Deutsche Reichsbahn Equipment Number for 28cm K5 series
data provided by Greg Heuer

Armored Trains : (Page 164)
Extracted from the book : Fortress Third Reich by J.E.Kaufmann & H.K.Kaufmann - ISBN 0-306-81239-8
Armored trains served in the German Army until the end of the war. Early in the war they were used in offensive operations, but later they also served as defensive units. Seven of the trains - numbered 1 to 7 were being readied in September 1939. Four more trains - number 21 to 24 were available for the Western campaign and over thirty more were added between then and mid 1944, by which time they were used for defensive purposes. Many were captured Czech and Polish trains, and later Russian units as well. By the end of 1942, most of the trains were used for internal security, i.e. protecting the rail lines from Russian partisans. Special light scout trains, more lightly armed than the others, were used effectively in the Balkans to secure the rail lines. Captured enemy armored vehicles were also adapted for use on the rails, adding to the number of rolling forts.
The locomotives and various wagons for the crew and weapons were covered with armor. In many cases the locomotive was not placed in the lead, but rather in the center of the train. Some wagons mounted guns, others were adapted for carrying tanks on armored flat cars, others still carried troops. The tanks could quickly be unloaded to pursue the enemy. Most trains also included a special command car with communications equipment. Artillery cars were special armored wagons that transported a variety of weapons, including, more often than not, a turret mounted gun. The flak car are either a flatbed wagon that mounted the weapons, or an armored wagon with a hatch in the roof that opened for a pair of 20mm guns. Some of the special trains, created in mid 1943, included a light scout car that mounted machine guns or heavy scout cars that mounted a tank turret from a Panzer III or IV with 75mm gun.
These trains continued to serve until the end of the war, carrying out a wide variety of functions from patrolling the coast of the French Riviera to helping tear up track on the Eastern Front during the retreat. As long as the rail lines remained intact, they could fill in gaps in the line.

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