An armoured train or armored train is a railway train protected with heavy metal plating and which often includes railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns, and autocannons. Some have also had ports used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, especially in earlier armoured trains. For the most part, they were used during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when they offered an innovative way to quickly move large amounts of firepower into a new location. Most countries have discontinued their use – road vehicles became much more powerful and offered more flexibility, train tracks proved too vulnerable to sabotage and attacks from the air, and air transportation was an even more flexible way to relocate firepower to a new location. However, there have been occasional uses in the late 20th century and early 21st century. The Russian Federation has used improvised armoured trains in the Second Chechen War (1999–2009) and in its invasion of Ukraine (2022–present).
The Hurban armoured train located in Zvolen, Slovakia. It is not the original, but a replica used in a film. Only two preserved original cars from the other train exist; they are exhibited in the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica.
A TKS tankette used as an armoured reconnaissance draisine, an attempt to overcome one of the inflexibilities of the armoured train – being limited to the track
An armoured CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1889 locomotive derailed on 12 October 1899 during the first engagement of the Second Boer War at Kraaipan
French mobile artillery battery (1914)
A draisine is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure.
Two-person rail-cycle draisine with four wheels, for leisure.
Drais's dandy horse, called Draisine in German, whose name was inherited by the rail vehicle. (drawing published in 1817.)
Basic railbike-draisine
Hand-lever draisine handcar