Pulp Armored Train


back to Land Transportation or the Pulp Index

 

 

A typical armored train in Europe or Asia, circa 1920-1940. The armor for the locomotive and cars could have been added during the Great War, or the Russian Civil War, or by some Asian warlord, or by the Finns, the Poles, several Balkan nations, or any number of other groups.

 

Type "O" locomotive:  the standard "O" class of Russian steam engines; over 9000 of these were built between 1890 and 1928 (mostly before 1908 though). Over 5000 of these locomotives will still be in Soviet service in 1939; they're the most common Russian locomotive of the period. 0-8-0 wheel arrangement, coal burning. 31' 8" long over buffers (not including tender). It's a compound engine, with both high and low pressure cylinders to wring more efficiency out of the coal. The original Russian models operated on 5' gauge track, but some have been converted to run on standard gauge. The unarmored engine and tender weigh about 52 tons; with armor, about 60 tons. Normal best speed is about 30 miles per hour.

 

The "lambs" have a reputation for simplicity and reliability. Few of the parts need sophisticated construction techniques; repairs can be accomplished without access to the original plans or supply sources.

 

The cannon turrets carry guns of about 3" caliber -- Russian 76.2mm Putilov guns, or French 75s, or similar German or Austrian weapons, etc.; belt-fed Maxim guns complete the installed armament. The armor on the converted boxcar is several inches of concrete; on the locomotive and gun car, mild steel armor about 1/2" thick provides protection from bullets and fragments (about 14 points of armor in Call of Cthulhu). Some "fancier" O-type armored locomotives and turret-carrying carriages might have up to 1.5" of mild steel armor (about 24 points of armor in Call of Cthulhu).

 

 

When the warlord wants to travel in style, along with his personal "war wagon", the train might look like this:

 

 

The 80' air-conditioned Pullman car and 46' large flatcar are imported from America, of course. The war wagon is converted from an AEC Matador truck or bus.

 

War Wagon

 

Weight:  10.5 tons

Length:  20' 9"

Width:  7' 10"

Armor:  1/2" steel

Engine:  6 cylinder 95 HP diesel

Equipment:   usually at least a radio; can mount a machinegun on a roof pintle

Performance:   road speed 36 mph, range 360 miles on 40 gallon tank

Crew:  driver + 6 others

 

The MBV-2 Self-Propelled Artillery Car

 

 

 

Weight: 40 tons

Length:  65' over the buffers

Width:  11'

Engine:  diesel

Performance:  70 mph

Armament:  three T-28 tank turrets with 76.2mm guns, three coax MG in turrets, one MG for driver, four Maxim guns in ball mounts, two MG in open mounts (turret hatches), quad Maxim guns in open (retractable) mount, two MG on rear of "top deck" turrets. The original guns are replaced with L11 guns in the late Thirties. 365 rounds are carried for the main guns, plus over 30,000 rounds for the machine guns.

Armor:   16mm sides, 10mm roof, 20mm turret sides

Equipment:  radio, stereoscopic binoculars/rangefinder in cupola

Crew:  about 40 total

 

Constructed 1935 for the Soviet army, based on the similar MBV used by the NKVD. 154 shells carried for main guns, plus 20,000+ rounds for all the machine guns.