I cannot verify it in person as I have not visited the National Museum of the United States Navy, but
I have read that they have one of the WW I US Navy 14" gun mounts built by Baldwin and sent to the
French Front in time to see combat (the Army's version didn't make it over in time) is on display at the
museum in the Washington Navy Yard. The Naval Gun Factory was another name the facility used
when it was actually building the guns for the US Navy until about 1960. After WW I ended, the US Navy
was forced out of the RR-mounted artillery business and their cars were turned over to the Army. Most
cars from both sources were scrapped in the 20's. There was a modernized mobile rail-mounted artillery
piece designed and built in the 1930's which were assigned to various Coastal Artillery forts in the US.
Ft. MacArthur in San Pedro, CA had two of the 14" versions assigned, and they were actually taken
out and test fired several time along the AT&SF and SP coast lines south and north of Los Angeles.
Something about the damage claims for windows and crockery that were presented by civilians living
near Ft. MacArthur after each firing exercise prevented much practice firing there, although permanent
firing positions were constructed during the late 30's to defend the Los Angeles harbor areas. There was
an interesting book on the subject of mobile artillery (called California's Railway Guns if I recall correctly?)
published several years ago (back before the turn of the century!).
The Yoder model is of one of the resultant guns being shipped to wherever the actual user was located.
Considering that the Naval Gun Factory was located on the PRR mainline south to Potomac Yard,
quite a few such multi-flatcar loads were handled over the years. There are quite a few pictures available.
The other facility which had the capability to produce the "big" guns used by the US forces was
the US Army's Watervliet Arsenal which built the cannons for the US Coastal Artillery pre-WW II.
Their delivery car was subject of another thread on this forum. As mentioned, these were delivery
vehicles only and were not capable of firing the guns.Don't know what they used to move the barrels
out of the Nevada storage facility (that everyone was joking about that NSWC facility in the desert)
when they decided to pull several for display a while back.
As for the Gomez Adams school of RR operation, I am sure that there may be someone, somewhere,
may have that in mind....
