Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Car

Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Car
In service	1990–1991
Manufacturer	Rockwell International
Number built	1
Number preserved	1
Capacity	One MGM-118A ICBM
Operator	United States Air Force
Specifications
Car length	87 ft (27 m)
Weight	520,000 lb (240 t)
Bogies	4 x 4-wheel
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge

The Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Car is a railway vehicle that was developed by the United States Air Force during the 1980s as part of a plan to place fifty MGM-118A Peacekeeper^[1] intercontinental ballistic missiles on the rail network of the United States. The railcars were intended, in case of increased threat of nuclear war, to be deployed onto the nation's rail network to avoid being destroyed by a first strike counterforce attack by the Soviet Union. However the plan was cancelled as part of defense cutbacks following the end of the Cold War, and the Peacekeeper missiles were installed in silo launchers instead.

Development

On December 19, 1986, the White House announced that U.S. President Ronald Reagan had given approval to a plan for the development of a railroad-based system for basing part of the planned LGM-118 Peacekeeper – originally referred to as "M-X"^[2] – intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force.^[3] Intended to increase the survivability of the force in the event of a counterforce nuclear attack by the Soviet Union, the 50 train-based missile launchers, fitted two to each of twenty-five trains, would supplement a force of 50 silo-based missiles that would replace existing Minuteman missiles.^{[3][N 1]}

Each train was planned to consist of two locomotives (appeared to be EMD SD40-2 in unclassified diagrams ^[4]), two cars for housing security forces (using a modified box car), two launchers each holding a single missile (using a modified box car), a launch control car (using a modified Westinghouse box car), a fuel car, and a maintenance car (using a modified box car).^[3] Each launching car would carry one missile in a tube that, upon the receipt of an authenticated firing command, would elevate to fire the missile from the bed of the car. The launch cars were 87 feet (27 m) long, and when loaded with a missile weighed over 520,000 pounds (240 t).^[3]

The deployment plan called for the trains to be permanently based in shelters that would be constructed on Strategic Air Command bases throughout the United States, with the missile crews on continuous alert.^[3] Upon the receipt of a signal indicating an increase in alert level, the trains would be "flushed", dispersing onto the American railroad network,^[5] thus making it difficult for an enemy to determine where the missiles were at any given time to target them.^[3]

Major contractors for the rail garrison system were Boeing Aerospace Corporation, Westinghouse Marine Division and Rockwell International Autonetics. The proposed main garrison for the weapons deployment system was to be F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, with each selected garrison hosting up to four trains.^[6]

Testing and termination

End view of the PRGC

After several years of development, the prototype Rail Garrison Car was delivered to the U.S. Air Force on October 4, 1990. After undergoing initial evaluation at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the car was then sent to the Transportation Test Center in Pueblo, Colorado for further testing on the Association of American Railroads' test track.^[7]

In 1991, however, with the Cold War having come to an end, the Peacekeeper rail garrison system was cancelled.^[3] As a result, all 114 Peacekeeper missiles produced were installed in former Minuteman silos.^[8] Following termination, the prototype rail garrison car was delivered to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio in 1994 for public display.^[3]

See also

	Trains portal
	United States Air Force portal
	Cold War portal

• RT-23 Molodets
• Railway gun

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

• BALLISTIC MISSILES - Federation of American Scientists.
• A diagram of the train setup - Federation of American Scientists.