In the early sixties, an attempt was made in the United States to create a combat railway missile system (BZHRK), armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles LGM-30A Minuteman. The Mobile Minuteman project ended with a cycle of tests, during which the positive and negative features of such a technique were established. Due to the complexity of operation, the general high cost and the lack of serious advantages over the existing silo-based missiles, the project was closed. Nevertheless, two decades later, the American military and engineers returned to the idea, which, as it seemed then, could significantly increase the potential of the ground component of the strategic nuclear forces.
Theory and practice
The Mobile Minuteman project was first of all closed due to the high cost and complexity of the BZHRK construction. Nevertheless, some of the features of such systems still attracted the military. The main advantage of the railway complexes was considered to be high mobility. Using the existing railroad networks of the United States, "rocket trains" could disperse throughout the country and thus escape from a possible missile strike from a potential enemy.
In the eighties, American experts calculated the approximate survivability of the BZHRK in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. 25 trains with intercontinental missiles, dispersed along railway networks with a total length of about 120 thousand kilometers, would have turned out to be an extremely difficult target for the enemy. Due to problems with detection and destruction, a nuclear missile strike using 150 R-36M missiles was supposed to disable only 10% of the “rocket train” fleet. Thus, as it was argued, the promising BZHRK turned out to be one of the most tenacious components of strategic nuclear forces.
Naturally, the project must have had a number of problems. The new BZHRK, like the Mobile Minuteman, was supposed to become quite expensive and complex from a technical point of view. When developing, it was required to solve a number of specific problems associated with both the missile used and with various ground means. However, the US military once again wanted a rail-based missile.
According to some reports, one of the prerequisites for the creation of a new BZHRK project was intelligence information received from the USSR. Since the early seventies, Soviet specialists have been developing their own version of the "rocket train", which is why the Pentagon wished to get a similar system with similar characteristics, designed to ensure parity.
Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Project
In December 1986, it was announced the start of work on a new project for the creation of a combat railway missile system. As in the case with a previous similar project, it was decided not to create a new rocket for the complex, but to use the existing one. At that time, the US Air Force was mastering the new LGM-118A Peacekeeper missile, which was proposed to be used as a weapon for the new "rocket train". In this regard, the new project was named Peacekeeper Rail Garrison ("Peacekeeper rail-based"). A number of leading US defense companies were involved in the project: Boeing, Rockwell and Westinghouse Marine Division.
It should be noted that in the early stages of the project, some alternatives to the "classic" BZHRK were considered. So, it was proposed to make a mobile missile system based on a special chassis, which could run on highways or go off-road. In addition, the possibility of building sheltered shelters throughout the country was considered, between which "rocket trains" were to run. As a result, it was decided to make a train with special equipment, disguised as civilian freight trains. BZHRK Peacekeeper Rail Garrison was supposed to run on railways and literally get lost among commercial trains.
The required composition of the complex was quickly determined. At the head of the "rocket train" there were to be two locomotives of the required power. In the figures published, this is the GP40-2 diesel locomotive from General Motors EMD. Each complex was supposed to carry two missiles in special wagons. In addition, it was proposed to include two carriages for the crew, a control car and a fuel tank. Such a set of elements of the complex made it possible not only to carry out the assigned combat missions and launch missiles, but also to be on a voyage for quite a long time.
The selected rocket LGM-118A did not differ in its small dimensions and weight, having a length of about 22 m and a starting weight of about 88.5 tons. Such parameters of weapons led to the need to create a special launcher car with a special design and corresponding characteristics. It was required to ensure the possibility of transporting the rocket in a transport and launch container, as well as lifting the container to a vertical position and launching the rocket. At the same time, the car had to have acceptable load indicators on the track and not have serious unmasking differences from other equipment. The car was developed by specialists from Westinghouse and St Louis Refrigerator Car Company.
Due to the weight and size of the rocket, the car with the launcher turned out to be quite large and heavy. Its weight reached 250 tons, the total length was 26.5 m. The width of the car was limited to the permissible size and was 3.15 m, the height was 4.8 m. Externally, this element of the complex was planned to be made similar to standard covered freight cars. To ensure an acceptable load on the track, four bogies with two wheel pairs on each had to be used at once in the design of the launcher car. Despite all efforts, the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison launcher had marked differences from the covered wagons that existed at that time. The car with the rocket was larger and had a different chassis, which distinguished it from the standard cargo "brothers".
