A
rail buff could easily spend all his or her hobby time collecting photos of
strange railroad cars and this surely would be a candidate for that
collection. I always thought it was only the Germans that put
humongous guns on railroad cars. Turns out the U.S. Army had a few
as well.
Here is an article that
appeared, along with the photo, in the May 17, 1932 Columbus Citizen, one
of two afternoon newspapers in Columbus. The headline indicates the
reporter was feeling pretty brave the short time they were in town.
Just Tackle Us now, World! We Dare Ya!
If an army had marched on
Columbus Tuesday, the attack would have been easily and effectively
repulsed.
The capital of Ohio was well
protected.
Standing in the Pennsylvania
R.R. yards just south of Fifth avenue were 17 giant coast artillery guns.
The guns are built on
wheels and may be transported over regular railroad systems. Each
gun is as long as three ordinary freight cars.
Collected from eastern seaboard
fortresses, the guns, which have been discarded by the government are
being taken to the Weirton Steel Mills at Weirton, W. Va., where they will
be scrapped.
The artillery was brought to
Columbus over the Chesapeake & Ohio R.R. and transferred here to the
Pennsylvania R.R. for shipment to Weirton.
Inasmuch as the total weight of
each gun, including truck is 272 tons, Pennsylvania officials planned to
place six gondolas between guns to prevent overloading on bridges and
viaducts.
The freight cost of the trip
was more than $3200 for each gun, it was reported.
News clipping & photo from the Irv Layton Collection
