At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, rockets are transported from the rocket factory to the launch pads by 1520 mm broad-gauge railway. The Cosmodrome is the world's largest operational space launch facility with many launch pads for different types of rockets. There are many switches for shunting operations: TEM2UM locomotive transporting Soyuz rocket with Soyus-TMA spacecraft (ISS crew) Soyuz rocket with Progress-M spacecraft (ISS supply) Proton-M rocket (heavy loads) 11T186 locomotive transporting Zenit rocket (light loads)
It’s a good suggestion, but I don’t think enough people are interested in Kazakh rockets to make it viable.
Nor is it likely to tick many boxes with the current political climate. “Hi Vlad, Matt P here. Mind if we come and take pictures of your rocket military installation? Hello, hello…?”
Very interesting and if you are wondering there are TE109 M62 locomotives. Which can then be modified to become the German versions DR Baureihe 132 Ludmilla DR Baureihe 120 Taigatrommel. The TEM2 can then be modified to become Clinchfield RR Union Pacific Norfolk and Western Alco RS1 RSD1. Because during World War II the United States gave Alco diesel locomotives to Kazakhstan when it was part of the Soviet Union. Which can explain why Russian switchers resemble an Alco.
Dang! That is really awesome. Reminds me of the rocket booster trains that Union Pacific runs out of northern Utah towards Florida, only bigger. We need some cool operations like this: UP rocket booster trains over the Wasatch Grade and BNSF Boeing 737 Fuselage trains over Stevens Pass, to name a few.
Well there are already pictures like the one shown above. Besides, I don't think the community is going to give too much pushback over being unable to make top secret rockets/military bases look accurate. We are not War Thunder players.
But seeing Dovetail’s ‘LAMP’ method of route selection, I wouldn’t say this ticks any of the criteria.
