Not many people knows, that during the First and Second Warld War armored trains and locomotives were used. Such vehicles were built based on normal trains covered by armour plates. First train like this was used (in Poland) in 1863 by insurgents of January Uprising (Powstanie Styczniowe) during battle battle of the Sosnowiec train station. This was regular train only covered by steal plates.

Author: Radomil under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0

During First World War Polish army had six improvised armored trains and one taken from an Austria. Imporvised trains were not so good equiped and armoured as regular ones. They have often thin armour built not only from steal but sometimes from bags with sand or conret walls.

Steam locomotive from armoured train

Trains were lead mainly by locomotives powered by steam. Well known Polish locomotive were from Bartosz Glowacki train. Locomotive was used during Second World War and destroyed near Lwow (today Ukrain) by German artillery.

Armored trains in Poland were often built from captured trains. For example in 1918 in Prokocim near Krakov Polish army captured austro-hungarian train and built from it two other "Pilsudczyk" and "Smiały".

Armored trains were used in many countries - Germany, Russia and even USA (first one built in 1982). They patroled, fighted and were also used to police work. They were popular mainly because poor condition of roads then.

Nowdays You can see some Polish trains in museums or in skansens.

Armoured trains in Chabówka museum

Author: Piotrus under Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa - Na tych samych warunkach 3.0