This encyclopaedia represents more than thirty years of research. The assembling of such a vast collection of documents, photographs, drawings, technical details and personal reminiscences, from all the various original sources, would not have been possible without the support and help given by a large number of correspondents in many countries worldwide.
We would like to specially mention Mr Roger Branfill-Cook who has done much more than simply translate these texts, he is an armaments specialist always on the lookout for details hidden in photographs, an utter perfectionist and an uncoverer of secrets! Thanks must also go to our Editor, Mr Robert Gardiner, who with Roger Branfill-Cook insisted that this book, which initially we planned as just a simple updating of our 1989 edition, should be completely revised and expanded. My research efforts have been supported by historians and specialists in the realms of armoured trains and railway artillery, and by railway experts who have written about the rolling stock of their own country, or have created a specialised series of documents. In particular I must mention Messrs Illès András, Jacinto M Arévalo Molina, Peter Bagshawe, Carlos Stephani Bastos, Brian Baxter, Johan Botha, Petrus Botha, Jan de Bruin, Guy Chabot, Francisco Cruzado Albert, Bojan Dimitrijović, General Guy François, Daniele Guglielmi, Tomáš Jakl, Tony Hill, Adam Jońca, Alan Koenig, Maxim Kolomiets, the late Janusz Magnuski, Krzysztof Margasiński, Pavel Mičianik, Tiit Noormets, the late Nicola Pignato, Artur Przeczek, Wolfgang Sawodny, Tamara Štefanac, Marcel Verhaaf, Steven Zaloga and Mariusz Zimny. My thanks go to them all for their unfailing support.
We have also been able to count on the constant support and patience of Mme Laure Dubus, and on her expertise in international relations.
Our gratitude goes to the curators and archivists of the museums, archives and private companies, who have replied to our requests for information or have pointed us in the direction of contacts we would not otherwise have known about. Every effort has been made to correctly ascribe credit for the photographs and documents. Nonetheless, certain documents, the origin of which we have been unable to identify, have been used here because of their rarity or their historical interest. We trust their originators and owners will readily excuse us, and see in our use of them our recognition of the quality of these items.
We must also mention all the penfriends and correspondents who have helped us over the years and please accept our apologies in advance if anyone has been accidentally omitted: Alain Alvarez, Reginaldo Bacchi, John Batwell, the late Yves Bernard, Luc Binet, Captain Valérie Caniart, Colonel Fillipo Capellano, Frédéric Carbon, Jean-Christophe Carbonel, Emmanuelle Chanteranne, Peter Cooke, Paul Coterell, Pascal Danjou, Stephen Dartnell, the late Yves Debay, Henry Dropsy, Rob Dickinson, Marcel Duflot, the late Alain Dupouy, Patricia Durrieu, Matthew Ecker, Barba Ekmane, Konstantin Fedorov, Tony Ford, the late Andrew Gillitt, Florian Grupp, Frederic Guelton, Olaf Güttler, Georges Handrinos, Michael Hansson, David Hills, Stuart Jefferson, the late Jean-Gabriel Jeudy, John Jolly, Jacques Jost, Philip Jowett, Hans Kohit, Bas Koster, Günther Kraus, Martin Lacko, Eric Laugier, Colonel (Hon) Dominique Loiseau, Denis MacCarthy, Walter McGrath, Wawrzyniec Markowski, the late Georges Mazy, Jürgen Meister, Chen Melling, Candice Menat, André Meyer, Paul Middleton, Albert Mroz, John Murphy, Paul Napier, Général Pierre Nicolas-Vullierme, Kevin Patience, Walter Piringer, Lieutenant-Colonel Rémy Porte, Gérard Pouilé, Michel Protat, Uzi Raviv, Werner Regenberg, Charles Rickwood, Stuart Robinson, John L Rue, Max Schiavon, Bill Schmeelk, Horst Schobesberger, Aleksandar Smiljanić, Prakash Tendulkar, Philippe Tomatis, Gerry Van Tonder, Véronique De Touchet, Pierre Touzin, François Vauvillier, Jochen Vollert, Paul V Walsh, Hal Walters, Athol Yates and Chen Yichuan.
We dedicate this book to all the crews of armoured trains, who carried on the railway war which was as difficult and as dangerous as those of their comrades in arms in other branches, without however receiving the accolades that armoured trains so richly deserved. Our hope is therefore that this book will open up new and multiple avenues of research, and we remain open to all constructive criticism.