Author Topic: SSL 5 Series Locomotive  (Read 2833 times)

Khymerion

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SSL 5 Series Locomotive
« on: 01 July 2011, 20:31:37 »
One of the gems of the Star League era technology, the SSL 5 series locomotives were some of the most fastest non-magnetic levitation engines produced for heavy transport.  While the later Adelante trains centuries later were larger and more versatile, SSL 5's were once common sights at train terminals and rail yards.  The locomotive would unfortunately be a victim of the Succession Wars as the fights over the former Hegemony worlds would see many of these lines reduced to ash, along with the heavy trains that once raced up and down them.  By the mid 3000's, most had assumed they were regulated to a few preserved specimens rotting on deserted sides and tri-vid documentaries.

This would come back to haunt the Coalition on several occasions during the closing days of the war to crush the Blakist Jihad.  As the juggernaut closed the noose on the Protectorate, there were reports of cannon fire from the ground to landing dropships, sending many a supply transport crashing to the ground.  Rapid response units would try to discover the source of the gunfire only to find that there was nothing there.  A lucky fighter spotted four massive trains zooming across the countryside at speeds approaching 120 km/h, each hauling a Light Sub-Capital Cannon amongst their cars.  Though these trains would be hunted down, each was being pulled by a 5 series locomotive.  Sadly, this was a sign of things to come during the campaign against Terra... especially within the more mountainous regions of the planet.

While mag-levs during the height of the Star League were faster, the 5 series allowed the engineering corps to reach areas off the beaten path that infrastructure development has not reached yet.  Without beasts like the 5 series capable of racing to supply yards empty at over 230 kph and returning at almost 120 kph full loaded with 500 tons of cargo, some of the grand experiments would never have been completed.  Armored enough to resist accidental damage, the Series 5's armor belt had problems when resisting some of the heavier weapons within the armories of the League members.  This fact alone cost the lives of more than one 5 series crew thinking they were armored enough to race through a fire fight.

Code: [Select]
Type - SSL 5 series Locomotive
Chassis - Rail (Large)
Mass - 500 tons
Equipment Rating - E/E/E

Chassis -  Tractor                                       153
Engine -  Fusion                                         325.5
         Cruise -  15
         Flank -   23
Armor -                    254           Bar 8         11.5 tons

             Nose - 43
             FR/FL - 42/42
             RR/RL - 42/42
             Rear -   43

Equipment -
Cargo - 11 tons - 1 Door

"Any sufficiently rigorously defined magic is indistinguishable from technology."  - Larry Niven... far too appropriate at times here.

...but sometimes making sure you turn their ace into red paste is more important than friends.

Do not offend the chair leg of truth.  It is wise and terrible.

The GM is only right for as long as the facts back him up.

Khymerion

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Re: SSL 5 Series Locomotive
« Reply #1 on: 05 July 2011, 11:11:16 »
The Type 01 Railway Gun
Investigations by engineering teams picking through the wreckage of the destroyed cannons produced a number of interesting findings.   The Word of Blake Type-01 Railway gun carriage was a massive 300 ton behemoth.  16 massive sets of wheels, 8 pairs to the front and 8 to the rear, support the monster gun.   Huge hydraulic supports flank the carriage, set to drop to give support for the gun when it moves into position to fire.  Giant recoil cylinders dominate so much of the turret chamber where dozens of men scrambled around at one time and were mounted upon an equally incredible turret mechanism.  The ram that pushed the 1000 kg rounds up into the breech could easily have crushed a man without slowing.  It was like stepping back into time to the days of the battleship for the engineering team with the huge shells being bandied about so.

Code: [Select]
Type - Type 01 Railway Gun
Chassis - Rail (Large)
Mass - 300.5 tons
Tech Rating - F

Chassis -                      Trailer                      48 tons
Engine - None
Turret -                                                        20 tons
Armor -   Bar 9            154                            7.238 tons
          Front                   22
          FL/FR                  22/22
          RL/RR                  22/22
          Rear                    22
          Turret                  22

Weapons
Light Sub-Capital Cannon                Turret                 200 tons
Light SCC Ammo (40)                     Body                  20 tons
Cargo                                            Body                  5.242 tons    1 door
« Last Edit: 26 July 2011, 13:39:24 by Khymerion »
"Any sufficiently rigorously defined magic is indistinguishable from technology."  - Larry Niven... far too appropriate at times here.

...but sometimes making sure you turn their ace into red paste is more important than friends.

Do not offend the chair leg of truth.  It is wise and terrible.

The GM is only right for as long as the facts back him up.

Khymerion

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  • Posts: 2500
    • The Iron Hack
Re: SSL 5 Series Locomotive
« Reply #2 on: 25 July 2011, 20:28:24 »
The Type 02 Railway Launcher

While the the Type 01 would hunt dropships during the final days of the campaign to crush the protectorate, it was the Type 02 trailers that would become the bane to ships on final approach to a planet and no longer tied to escort defensive formations and troops trying to make headway against strongholds and vital locations.  Using the same basic carriage of the Type 01, the Type 02's turret was modifier to carry the reload equipment for a pair of massive launchers.  It became almost expected in the final days of the war that every railway junction or locomotive racing down the steel rails would be another ambush of high powered missiles, driving many a dropship from the sky and making the campaigns more prolonged.  Few would survive the war and even fewer would survive the cutter's torch afterward the war.

Code: [Select]
Type - Type 02 Railway Launcher
Chassis - Rail (Large)
Mass - 300.5 tons
Tech Rating - F

Chassis -                      Trailer                      48 tons
Engine - None
Turret -                                                        20 tons
Armor -   Bar 9            154                            7.238 tons
          Front                   22
          FL/FR                  22/22
          RL/RR                  22/22
          Rear                    22
          Turret                  22

Weapons
2 Piranha Launchers                      Turret                 200 tons
2 Piranha missiles                          Body                  20 tons
Cargo                                            Body                  5.242 tons    1 door

Unlike the Type 01, which was able to carry a respectable amount of munitions in it's trailer, dependent upon massive electromagnetic rams to push the shells and propellant into the breach, the size of the Piranha missiles used by the Type 02 carriage prevented it from carrying too much directly within it.   This meant that the Type 02 Launcher had to have a custom modified and quickly armored box car.  This boxcar was custom built to transport and move automatically missiles from it to the Type 02 carriage, making them inseparable in operations.  16 additional missiles provided by the carriage ensured that launcher would be able to fire on a target long enough to cause havoc.

Code: [Select]
Type - Type 02 Munitions Carriage
Chassis - Rail (Medium)
Mass - 200 tons
Tech Rating - F

Chassis -                      Trailer                                 31.68 tons
Engine - None
Armor - Tech F -  Bar 9            104                            4.888 tons
Nose 26
Left/Right 26/26
Rear 26

Weapons
Ammunition Body 160 tons
Cargo Body 3.432 tons     Doors    2

Note:  To use the Type 02 launcher/support carriage, the SSL 5 series locomotive is unable to haul .5 tons of cargo of it's internal cargo to make compliance with the rules.  Oh well, just a smaller shrine in the rear.
« Last Edit: 25 July 2011, 20:39:33 by Khymerion »
"Any sufficiently rigorously defined magic is indistinguishable from technology."  - Larry Niven... far too appropriate at times here.

...but sometimes making sure you turn their ace into red paste is more important than friends.

Do not offend the chair leg of truth.  It is wise and terrible.

The GM is only right for as long as the facts back him up.

 

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