 'boots-on-the-ground' rapid response to rail 'incidents' like derailments.
Some of you might be interested in the details on the corporate site.
See if anyone can read the copied notice on the door in this image.
Mysterious Heavily-Armored Blue Train Caboose Belongs to the Navy
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
It is listed in the CSX railcar database, although their website is set up that I can't directly link it, you can search for VWXX 800.
Most of the information is empty, but it does give the outside dimensions (68'11" long, 15'8" tall, 10'5" wide) and the weights (18500 lbs maximum, 175000 empty). I also see it's listed as a passenger car (AAR code M500) rather than a caboose (AAR code 930).
SeeYou190My daughter has a several-thousand dollar toilet in her house in Seattle. My wife loves it, and wants one too... ugh. We have dicussed this piece of equipment before. It is not heavily armored,
Why would anyone need a heavily armored toilet?
BigDaddyFrom the governement that brought you $200 toilets, which today isn't even a down payment on a Japanese style toilet.
We sell $200.00 toilets at Home Depot!
My daughter has a several-thousand dollar toilet in her house in Seattle. My wife loves it, and wants one too... ugh.
We have dicussed this piece of equipment before.
It is not heavily armored, this is obvious by looking at the trucks. They would never support the weight of heavy armor.
It might be armored against small arms fire, or it could have a small armored compartment, but there is not heavy armor protecting the entirety of the caboose.
It most likely houses an immediate reaction force to repel an assault until the real escort arrives. That is probably 2-5 attack helicopters operating just over the horizon.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
They are used to guard naval reactors for submarines and aircraft carriers. The loads are covered in transit. The design of these reactors are highly classified since they are the most sufisticated and efficient on the planet. Nuclear weapons and their components are transported by unmarked trucks with hevaly armed escorts.
From the governement that brought you $200 toilets, which today isn't even a down payment on a Japanese style toilet, here is a caboose that would satisfy Sadem Hussein, if he was a model railroader.
At 2.52
The caption says heavily armored to protect nuclear shipments. What is inside? Maybe Navy Seals, since there are no windows, they wouldn't get sea sick.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley