Found the following linked article in 'The DRIVE' [Its sister publication called "The War Zone" ] .
Linked @ https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39654/wait-this-mysterious-heavily-armored-blue-train-caboose-belongs-to-the-navy
The author is Joseph Trevithick, and it was publshed 3/08/2021
Te caboose was built by a company called Vigor Industrial,LLC. at a location in the PNW (?) under contract to USN. This company's website indicates that they usually build, smaller(?) naval vessels, and other fabrication contracts for the U.S.N.
It is apparently, to be tasked by the Navy as a escort and support vehicle; for transport to locations across the USA. The first one is scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year.
From the photos in the article VWXX-800 would appear to be possibly twice the length of what used to be a normal length caboose(?). It is to be operated by the Naval; Nuclear Propulsion Program, according to the article.
Sort of interesting, that in 2021, the Government is going to build several(?) armored caboose(s)? After almost 40 or so years of saying they were not needed? One would almost expect thay could have, up-armored, another car type ?
samfp1943Found the following linked article in 'The DRIVE' [Its sister publication called "The War Zone" ] . Linked @ https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39654/wait-this-mysterious-heavily-armored-blue-train-caboose-belongs-to-the-navy The author is Joseph Trevithick, and it was publshed 3/08/2021 Te caboose was built by a company called Vigor Industrial,LLC. at a location in the PNW (?) under contract to USN. This company's website indicates that they usually build, smaller(?) naval vessels, and other fabrication contracts for the U.S.N. It is apparently, to be tasked by the Navy as a escort and support vehicle; for transport to locations across the USA. The first one is scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year. From the photos in the article VWXX-800 would appear to be possibly twice the length of what used to be a normal length caboose(?). It is to be operated by the Naval; Nuclear Propulsion Program, according to the article. Sort of interesting, that in 2021, the Government is going to build several(?) armored caboose(s)? After almost 40 or so years of saying they were not needed? One would almost expect thay could have, up-armored, another car type ?
Military shipments frequently have 'riders' that go along with the shipment. Frequently the riders are armed.
The pictured 'caboose' looks to be light on windows and heavy on gun ports.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Reminds me of a drover's caboose.
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...
The 2 vertical black rectangles almost look like retractable bay windows ?
(shades of railroading meets "The War Wagon" or new car to guard the boxcars w/ shackles?)
Possibly the outcome of the railroads eliminating their waycar fleets and the cars the military and atomic energy commission (AECX) had now at the end of their AAR/FRA mandated lives?
It's not only the armor, how about those beefy collision posts on the end!
They haven't gone far enough.
It'd be a LOT more impressive with some quad-.50's mounted fore and aft of the cupola!
THAT'D make the bad guys think twice!
Flintlock76It'd be a LOT more impressive with some quad-.50's mounted fore and aft of the cupola!
Maybe they're built to pop up when needed...
tree68 Flintlock76 It'd be a LOT more impressive with some quad-.50's mounted fore and aft of the cupola! Maybe they're built to pop up when needed...
Flintlock76 It'd be a LOT more impressive with some quad-.50's mounted fore and aft of the cupola!
Good point! Never thought of that!
Now, where's the torpedo tubes?
tree68Maybe they're built to pop up when needed...
Hopefully they won't be under catenary at the time.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmann tree68 Maybe they're built to pop up when needed... Hopefully they won't be under catenary at the time.
tree68 Maybe they're built to pop up when needed...
If they tried a little harder they could make it look like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztkKJUQB4rU
Flintlock76 Now, where's the torpedo tubes?
On the head end. They're going to resurrect some really old GE's to pull it. They don't have any electrical gear worthy of the name so they should be able to survive an EMP.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Quad .50's are so World War Two. Nowadays, miniguns are where it's at.
BackshopQuad .50's are so World War Two. Nowadays, miniguns are where it's at.
Not that I have anything against chain guns. Or chain printers.
Unless they're running under caternary, I doubt there would be enough extra electricity to power any of those weapons.
Over 50 years ago nuclear weapons were made at the Iowa Army Ammunition plant at Middletown, IA, just west of Burlilngton. There was an old passenger coach with steel plates over the windows. The coach was parked by the ammunition plant roundhouse.
The coach would occasionally be seen tacked to the rear end of a short freight train passing through Burlington. Years later retired security personal at the ammuntion plant told of riding the coach when nuclear weapons were shipped by rail.
