[2008-09-30] Armored train from Doctor Zhivago

Strelnikov himself.

From somewhere I acquired an interest in war-trains. It began, I think, in a fascination with railway guns like the (in)famous Nazi Dora, and progressed from there to armored trains like those used extensively in the Russian civil war. I bought a great reference on armored trains by Stephen J. Zaloga, and it reminded me of the massive red behemoth from David Lean's famous filmic adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago. I remembered seeing the movie many years ago and being awed by Strelnikov's armored train, but I didn't remember it well enough to determine if its design had been closely based on any factual armored train (which it does not seem to have been). I looked around on the web and was surprised to find no available stills of the famous film's iconic train, so I enqueued the movie and took some myself. I post them here for the edification of others. I hope someday, perhaps, to model this train in LEGO.

Front view of Strelnikov's train as it approaches.
Side view of Strelnikov's train as it passes.
Rear view of Strelnikov's train as it recedes.
Iconic front right worm's eye view of Strelnikov's train.
Shot through the forest showing some details of rear cars.

last modified 2008-09-30

sean@seanmichaelragan.com