In 2010, a friend of mine started working on a project. He just finished it not too long ago. It took over 800 hours to complete and is made out of brass! Take a look at what he has been working on!
If you watch it on Youtube, you can watch it in HD.
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That's really sweet. Came out incredible.
Aim THAT at a Lionel Target Car or Ammo Dump!
Ka-BOOOM!
I thought so too, Jeff. I have been watching his progress since he started the project and it turned out better than I could have imagined.
Very cool. I made a "fantasy" railroad cannon, in plastic, using a cannibalized Schnabel car and such, and it took forever. I can only imagine the effort required to work in brass, but he has something unique and valuable - and he had a lot of fun!
I know that working with brass can be tough. On a couple of occasions, a part he built would not fit perfectly and could not be modified. He would then have to remake the part from scratch and try again. I think it was worth it though. He has a one of a kind item that he should be very proud to own.
The following is a small write-up that he composed about the prototype and the model:
The U.S. Navy MKII Naval railroad gun was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1919. The gun barrel version is a MKVI which was 53.5’ long with a 46.3” breach. The gross weight of the carriage gun mount was 305 tons and was test fired in August 1919. Using approximately 400 pounds (two bags) of powder, it fired a 1,400 pound projectile approximately 20 miles with a muzzle velocity of 2,700 feet per second. The barrel recoiled 44” and the rolling assembly was moved down the track 30 to 40 feet depending on the firing elevation. Two of these cannons were produced by Baldwin for the U.S. Navy.
This O-gauge model of the MKII was built out of 0.020” brass sheet with a barrel turned from a 1” aluminum rod. The model has a barrel slide assembly that lowers a scale 86” at a 45 degree angle for transport. This locks in place with two scale 10” pins located on either side just like the prototype. The recoil mechanism on the barrel is functional and will return the barrel to the home position after being recoiled a scale 44” backward. The breach block has threads taking about 1/8 turn to lock into the barrel and can be opened and closed to simulate loading and firing conditions. There is a wheel on either side that elevates the gun barrel to a maximum of 40 degrees by using a scratch built gear box through a screw rod assembly. All walkways, handrail chains, jib cranes, and I-beam trolley frames are removable for transport. The gun has 20 axles on four trucks with spring assembly detail. All 12 toolboxes, three on each of the four corners of the gun, are hinged and functional. Detailing on the front platform includes a winch with drive gears, compressor, motor, hydraulic piston controller for the slide assembly, and electrical box with conduit. Air tanks with regulator assemblies are located on the front side frame. Rubber hoses connect the truck assemblies to the main beam assembly.
The ammunition supply car directly behind the gun has a crane for moving projectiles and powder bags, which are kept on either side of the car, to the ammunition tray located on the gun. The projectile or powder bag is then moved forward on the trolley, hoisted up, and placed on the breach loading chute by the I-beam trolley for loading into the breach. Two jib cranes are provided on the rear corners for loading from the ground or another car in case it is not practicable to load from the rear of the mount.
Isn't there one of these on the naval base in D.C.?
I was there last summer and there was a rail cannon that looked just like this.
The one at the Naval museum near Washington, DC is the MKI version (the predecessor model to this cannon). My friend has been to visit that cannon and has been throwing around the idea of building the MKI version next.
But can it elevate and shoot???
Seriously--great craftmanship!
--Greg
Fantastic work.
Greg,
It will elevate manually as seen in the photos in the video. My friend joked saying that he probably could make it shoot if the barrel were actually bored completely through. He had considered boring it all the way, but he did not have a lathe.
Ah, the legendary Woozelfinch guns! There's one mounted on a ridge just outside Fort Riley KS as well.
Ah, the legendary Woozelfinch guns! There's one mounted on a ridge just outside Fort Riley KS as well.
That is the Atomic Cannon. A rather different beast.
Thinking back on it, it's rather... crazy. Shooting nuclear weapon and then suffering the effects.
Did the trucks not have side frames?
Good work on the model!
Lee 145,
The two prototypes did not have side frames.
Here are a couple of pictures of the prototypes:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi...e_1919_LOC_12663.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi...ailway_gun_Mk_II.jpg
One prototype had white lettering and the other had black lettering.
Oh, they've got a Mark 1 out there as well, though I probably have the locations mixed up. Been 20 years since I've been out there. Yorktown Naval Weapons Station has some great stuff as well. LOVED poking around that place when my cruiser was loading magazines.
But they tell me it was an Itty Bitty Nuke . . . 
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