Dougie Swan’s WW1 9.2inch railway gun won the top award at the National Model Engineering and Modelling Exhibition at Harrogate in 2010. It is a 3 1/2in. gauge model of a gun made at the Elswick Gun Works, Newcastle on Tyne in 1918. It had a range of 12 miles using shells weighing 380lb (172kg) with a muzzle velocity of 2700fps (1841mph).
Guns of this type were first deployed in 1900 in South Africa but not used. In 1915 surplus 9.2in. naval and coastal defence guns were adapted by Elswick for use on railway trucks in France. They were mounted on Vavasseur slides which allowed recoil to be absorbed by a backwards and upwards motion.
In mid-1916 a more sophisticated version was produced using a turntable with a loading platform. The gun was lowered to the ground to be fired and was stabilized with outriggers. The gun could swivel through 360degrees and the barrel raised by 30deg.
The 9.2in. railway guns fired some 45,000 rounds during the First World War, and remained in service until 1945.
