'Travelling in an armoured train, even when you are not wounded, is
scarcely an enjoyable experience; indeed, it may be described as one
of the most superb tests of warrior qualities.
The machine itself resembles a species of tank-truck, boxed round
with seven-feet high walls of iron or steel, without doors or
windows, and with no covering for the occupants save the dome of
heaven. You climb in and you climb out as you would into a bath, by
hanging on to the loopholes made for the rifles, and planting your
feet on the exterior ridges that act as steps for the nimble
toe. Once in, there is comparative safety. From all sides there is
shelter from rifle-fire save when going down-hill below the enemy,
who can then with ease pour cascades of bullets upon the heads of
the travellers.
The machine is painted kharki colour to make it less observable to
the enemy, and has the distinction of being quite the ugliest of the
many ugly inventions of modern science. Occasionally the exterior is
of varied hue--particularly in green country, when it is made to
look verdant and covered with boughs to give it an arboreal aspect,
and render its shape less observable.
But the ugliness and inconvenience of the train are nothing to the
dangers it may have to encounter. The occupant may find himself
surrounded by a party of the enemy before he has been a mile out
from his base; he may find the rail cut behind him; he may steam
straight into an ambush at any moment, or be blown up before he can
wink. It has rightly been called a "death trap," for it provides
chances of dissolution many and varied.'