AHC: An actual Wild Wild West

A similar idea to the chain gun used in a more modern revolver was the Dardick revolver. I have had similar ideas on a steampunk revolving rifle. But I would try to increase ammo capacity through the use of a cartridge magazine combined with a mechanical auto ejector. Which others have doen in OTL. I will share the examples I know of in order of my own personal discovery of them.

There was a guy who shared his progress online a few years ago of him converting a Ruger revolver with a Spencer-like tube magazine and gas ejection. He called it the FrankenRuger.

A similar idea was done over a hundred years ago by a guy named Chaine with a modified Webley revolver, but with a mechanical ejector in the form a a finger attached to the trigger. As well as what seems to be a magazine/buttstock in the form of four tubes that spin on an axis

A much simpler mechanical ejector was patented by Silver and Fletcher in the 1880s that Forgotten Weapons made a great video on

Surprisingly the most efficient form of mechanical auto-ejecting revolver that I know if is also the earliest. With the Swiss made Von Steiger revolvers that I learned about through Forgotten Weapons. Unlike in the Silver Fletcher video he shows how well it actually works.

So I think that the Silver Fletcher design is perhaps the most to mass produce, but I'm not sure how well it may work. I also think the Silver Fletcher design could even be incorporated into Richards-Mason style conversions rings used to convert percussion Colts and Remingtons into cartridge firing revolvers.

Another good source of inspiration for Steampunk guns that I know of I are the animations made by GarethWasHere
This is honestly reminding me of the upgraded revolver from the original bioshock.
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I'm wondering with the theoretical earlier development antibiotics and better scientific that would be inevitable byproduct of the steampunk technology if we might see the earlier discovery of viruses and thus vaccines. Of course there'll probably be some darker implications considering this was the height of European colonialism. If you thought the race for Africa was bad in OTL wait until the European power's have steampunk armored cars and dirigibles. Even if a lot of the technological benefits of industrial civilization do end up coming earlier.

Also I'd like to point out the Adventures of Brisco County Jr. staring Bruce Campbell as another spiritual successor to The Wild Wild West. With it following the bounty hunter Brisco County Jr. as he travels across the west in the 1890's encountering all kinds of steampunk inventions. Honestly I can see it, TWWW and Legend all taking place in the same universe.
 
This is honestly reminding me of the upgraded revolver from the original bioshock.
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Haha, a cool looking but very non-functional design! How are the cartridges supposed to load into the side of the cylinder like that!

I'm wondering with the theoretical earlier development antibiotics and better scientific that would be inevitable byproduct of the steampunk technology if we might see the earlier discovery of viruses and thus vaccines. Of course there'll probably be some darker implications considering this was the height of European colonialism. If you thought the race for Africa was bad in OTL wait until the European power's have steampunk armored cars and dirigibles. Even if a lot of the technological benefits of industrial civilization do end up coming earlier.

Also I'd like to point out the Adventures of Brisco County Jr. staring Bruce Campbell as another spiritual successor to The Wild Wild West. With it following the bounty hunter Brisco County Jr. as he travels across the west in the 1890's encountering all kinds of steampunk inventions. Honestly I can see it, TWWW and Legend all taking place in the same universe.
Maybe under certain circumstances. According to Wikipedia Louis Pasteur was able to develop a Rabies vaccine without knowing that a virus caused it, and viruses were only discovered after the invention of filters with pores small enough to trap bacteria infected with them. So studying the circumstances that lead to the invention of those technologies could lead to ideas about how they could have been developed sooner.

I agree with the darker implications this could have for colonialism. Some cases could be circumvented though if different groups of people gained access to industrial technologies in order to fight back against colonialism. Like Japan in OTL. The novel Everfair has a POD of European Anarchists aiding people in the Congo to fight against Belgian colonization and then with industrialization. There was even a plot point in the series Ripper Street in which one of the antagonists of the show plans to make money by auctioning off weapons, including Maxim Machine Guns, to anti-imperialist forces in Africa and the Philippines.
 
