DML make 3 number of armoured rail wagons, one with a pz iV short barreled gun turret, one with no turret and a command version with a strange mg turret and frame antenna. Does anyonw have any references about these. Were they deployed individually, or as part of long trains. I would love to make a diorama with these and some other dml rolling stock.

Any help would be appreciated.

Zed

They were designed to operate in either configuration actually, each unit was powered by an inbuilt engine so they were not dependant on an seperate locomotive unlike earlier Armoured trains.
There was designs for more types of wagon to provide FLAK protection etc with a quad 20mm turret similar to the Wirblewind but these were not built for some reason ( probably due to lack of resources at the time 1944/45)

The original spec for these units was to have been as a train of 12 cars but this was reduced to 8, originally it was to consist of 2 FLAK cars, 4 Gun cars (w 75mm turret from PzIVD) and the remainder to be command/ infantry cars with varying armaments, because the FLAK cars were not built their weapons were mounted on flatcars.
As i have said they were able to operate either singly, in groups of 2-4 or as a full train as detailed above.
If you need any more information try to track down " German Armored Trains in WW2 vol2 by Wolfgang Sawodny from Schiffer publishing or you can just PM me and i will take what info i can get from my copy.

good pics of these railcars are in the book "Die panzerzuge des deutschen reiches 1904 - 1945 " fro Wolfgang Sawodny 428 pages.( the book cost aprox 100 dlls. )is a very good reference for projects in rails.

the turret is of a pzIV F1 wit 7.5 cm kwk L/24
came in a panzer train composed by
2 railcar with turret
4 railcars for infantry ( turret with Mg34 )
2 railcars with frame and turret as the infantry transport
2 panzertragerwagen ( ironside IR 050 )
2 flatcar for pz iv with light panzers 38T
2 flatcars low sided

start from 30.09.43 as transport and was 26 panzertrains containing this kind of railcars

hope this be helpful

Zed I Know this is an older thread that has come back to life but here is a diagram of one Armoured Train.

Thanks for the replies guys. From your references would a couple of these armoured rail cars ever have been put at the head or tail of a big nazi freight train for protection from Partisans etc. maybe with a flat bed railcar to take the brunt of the inevitable explosive laid on the track?

I currently have one armoured railcar, a panther transport rail car and a low sided freight car and was thinking of maybe getting one more - the artillery wagon - and putting them on a large section of track so they look like the front of a big train. Is this realistic?

Also, how were the carriages/wagons connected. DML provides some kind of cables but they are shown as if the cars are seperate. Any pics would be most appreciated.

I promise if you help me out I will actually get the project moving again. I have already got the panther rail car finished. Just waiting for references.

Thanks again.

Zed

as there are some manufacturers of railcars, the rails are very different, i have all my railcars, locomotives, railguns, mortars ,flatcars, and scratch models over rails i did it with evergreen styrene using the next:
I beam 515, half round, strips 148,
balsa wood treated with ink and oil colors to show damage and more realistic.
all this over wood bases of a prox 100X 30 cms all together and you can have a realistic railroad park
very standarized on rails and finishing.

keep on rails

Just to keep this topic current so that someone out there can give me a hand, I present part of my hypothetical train, the panther transport car, with a Pz IV on it. (My Panther G is stuck at the after market individual track links stage).



This is one of the few kits which I have actually mostly finished. It will probably get a final weathering on the diorama.

So please help me with my research so I can finish my train project.

Cheers

Zed

Zed what kits do you have for the project and what info would you like?

Well, seeing as you asked, I have the above rail car (DML), a low sided freight car, and the commando wagon. I would probably like to add atleast the artillery wagon as well.

What I would like to know is whether the armoured cars were ever attached to normal freight trains and whether the above kits could be put together.

Secondly, how were the individual cars connected (pics would be helpful here). The kit instructions are no help, I guess Dragon never considered that the individual kits might be put together.

Cheers

Zed

Havent a clue either, but off hand, I would suggest trying a hobby store that carries model railroads. Check out how their models connect and whats missing from your kits, it should be easy enough to scratch with plastic profiles.
I have often thought about building some sort of train transport, and have been following this thread. Please keep us updated with pictures as you progress. Very interesting. Good luck!

Ok The connection issue first. On the rail cars there are 2 large round disks on piston arms. These are bumpers between cars. The hook in the center connects the cars together using a shackle arrangement that should be included in the kit. Below is a photo that shows the bumpers and shackle.



The Drasines were used in the scout role looking for partisans or attackers ahead of the trains. It would be rare that they would be used with the cargo carriers. The layout of the Drasines is in the Post a few above this.

Ah, part of my problem is that part of this has come off my model. I left it unglued to allow articulation oand the extreme end has fallen off. Bugger. Ok, any idea how the brake cabling comes together?

Zed

Sorry Zed I cant help you there. If I come across anything I will let you know.

Some images of the Leopold carriage coupling
1
2
3 4
These are all from One35th.com webpage. Im sure if you search the galleries there may be more. Maybe somebody with a model Leopold or other DML wagens could show you a picture of the coupling!

Thanks Frank. Those were good. I will study and see what I can use.

Cheers

Zed