Another vehicle for the HQC book under development. Comments appreciated!
The Train:
This train combines an engine, artillery, and infantry. It was developed for fighting and patrolling in the vast American West. A powerful, self-contained fighting unit, it was considered to be over-armored, slow, and too expensive. It was initially considered a failure and only the prototype was produced. However, after an invasion scare the army restarted production as a coastal defense vehicle. During the renewed production run, the 2nd Hive War began and they were immediately pressed into service.
20 were produced over the next few years. Coupled with other train cars, it could deploy hundreds of troops or dozens of vehicles to combat. In addition to its own artillery (a large 8-inch gun and 2 carried pack Howitzers), it had a telegraph switchboard allowing it to use its babbage computer to conduct up to 6 other artillery pieces.
For closer defense, the train carries a number of Maxim guns, and rapid fire guns. Its organic infantry could deploy along the roof of the vehicle where they could raise a collapsable shield for protection. If attackers attempted to scale the craft, the bottom two meters were covered with electrical fencing. In addition to its powered ramps, it also had concealed doors along the sides and bottom so infantry could egress to perform a surprise flanking maneuver.
The vehicle also had some an interesting holdovers from its Old West roots. Because it was optimized for relatively flat regions, it can't climb gradients greater than 2.2% under full towing load, and will require booster engines. Without a towed load, it can climb 6% grades. Also, it contained two secure brig rooms for transporting prisoners. Also, it contained two secure brig rooms for transporting prisoners. Additionally, a condenser system was added to reduce water requirements. This allowed 15 hours of travel without an external tender.
The difficulties of mounting an 8-inch gun on a mobile platform were considerable. Unlike most train artillery, this vehicle would not have the luxury of digging in or deploying extra supports before firing. To address this, the vehicle uses a dual serial of hydro-pneumatic recoil buffers. This reduced the recoil force from 4.5MN to a more manageable 620KN. Sketch of the gun and recoil system:
Armor
Front 11.25cm
Elsewhere 1.5-3.75 cm
Engine 68L 2.515Mpa Triple Expansion Condensing Steam Engine
Transmission Steam (direct)
Crew 42 working + 80 carried
Computing 1 Enclosed, Filtered Lubrication, Shock-Resistant Redundancy Level 3 ABM Thinking Machine 6 (1900 Model)
Cargo 5809kg 9.7m^3
Weapons 1 BLR gun 8-inch
14 Maxim Gun in dual turretts
2 Rapid Fire Gun, 3-pounder in sponsons
Speed (no towing) 19.96m/s 71.85km/hr 44.63mi/hr
Speed (towing) 19.96m/s 71.85km/hr 44.63mi/hr
Towing capacity: 775 tons
checks out some 10/15mm railroad tracks for wargaming.