Haha, a cool looking but very non-functional design! How are the cartridges supposed to load into the side of the cylinder like that!
I honestly have no idea. If was to redesigning it I'd take out the cylinder entirely and turn it into a chain gun proper. Maybe with a latch to access the ammo belt to reload... though it probably would pull to the right do to weight.
Maybe under certain circumstances. According to Wikipedia Louis Pasteur was able to develop a Rabies vaccine without knowing that a virus caused it, and viruses were only discovered after the invention of filters with pores small enough to trap bacteria infected with them. So studying the circumstances that lead to the invention of those technologies could lead to ideas about how they could have been developed sooner.
Thinking about it while Vaccines do probably get developed ahead of OTL it still probably wouldn't be until the twentieth century. (Which I'm picturing the first part being a mash up of Crimson Skies, Bioshock and two of my favorite movies ever The Dark City and Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. Thanks to all the previous technological advances of the 19th century.)
I agree with the darker implications this could have for colonialism. Some cases could be circumvented though if different groups of people gained access to industrial technologies in order to fight back against colonialism. Like Japan in OTL. The novel Everfair has a POD of European Anarchists aiding people in the Congo to fight against Belgian colonization and then with industrialization. There was even a plot point in the series Ripper Street in which one of the antagonists of the show plans to make money by auctioning off weapons, including Maxim Machine Guns, to anti-imperialist forces in Africa and the Philippines.
Well it's also a combination of factors on both how effective the colonizers are at conquest and what advantages they have. While on the other hand you've got the locals with a combination of how developed they are, competence of leadership and the level of internal cohesion. I could see Japan managing to pull off the Mejia restoration same as OTL, maybe even more successfully if some powers saw them as an effective counterweight to their rivals in the region. There's also the Kingdom of Thailand and Ethiopia to consider, plus I believe you mentioned something about the Taiping Rebellion... (Overall Africa is probably going to have a larger colonial white and mixed heritage population here.)
Not only reminds me of the WWW movie but another film that was a favorite for me as a kid titled Tale Tale. The plot of the movie revolves around American Legends like Paul Bunyon, and the villain of the movie is a land hungry industrialist with a very Steampunk-aesthetic. His henchmen even use steam powered motorcycles with large smokestacks lol
Now that is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship right there and what's best, it fits right in with the neoclassical designs of the era.
 
(Which I'm picturing the first part being a mash up of Crimson Skies, Bioshock and two of my favorite movies ever The Dark City and Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. Thanks to all the previous technological advances of the 19th century.)
Now that sounds like a world I would want to see! I have had similar plans for a TL I have been fleshing out for a few years, starting in the mid 1800s and turning into a steampunk-post-apocalyptic-Crimson Skies type of world

Well it's also a combination of factors on both how effective the colonizers are at conquest and what advantages they have. While on the other hand you've got the locals with a combination of how developed they are, competence of leadership and the level of internal cohesion. I could see Japan managing to pull off the Mejia restoration same as OTL, maybe even more successfully if some powers saw them as an effective counterweight to their rivals in the region. There's also the Kingdom of Thailand and Ethiopia to consider, plus I believe you mentioned something about the Taiping Rebellion... (Overall Africa is probably going to have a larger colonial white and mixed heritage population here.)

I think some Sub-Saharan African groups could achieve more technology wise than in OTL. Most already had iron producing methods that could be converted into developing steel. Yoruba people of what is now Benin and Nigeria were skilled in bronze sculpting. Other groups I have thought of Meiji-ing are the Marina Kingdom of Madagascar (if only Ranavolina could take control of the whole island!) and the Sultanate of Zanzibar. Plus there is the country of Liberia, founded by African Americans. I imagine that it may not take much for more African American's who are skilled in knowledge of engineering and mass production to move there after the ACW and industrialize Liberia, and perhaps have it expand to take up more of West Africa. How that may or may not benefit the people of West Africa is debatable though given OTL's history of Americo vs Native Liberians. I would like to write a TL that is like Crimson Skies but in Africa, with an Afro-futurism/retro-futurism ascetic. I believe someone else published a TL a few years ago about Brazilian slaves returning to West Africa and helping it industrialize, but I cannot recall its name right now. Maybe I can find it after I sleep a bit
 