The coach was self contained with bunks, a refrigerator, stove, etc. The coach was reportedly also well stocked with firearms, including Thompson sub machine guns, and ammunition.
After reading the entire "The Drive" link, I thought of the end of the movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai", where the doctor says simply, "Madness".
Rick
rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.
Flintlock76 They haven't gone far enough. It'd be a LOT more impressive with some quad-.50's mounted fore and aft of the cupola! THAT'D make the bad guys think twice!
Or the turret from an Abrams main battle tank with the quad .50's mounted concentrically around the big gun, in lieu of the cupola.
BackshopUnless they're running under caternary, I doubt there would be enough extra electricity to power any of those weapons.
And COIL and THEL are hypergolic.
Victrola1The coach was self contained with bunks, a refrigerator, stove, etc. The coach was reportedly also well stocked with firearms, including Thompson sub machine guns, and ammunition.
Well someone had fine taste in firearms! Aside from their size and weight Thompsons can still hold their own with any submachine gun around today.
Pretty impressive for a design that's 100 years old!
SALfanOr the turret from an Abrams main battle tank with the quad .50's mounted concentrically around the big gun, in lieu of the cupola.
Seriously, PGM self-propelled munitions are a far better answer than a gun, even if you use your smoothbore gun tube to aim them initially and guide the initial launch. The problem is that you'd have to slew the tube to put it on target, whereupon the guy on the other side puts a TOW or something between caboose and turret...
Better to launch a swarm straight up, form to loiter, and engage targets as appropriate or designated. You can recover most of the expensive hardware afterward, too...
If you look at the work converging the autonomous-swarm and loyal-wingman programs you will begin to appreciate how the actual defense-in-depth will be best conducted, including recovery of nuclear material actually taken in, say, a massive chemical-weapons exploit. The actual force to be used will be carefully hidden until the actual time it comes to be used -- unlike nuclear weapons themselves there is little point in advertising 'deterrence' beyond casual dissuasion of the 'protected by Smith and Wesson' bumper-sticker kind.
samfp1943Sort of interesting, that in 2021, the Government is going to build several(?) armored caboose(s)? After almost 40 or so years of saying they were not needed?
Once they switch-on the implanted vaccine chips, the importance for these cabooses will become more obvious.
deleted- duplicated below.
Thompson submachine guns? Still being made!
https://www.auto-ordnance.com/
http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=224 -I've been to West Hurley Arms about 25 years ago- It's like walking into a firearms museum. They had more Lee-Enfield .303s than I ever saw in one place. A lot of them had Arabic phrases carved into the stock. A bunch of WW1 Mausers, too.
54light15 Thompson submachine guns? Still being made! https://www.auto-ordnance.com/ http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=224 -I've been to West Hurley Arms about 25 years ago- It's like walking into a firearms museum. They had more Lee-Enfield .303s than I ever saw in one place. A lot of them had Arabic phrases carved into the stock. A bunch of WW1 Mausers, too.
Oh , those Auto-Ordnance/Numrich Thompsons! I remember them well! Not quite the same at the ones from the 20's, these were semi-auto only and with extended barrels. The finishes weren't quite as good as the old ones (the ones from the 20's were gorgeous, I've seen 'em!) but good enough.
But man, did those Auto-Ordnance Thompsons shoot! A fellow gun club member had one, it would put all the shots through ONE hole at 25 yards and darn near all through one hole at 50!
I never made it up to Numrich, but I did get to a place called Sarco, another surplus arms dealer. Very impressive showroom full of stuff, but they weren't giving it away, if you know what I mean. Expensive place.
My old man, when he was in the USAAF back in Big Two said that once you got used to a Thompson, you could shoot it one-handed like a pistol. I went to West Hurley Arms as he asked me to see about a .22 Thompson that he heard they were selling for about 500 bucks. Sadly, they were out of production and no longer available. Hell, even if they were semi-autos I would have loved to have used one! Got to be a hell of a lot of fun!
There's a company called Standard Manufacturing that makes a slightly scaled down version of the Thompson in .22LR. It's quite a bit more than $500, though.
BackshopThere's a company called Standard Manufacturing that makes a slightly scaled down version of the Thompson in .22LR.
One thing in common, though: at 50yd. even the worst group with .22LR was under 2".
Now where did I put that hand-crank mount for the twin 10-22s?
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