Well!! Here we have an entire World War 2 German BP44 Armoured train! Strictly speaking we have half of an entire train, as they generally ran symetrically either side of the locomotive. The BP44s were a modification of the BP42s, which were themselves a development of the BP38 trains. There is a good bit of information out there on the good old web for you to find out exactly what this is, but we've tried to break it down a little for you to see exactly what's here. We aren't experts on this though, so forgive us our mistakes! What we can say is that from the model's perspective, it's been nicely made. Construction is all wood and metal with the odd bit of detail created from plastic. The turrets all spin, as does the Howitzer and the tank is a fully mobile and detailed model in it's own right. That said, a couple of the cars are yet to be fitted with wheels, there is some minor damage to the odd fragile bit of detail, and not all of the couplings have been completed, so there's some work to be done before the whole thing can hit the track! That said, there's a huge amount done, and we think you'll agree,..... it's a bit of a crowd stopper!! Enjoy the pics, and do please give us a bell if you'd like to know more. Be warned,.... it's a complete train, so it's chuffin long!!
The Engine part is a battery electric (batteries not included). It's very substantially made and weighs a ton! Both bogies are driven, and although we've not tried it ourselves we are assured that the motors all work as they should. As an interesting aside, if you fancied making this a 'real' one,.... we tried the wooden body on top of a Modelworks Prarie tank that we had in stock and it fitted absolutely perfectly!!
Then there's the tender. You can see the basic design of the units. They are all made in this way, and most have wheels ready to go,.... the one or two without are obviously described as such.
Then next up is the Artillery wagon. The gun here was a 10cm Howitzer, and the wagon it's self was used as a medical or kitchen unit as well as obviously for Artillery storage.
Next up is the Infantry or command wagon (depending upon which way along the supposedly symetrical wagon you're looking,.... not sure precisely which we have here). The difference was subtle and given away by small differences in the roof plates and radio ariels.
Outside this wagon came another artillery wagon with a flak cannon on the top. The Flak consisted of 2cm 'Flakvierling' and the other end carries another 10cm Howitzer identical to the earlier one protecting the locomotive.
Then we have the best bit,.... the tank carrier wagon. The tank, usually a Czech 38T tank (we assume that's what we have here,.... perhaps a tank expert out there might like to tell us!?) was carried essentially in this well wagon to keep the centre of gravity low. The model here is completely separate, and the protective side plates fold in and out on hinges as shown in the photos.
Nearly there! Lastly there is this 'pusher' car. A more expendable wagon for the end of the train, the theory being that it would encounter trouble first. These cards were usually loaded with Ballast and track mending equipment. On the BP44 trains the pusher wagon was modified to become a 'Panzerjager' wagon, which sported a rather formidable gun and turret. In fact this was lifted straight from a Panzer IV tank and fielded a long 7.5cm KwK L/48 gun.
Again, to re-iterate, the descriptions above are a guide to what we have uncovered through our research, but this one is somewhat outside our sphere of expertise! If you know better, please do let us know. Still, it's a bit of a beast, and has clearly been a labour of love and research in it's creation. If you'd like to know any more about it, please don't hesitate to give us a bell on 07816 963463
Sorry It's Sold!
