r/july4th

No matter where you are, celebrate our country's 250th Anniversary with us, Reddit!

Have A Great Day!

Don't be alarmed thinking I forgot the rest of the Circus Train. I realized as I was preparing the Circus Train Grand Finale, that July 4 would come before I was ready to post. Thus I switched gears to do this, but will soon complete posting the Circus series. Now, on with America 250!

The first photo is a flatcar with a Tank & an earth-mover. I have noticed throughout my railfanning years that a military train is rarely without some form of this equipment.

The second photo shows a second flatcar, this one with a Howitzer & another Tank.

The third photo shows flatcar #3, with a troop trailer, Humvee, & second Howitzer. Before going any further, yes I know there's work to do color matching the wheels & other things. This is an ongoing project.

Next is Flatcar #4 with a Red Cross Medical Truck, & a Halftrack.

Then comes another Flatcar, this time carrying a Jeep & a Semi Cab. The latter will become clearer with the next photo.

With Flatcar #5, we have the rest of the Semi Truck. I've seen many of these tankers on Military trains, usually for hauling fuel.

Now we get to the really cool stuff, starting with my first Minuteman Missile Car. This one requires manual operation. You swing back the roof, open the side door for access, then press the back of the launcher to raise the missile. You pull back the hammer & let her rip! This one's powered by rubber bands (can use Lego brand ones, but that got too expensive) & will launch the missile a good 30 to 40 feet!

Next is my second Minuteman Missile car, this one being fully automatic! It uses Power Functions to open, raise, & launch all by remote control!

Then we have a flatcar carrying a truck trailer with a nuclear missile onboard. I have several of these in HO Scale, so I made one for my Lego trains as well. This design I cannot verify the authenticity of, but it looks really cool regardless. I even built in the capability to raise the missile vertically.

After that we have my budget version of the captured German Anzio Annie Railroad gun. I plan on making a better one someday. Still a cool piece of history.

Next is what I call my missile command car. A more fanciful creation to be sure, but very interesting nonetheless. It contains a mobile launch facility, with radar screens, safety controls, launch buttons, & 2 missiles each on their own launch pad. Included is a top-down view showing the details.

Next is another of my historical pieces, a German Flakwagen or antiaircraft car. These were used to protect WWII trains from air attack, though their success rate is somewhat questionable. I believe we captured a few of these as well.

After that, we return to good old American ingenuity, with a locomotive designed to run on any gauge track our military needed it to. Also included is a photo I took of the real thing.

Then we have a somewhat more fanciful, & Lionel inspired American Antiaircraft car. This takes elements from several things & combines them into a really neat MOC. There's a radar for detecting incoming attacks, & a Flack Gun for defense.

Continuing, we have a car inspired by Buster Keaton in 'The General'. It carries a cannon reminiscent of the Civil War, complete with ramrod, powder, & cannonballs.

Finally we have another Lionel inspired MOC, a third operating missile launch car. This runs by a #2847c01   remote, & launches a barrage of 3 missiles sequentially.

I hope you all enjoy this tribute to our Armed Forces as we celebrate the United States of America on her 250th birthday. As always, feel free to comment, ask questions, & even recreate for yourself, but please do not monetize my designs.

Jalapeño, Habanero , Poblano, Roma Tomatoes, Radish, Red Onion, Salt, Lime, Cilantro

All raw ingredients