Who here has built a military Transport Train? It can be a troop train or a train that just transports the units equipment! Ya got pics of it to share? I am looking into building a Military transport train. Would like to do a W.W.2 era with my Berks on the lead, But my layout is more into the 60’s -70’s timeframe.
I would like to do a Battalion sized unit eather Signals, Artty or Armor. How many Flats would I need? What other cars; Boxes, Passenger, Baggage,KItchen, ect would be used for the security of the train?
Lets here it fellas! Thanks Kevin
Maybe this will help. There is a consist at the bottom of the page. I will see if I can’t dig anything else up for ya.
http://www.eliillinois.org/30108_87/pgtw/pgtwtrooptransports.html
I don’t have any photos, but a member of our local HO scale club made a complete U.S. Army Armor Division train. The tanks and other equipment are Roco products, and the flat cars were painted in camouflage patterns from undecorated kits.
I have the Walthers Troop Sleeper and Troop Diner set, and I found a Model Power U.S. Military Troop Carrier/Hospital Car on e-Bay. I believe they are re-releasing this item.
In the 1970s, I bought a military train set that was being marketed by Cox, consisting of a diesel locomotive, caboose, rail gun, ammunition car, Air Defense car, and a flat with tank. I believe Model Power is selling these items now. My Cox set has such poor, non-replaceable plastic wheel sets and horn hook couplers that I just use it for a static display. The locomotive quit running many years ago.
In the early to mid-1990’s, Bev-Bel marketed Athearn box cars custom decorated for U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard. I have nearly 20 of these that I purchased through Model Railway Post Office at the time, all with different car numbers on them.
Athearn made a yellow and red U.S. Army Ammunition boxcar a few years ago, too, but I haven’t seen these available for some time now. You might be able to pick these up at swap meets.
Roundhouse did a single door, high cube 50’ box reporting mark USAX… which I think was waffle sided. I have this in two numbers. They also did an earlier SD 50’ box with roof walk and high end brake… at least outside sheathed. Don’t know what numbers for this car. Both are yellow with red doors. They also did two numbers (at least) of modern 50’tank cars with DODX marks and silver bodies.
There was a thread that had video from the national archives related to troop train:
http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=18999
The thread it orginated from is here:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=-1&TOPIC_ID=9346&REPLY_ID=63093#63093
I have a set of Pullman Heavyweight sleeper and coaches which sometimes acts as a troop train.
I think it took many trains several days to get units to and from points within the USA in WW2.
About 10 years ago, I stopped in a truck stop in Angola IN the old 76 there. The next morning I awake to be confronted by MP’s related to a Division out of the Southwest part of the USA (New Mexico or Arizona?) using the entire property as a staging stop on thier march. I was in the way along with 10 or 20 other drivers who were still asleep early in the mawning.
Railroads still use trains to move equiptment. In my town late at night I hear hundreds of DOD flatcars screeching thru several times a month.
I think DoD quit using troop trains in the Sixties: some units were moved by rail to ports of embarcation during Vietnam, but that was the last time. They didn’t move personnel together with large (i.e., non-portable) equipment, either: too much care and feeding required. It was easier to just link the people and the equipment up at their destination. And since DoD just rented the troop trains from the railroads, there were a lot fewer coaches available once the railroads abandoned passenger service.
That must’ve been SOME train. There’s no way you could get an entire division’s worth of vehicles onto one train: it usually took several. I spent five years in a light (i.e., towed) field artillery battalion, and that one unit filled a train’s worth of cars when it was rail-loaded.
If you’re going to model rail-loaded vehicles, a couples of thoughts:
- Make sure they’re chocked and chained down.
- Strip all of the easily removable items - radio antennas in particular, although we used to remove HMMMWV doors and seat cushions (not to protect against vandals - other units might scavenge your stuff).
- Glass has to be protected - don’t know how they did it on the jeeps, but we used to tape Humm-vee windows with duct tape Xs.
rripperger… please tell us more… I have a string of HMMMVVs (Roco) I’m planning to use as loads… did they carry them on 89’ intermodals? Any pics? Did you remove canvas as well? Just thought… did they move them on autoracks?
Um… my TAVR unit was the same… if we could we came back heavier than we went out… the Reservists were our teachers… aren’t all military units the same? If it’s left laying around you should secure it or some ratbag might steal it…
HMMWV; High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
Nope, flat cars - the railhead was just a ramp, so we could never have got them onto an auto rack.
We stripped them totally: canvas, doors, radio antennas - everything. The policies on taping glass changed from time to time, but if you do it, it should be an olive-drab X (slightly irregular) across the windshields. Tiedown chains on the front and rear pintles, and triangular rubber chocks under the tires. If you’re doing the modern era, everything small and portable went in containers. The guns had rubberized canvas covers on their muzzles, but the sights, handspikes, and all the rest of their BII went into the containers: only the baseplate stayed with the gun. You usually found at least one windshield had been broken, too - sometimes there’d be a cinderblock or a brick in the foot well on one of the front seats where it had been dropped, presumably off an overpass. The vehicles were marked with barcoded gummy labels - pretty small (it’s been a few years), about the size of a 3x5 card.
GREAT… THANKS…
Don’t know yet how much I can strip down Roco vehicles.