Now that sounds like a world I would want to see! I have had similar plans for a TL I have been fleshing out for a few years, starting in the mid 1800s and turning into a steampunk-post-apocalyptic-Crimson Skies type of world
Neat! I'm thinking while this world starts out as steampunk during the 19th century we see it transitioning from Crimson Skies dieselpunk to Fallout Atompunk to Bladerunner & Ghost in the Shell styled cyberpunk over the course of the 20th century.
I think some Sub-Saharan African groups could achieve more technology wise than in OTL. Most already had iron producing methods that could be converted into developing steel. Yoruba people of what is now Benin and Nigeria were skilled in bronze sculpting. Other groups I have thought of Meiji-ing are the Marina Kingdom of Madagascar (if only Ranavolina could take control of the whole island!) and the Sultanate of Zanzibar. Plus there is the country of Liberia, founded by African Americans. I imagine that it may not take much for more African American's who are skilled in knowledge of engineering and mass production to move there after the ACW and industrialize Liberia, and perhaps have it expand to take up more of West Africa. How that may or may not benefit the people of West Africa is debatable though given OTL's history of Americo vs Native Liberians. I would like to write a TL that is like Crimson Skies but in Africa, with an Afro-futurism/retro-futurism ascetic. I believe someone else published a TL a few years ago about Brazilian slaves returning to West Africa and helping it industrialize, but I cannot recall its name right now. Maybe I can find it after I sleep a bit
I'd honestly say we should take the good with the bad. On one hand a lot of diseases got cured earlier alongside technologies that improved the standard of living getting developed ahead of OTL but on the other hand colonialism was even worse for native people. Though I guess in the long term it would mean Africa would be more developed than OTL.

Also it takes more than iron working to develop industrial steel production.
 
Neat! I'm thinking while this world starts out as steampunk during the 19th century we see it transitioning from Crimson Skies dieselpunk to Fallout Atompunk to Bladerunner & Ghost in the Shell styled cyberpunk over the course of the 20th century.

I'd honestly say we should take the good with the bad. On one hand a lot of diseases got cured earlier alongside technologies that improved the standard of living getting developed ahead of OTL but on the other hand colonialism was even worse for native people. Though I guess in the long term it would mean Africa would be more developed than OTL.

Also it takes more than iron working to develop industrial steel production.
Punkalicious!

Agreed that it takes more, but many African civilizations had a good foundation to build upon that was comparable to situations in the USA around the early 1800s. The ruler of the Marina kingdom that I mentioned earlier, Queen Ranavolina, was even trying to industrialize Madagascar in the mid-1800s using the skills of French expatriot Jean Laborde to built factories making crucible steel. Things fell apart in 1857 when Laborde took part in an attempted French coup that also included the Queen's son. Then the French used that incident to justify later attempts at colonizing Madagascar.

The Haya people of Tanzania also had developed an efficient design of clay furnace that could produce high quality iron, and even steel according to some sources. I am trying to study the nuances of different clay furnace designs, but I think it may be comparable to the Japanese design of the Tatara steel making furnace
 
Punkalicious!

Agreed that it takes more, but many African civilizations had a good foundation to build upon that was comparable to situations in the USA around the early 1800s. The ruler of the Marina kingdom that I mentioned earlier, Queen Ranavolina, was even trying to industrialize Madagascar in the mid-1800s using the skills of French expatriot Jean Laborde to built factories making crucible steel. Things fell apart in 1857 when Laborde took part in an attempted French coup that also included the Queen's son. Then the French used that incident to justify later attempts at colonizing Madagascar.

The Haya people of Tanzania also had developed an efficient design of clay furnace that could produce high quality iron, and even steel according to some sources. I am trying to study the nuances of different clay furnace designs, but I think it may be comparable to the Japanese design of the Tatara steel making furnace
I'm honestly picturing it becoming something similar to South America by the modern day with there being a large mixed heritage middle class in most countries with a mostly white upper class. While the indigenous tribes find themselves increasingly marginalized. Though an industrialized Madagascar does sound interesting...

That and by the time this world reaches cyberpunk I'm picturing Dutch Congolese mercenaries working for shadowy megacorps.
 
Going back to the idea of the Confederacy winning the Civil War this thread gives a pretty good idea on the industrial development of an independent South. Of course some things would be altered thanks to the overhauling of technological developments. Admittedly I have thought about the idea of the Confederacy and Japan briefly allying against Spain in an alternate equivalent of both the Spanish-American War. Actually I wonder if this would butterfly the Alaska purchase for the US...
 
I also suggest reading the Britannia's Fist Trilogy. An alternate history that imagine the British and French aiding the CSA, one of the great focuses in the books is the use of weapons technology during the war. With the POD leading the the Union adopting Coffee Mill and Gatling guns on a large scale, and supporting the building of airships. One of the features that I find most interesting though is that it also involves expanding the power of the Bureau of Military Information. In a post ACW CSA Victory TL I could see that organization having a similar set of responsibilities as the Secret Service as it exists in OTL and TWWW series

Anyone up for this being the official theme song for the Bureau of Military Information in universe?
 