It was proposed to place a transport and launch container for a rocket with hydraulic jacks, as well as a set of special equipment inside the launcher car. In preparation for launch, the equipment of the car had to open the roof, raise the container to a vertical position and perform other operations. The rocket was supposed to be pushed out of the container using the so-called. gunpowder pressure accumulator (mortar start), and the main engine of the first stage had to turn on already in the air. Because of this method of launching, special supports were provided in the design of the car, located on the bottom and designed to transfer the recoil impulse to the rails.
The crew of the BZHRK Peacekeeper Rail Garrison was supposed to consist of 42 people. The locomotive control was entrusted to the driver and four engineers, and four officers were to be responsible for launching the missiles. In addition, it was planned to include a doctor, six technicians and a 26-person security team in the crew. It was assumed that such a crew would be able to keep watch for one month, after which it would be replaced by other servicemen.
Ammunition of the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison complex was supposed to consist of two LGM-118A Peacekeeper missiles. Such weapons made it possible to attack targets at ranges of up to 14 thousand kilometers and deliver up to 10 warheads with a capacity of 300 or 475 kt to enemy targets. Thus, the planned construction of 25 "rocket trains" made it possible to keep on duty up to fifty intercontinental missiles, ready for immediate use.
Some sources mention that the composition of the "rocket train" could change in accordance with the situation. First of all, this concerns the number of cars with missiles and other elements of the complex directly related to the performance of combat missions.
Verification in practice
The construction of the experimental Peacekeeper Rail Garrison began with the refinement of the locomotives. For use in the tests, two locomotives GP40-2 and GP38-2 were taken, which underwent some revision. To protect the crew, the locomotive cabins received bulletproof glass, as well as larger fuel tanks. The St Louis Refrigerator Car Company built and handed over to Westinghouse two special carriages in which it was planned to house the units of the launcher.
At the very end of the eighties, when the project of a promising BZHRK reached the construction of experimental equipment, the American military began to make plans for the further purchase of serial equipment and the deployment of new units. The "Railway-based Peacekeeper" complex was supposed to be put on duty until the end of 1992. Already in the 1991 fiscal year, it was planned to allocate $ 2.16 billion for the construction of the first seven serial "rocket trains".
The constructed trains were proposed to be distributed between 10 Air Force bases, where they were supposed to stay until the corresponding order was received. In the event of aggravation of relations with a potential adversary and an increase in the risks of the outbreak of war, trains had to go to the railway networks of the United States and ply along them until receiving an order to start or return. The main base of the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison BZHRK was supposed to be the Warren facility (Wyoming).
The construction of the launch car was completed in the fall of 1990. In early October, he was taken to Vandenberg Air Force Base (California), where the first equipment checks took place. After the completion of all work at the airbase, the car was sent to the Railway Test Center (Pueblo, Colorado). On the basis of this organization, it was planned to conduct running and other tests of new equipment, as well as test it on public railways.
The details of the tests at Vanderberg and at the Railway Research Center are unfortunately not available. Probably, the specialists managed to identify the existing shortcomings and transfer information about them to the project developers so that they could correct the shortcomings. The tests continued until 1991.
In the early nineties, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pentagon leadership began to reconsider their views on the development of the armed forces in general and the nuclear triad in particular. In the updated plans, there was no room for combat railway missile systems. Under the new conditions, such a technique looked too complicated, expensive and almost useless due to the absence, as it seemed then, of threats from a potential enemy in the face of the USSR. For this reason, the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison project was stopped.
The prototype of the launcher car used in the tests was at one of the US Air Force bases for some time. His fate was decided only in 1994. Due to the lack of prospects and the impossibility of continuing work on the project, the prototype car was transferred to the National Museum of the US Air Force (Wright-Patterson base, Ohio), where it is still located. Anyone can now see the result of the latest American BZHRK project.