I’ve either forgotten or we’re speaking different versions of English… what are “pintles” please?
When you refer to guns I take it you mean on tanks, howitsers etc?
What sick species drops cinder blocks off of bridges?
I know NS is very picky about leakage of fluids onto their flats. The reasion I found this out, is because our N.G. unit out of Indiana wanted to rail a couple of Battalions to LA for Qualifying for the Middle East Deployment. Every Vehicle that the N.G. wanted to take along on the rails, "Shouldnt Leak at all " Well the NG ended up taking the Battalions to Camp Shelby, LA by barge on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Just a little tid-bit for you nuts out there! Kevin
That reminds me… maybe a real long shot… anyone do decals for National Guard?
Being insane I was also thinking of painting an M113 APC as an AT&F… haven’t decided whether to load it or use it in a street scene… Any suggestions (polite / other than “go see the doctor”)?
Re: WWII troop trains–they often ran as second sections of a scheduled passenger train, or as Extras. Configuration was usually one troop diner for every six troop sleepers. Officers often rode in Pullman cars at the end of the train with their own diner. I’ve got a troop train on my Yuba River Sub that I run frequently (my layout is set in the WWII era), and is made up of Walthers troop sleepers and diners, with a heavyweight diner and two 12-8 Pullman sleepers for the officers. I cheat a little and use the troop diners for every 3 troop sleepers. The consist is about 8-10 cars.
Haven’t gotten around to adding the military equipment yet, that’s my next project. I’ll be making a Roco Raid on my LHS for the correct era military vehicles. During WWII, the Army often used flat cars from regular railroad companies when they ran out of their own. BTW, on the Pacific Coast during WWII, the Army guarded key railroad bridges and tunnels, and civilian access was strictly forbidden. If a civilian got caught with a camera, it usually meant the camera was confiscated and the person might spend some ‘brig’ time until they could be cleared.
Night running on the Pacific Coast was done in a ‘black-out’ situation, with all passenger window-shades drawn, and ‘cowls’ on the headlights of the locomotives and signals.
Tom
Pintles are the small metal pieces (they look like bulbous chain links) on the front and rear bumpers; they’re used to secure the vehicle to the rail car. Standard equipment, should come on the models.
We stripped all of the weapons mounts, and most of the other vehicles I’ve seen in transit were handled similarly. I’m referring to the artillery pieces.
My guess is that you’d have to cut the vehicles up a bit - but if you can find open flat-bed HMMWVs, they’d look about right.
i have a military train ( engineers equipment ) on my modern layout… 12 x 60" flats with buldozers and graders…7 x 89" flats with trucks and lowloaders and cranes…flat cars with containers painted in cam colours and 3 x covered auto recks for autos etc
one question for you… in australia we have an army… Q… what is national guard and do states have armies… i have been watching the news coverage of new orleans and see troops from diferent parts of the usa
The Army National Guard and Air National Guard are state funded military units available to states for peace time missions such as what you are seeing now. Typically Guard units support natural disasters and other state emergencies. Guard units can and are tasked by the Department of Defense to support and augment the active duty forces. Rank, uniforms and “jobs” are the same , but Guardsmen only train one weekend a month and also participate in a two week annual training or “AT”. It is difficult to maintain your military skills as a guardsman, but a lot of things are done in that one weekend a month.
Does Oz have TAVR (Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve)?
I LOVED my TAVR time… Reservist Warrant Officers that served in Aden and Junior NCO from 2 Para fresh out of Ulster… scarey guys… GREAT to have on your side.
I wondered about including the comment on swiping everything not screwed down or guarded… everyone did it… I suspect that it helped as training for the field… we counted every nut and bolt in and counted them back out again… you absolutely DID NOT want to have to explain to your RSM why anything was missing.
I’m still totally proud of my unit even though I left because I will not use the ordinance designed to not kill (you do not want to know)… we were a NATO front line infantry unit. I could NEVER do armour… except, possibly, a Merkava… if it had Chobham armour and lived in a very deep hole. Parachuting… now that’s FUN… guess I’m insane.
Meanwhile; back at the toy trains…
Sounds like pintles are eye bolts or D shackles (or Omega shackles). thanks for that. Did HMwhatevers ride on 89’ flats and/ or on the same car as the containers?
Where’s a good source of GOOD dozers, graders etc?
Way to go NS! Keep attracting the customers! Keep the Railroad alive!
(Then again… they’re probably running scared of the environmentalists… what would dropping that lot in the river have done though? Bet the boat ride was fun).
The HMMWVs ride on 89 footers along with other equipment. The tie downs are basically D shackles as was stated above.
There are actually two types of troop trains. First, these is the type for units being moved with their equipment. There you would see some passenger cars for the personnel followed by flat cars with their vehicles. Second, there are the personnel only trains which would consist of passenger equipment. The difference would be baggage cars spead through the train to hold the field kitchens needed to feed the troops. The army generally tried to use sleeping cars where possible if the length of the trip justified it.
In WW II there were some purpose built troop sleepers and kitchen cars that looked like converted box cars.
Have fun
yeah dave… we still have the army reserve… one weekend a month two weeks a year… they have been o/seas on peace keeping exercises… i just used matchbox type models for the bulldozers etc