Going back to the idea of the Confederacy winning the Civil War this thread gives a pretty good idea on the industrial development of an independent South. Of course some things would be altered thanks to the overhauling of technological developments. Admittedly I have thought about the idea of the Confederacy and Japan briefly allying against Spain in an alternate equivalent of both the Spanish-American War. Actually I wonder if this would butterfly the Alaska purchase for the US...
What part of the thread focuses on that. Not sure if I have the time to read through the whole thing

A Japanese CSA alliance would be interesting. In particular if members of each country find a connection through their cultural ideas of hierarchy. Samurai families in Japan and in the CSA the gentry who fancy themselves knight errants and inheritors of a Norman legacy. I have imagine that if the Boshin War had gone differently and the Republic of Ezo had been successful then there could be a CSA/Ezo vs USA/Japan alliance made.

Anyone up for this being the official theme song for the Bureau of Military Information in universe?
Why not? lol

To got back to the topic of industrialization for populations that had not by OTL, many Native Americans of the southwest, including the Zuni, learned iron-working methods from the Spanish. I don't think it a stretch at all to have them make steel using clay furnaces or crucibles and then making their own guns to arm themselves and other native tribes. Then having some tribe members become skilled in gunsmithing by hand like people in Nepal and the Khyber Pass of OTL, and the modern makers of so called Poachers guns in some African countries. This could contribute to stories like episodes from TWWW involving Native American characters like American knife



There are also some interesting examples of non-native people integrating into Pueblo and Zuni culture in the 1880s like Frank Cushing and Solomon Bibo. Now imagine of a Japanese or Chinese migrant did the same . . .
 
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What part of the thread focuses on that. Not sure if I have the time to read through the whole thing
It starts off on page five.
A Japanese CSA alliance would be interesting. In particular if members of each country find a connection through their cultural ideas of hierarchy. Samurai families in Japan and in the CSA the gentry who fancy themselves knight errants and inheritors of a Norman legacy. I have imagine that if the Boshin War had gone differently and the Republic of Ezo had been successful then there could be a CSA/Ezo vs USA/Japan alliance made.
That could be interesting. There's also the fact that before the communist revolutionaries the United States actually had pretty positive relations with the Russian Empire. So if both Japan and Russia do end up in competition over their respective interests in Asia then it could lead to some interesting alliances in North America.
Why not? lol
:biggrin:
To got back to the topic of industrialization for populations that had not by OTL, many Native Americans of the southwest, including the Zuni, learned iron-working methods from the Spanish. I don't think it a stretch at all to have them make steel using clay furnaces or crucibles and then making their own guns to arm themselves and other native tribes. Then having some tribe members become skilled in gunsmithing by hand like people in Nepal and the Khyber Pass of OTL, and the modern makers of so called Poachers guns in some African countries. This could contribute to stories like episodes from TWWW involving Native American characters like American knife






There are also some interesting examples of non-native people integrating into Pueblo and Zuni culture in the 1880s like Frank Cushing and Solomon Bibo. Now imagine of a Japanese or Chinese migrant did the same . . .
Well we did talk about various native American tribes getting armed by competing powers in proxy conflicts out west. Maybe there could be a small independent native American nation located somewhere around OTL Oklahoma.
Now that sounds like a world I would want to see! I have had similar plans for a TL I have been fleshing out for a few years, starting in the mid 1800s and turning into a steampunk-post-apocalyptic-Crimson Skies type of world
Punkalicious!
Perhaps there can be an equivalent to in the 1900's which was immediately followed by a combination of the Spanish Flu and Dust Bowl. With it leading to a new golden age of piracy as ex soldiers start to prey on the trade routes of the world with airships and planes leftover from the war.
 
Perhaps there can be an equivalent to in the 1900's which was immediately followed by a combination of the Spanish Flu and Dust Bowl. With it leading to a new golden age of piracy as ex soldiers start to prey on the trade routes of the world with airships and planes leftover from the war.
Reminds me of Crimson Skies. Could be a fun addition to the source material for this weird west world. Perhaps a 'plausible' way the world could evolve once the era of the west had past.
 
It starts off on page five.

