Thank you Overmod, you are the man! Great find!
Actually I'm mostly into navy stuff as my primary hobby but I love US railroad as well, especialy from this period, so when the two thing meets it is an overjoy.
Those who are interested, the gun on the original pcitrue is a 14"/50 Mk 7/11 used on the New Mexico and Tennessee class battleships. In fact judging from the car itslef my guess would be that this pic was taken after the late '10s early '20s when these ships were completed, so possibly from the 30s when regunning (major caliber guns had to be relinered pretty frequently).But Watervliet was the missing link and makes a lot of sense, as I was not sure about the ID of the car. I have many pics of Pennsy flatcars going around with 16" or lesser guns, but those were coming from the Washington Navy Yard, around Washington DC.
So thanks again!
Looking at the breech of the gun in the originally posted photo I believe it's a naval rifle, possibly a 14" around the First World War period.
It resembles this one pretty strongly:
http://maritime.org/doc/guncat/cat-0533.htm
Here's the whole naval gun catalog. Sadly, it doesn't say if they take major credit cards, money orders, or Paypal.
http://maritime.org/doc/guncat/index.htm
Surely Watervliet, which since the late 1880s has been the place where large guns and naval rifles are made. (See the "Big Gun Shop"...) Here is a shot from earlier days:
Does this car look familiar?
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/Watervliet002-1200x350-c-default.jpg
(from an article about expansion of work at Watervliet after 1940)
Presumably the gun on #1 in the OP's picture is for naval use and not coastal defense, but I'd have to defer to someone who knows the relevant history and tech.
I think those are early Buckeye trucks, and they date this to just before WWI; I think they're going to be the best feature to research if military historians haven't documented the ways guns were delivered from Watervliet to the (many!) places they would have been deployed.
CShaveRR The lettering on the side reads "United States Arsenal (unreadable) No. 1". Four six-wheel trucks.
The lettering on the side reads "United States Arsenal (unreadable) No. 1". Four six-wheel trucks.
Looks like "Watervliet." The Watervliet Arsenal is just north of Albany, alongside the Hudson River. It used to have a pretty extensive network of tracks.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Just a couple of thoughts on the car, aqnd possible cargo(in photograph)...would appear to be a large caliber naval rifle(?).. Since the time period mentioned is pre-1952. It could be part of main battery armament for anything in the 'cruiser' classifications, or even a battleship's main armament.
Of course. a fatcar with 4 paired buckeye trucks (6 wheels ea.) certainly is capable of handling up to the larger calibers of naval hardware.
In curent times, D.O.D. has a fleet of very heavy flat cars (4 trucks per car) . Primarily, they are used for heavier cargo ( ie:a pair of M1A1 Abrams tanks would be a cargo for one of those flat cars. ) Dept of Defense cars use an ID's that would be something on the order of DODX . I'd bet Carl S. ( CShaveRR) would be able to supply a whole list of designators for DOD in UMLER.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Gents!
Anyone here who could help me identify this flatcar, image found in NARA?
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/52560657?fbclid=IwAR0sw7FWIW_xpEd2A9eEiFGOFPrGNt8DgdG8oTTEbj_S33mMMH2-OHQwWjE
Thanks in advance!
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