That could be interesting. There's also the fact that before the communist revolutionaries the United States actually had pretty positive relations with the Russian Empire. So if both Japan and Russia do end up in competition over their respective interests in Asia then it could lead to some interesting alliances in North America.

:biggrin:

Well we did talk about various native American tribes getting armed by competing powers in proxy conflicts out west. Maybe there could be a small independent native American nation located somewhere around OTL Oklahoma.


Perhaps there can be an equivalent to in the 1900's which was immediately followed by a combination of the Spanish Flu and Dust Bowl. With it leading to a new golden age of piracy as ex soldiers start to prey on the trade routes of the world with airships and planes leftover from the war.
I talk with another member a few years ago with an idea they introduced me to of the Indian-Territory/Oklahoma becoming a neutral independent state in the case of a CSA vicotry TL. It would function as a border buffer akin to Belgium between France and Germany or Thailand between French-Vietnam and British-Burma. That idea has even become part of the canon of the Steampunk Soldier series in their American Frontiers book
Choctaw Sergeant - Rasmussen Machine Gun details.jpg

Reminds me of Crimson Skies. Could be a fun addition to the source material for this weird west world. Perhaps a 'plausible' way the world could evolve once the era of the west had past.
All punkish TLs should evolve into something like Crimson Skies IMHO
 
I talk with another member a few years ago with an idea they introduced me to of the Indian-Territory/Oklahoma becoming a neutral independent state in the case of a CSA vicotry TL. It would function as a border buffer akin to Belgium between France and Germany or Thailand between French-Vietnam and British-Burma. That idea has even become part of the canon of the Steampunk Soldier series in their American Frontiers book
Okay that looks awesome! Was also thinking of Texas eventually breaking away from the Confederacy in the alt Great War. After the CSA fell to communist or some type of Socialist revolutionaries similar to Poland, in the Polish-Soviet War. Along with fending off an attempt reanexation by the Empire of Mexico.

That and a Vice President Theodore Roosevelt while visiting the troops on the frontline ends up helping defend a bridge for two days straight.
All punkish TLs should evolve into something like Crimson Skies IMHO
Agreed! Plus it would be a natural development from the days of the Wild Wild West and the crazy cattlepunk tech. Wonder if there's any way for genetic engineering to be discovered with realistic dieselpunk tech. Just to get some nods to both Bioshock and the Dark City...
 
Okay that looks awesome! Was also thinking of Texas eventually breaking away from the Confederacy in the alt Great War. After the CSA fell to communist or some type of Socialist revolutionaries similar to Poland, in the Polish-Soviet War. Along with fending off an attempt reanexation by the Empire of Mexico.

That and a Vice President Theodore Roosevelt while visiting the troops on the frontline ends up helping defend a bridge for two days straight.

Agreed! Plus it would be a natural development from the days of the Wild Wild West and the crazy cattlepunk tech. Wonder if there's any way for genetic engineering to be discovered with realistic dieselpunk tech. Just to get some nods to both Bioshock and the Dark City...
Well if you want to delve into genetic engineering then you are probably going to throw out the plausibility you were working towards in the first place for the WWW setting. You could take inspiration from real life examples of genetic engineering, but don't go much further than that if you don't want to go full ASB. No shooting bees out of your hands and such like in Bioshock lol

One example I have thought of that may be plausible is perhaps having the muscle mass suppressing effect of Myostatin discovered earlier than in OTL. Real life experiments have been done on mice to either edit their genes to limit the production of Myostatin, or give them drugs to do the same. The result is mice with greater overall muscle mass, so called "supper mice". It has been hypothesized that research into this could help the elderly avoid loosing muscle strength and bone density, or be abused by athletes as a performance enhancer. There have been examples of people born with a myostatin deficiency, leading to kids who look like body builders, though I'm not sure if that may lead to some long term health issuse. Myostatin inhibitors could be incorperated in a fictional setting as part of a 'Super Solder' program a la Captain America. I have thought of incorporateing such a situation in a TL of my own, with Teddy Roosevelt then taking advantage of it and staying buff into his old age. Look much like Robert Durbin 'The Rock Hard Grandpa' who even looks a little like Teddy

Robert Durbin.JPG
 
Okay that looks awesome! Was also thinking of Texas eventually breaking away from the Confederacy in the alt Great War. After the CSA fell to communist or some type of Socialist revolutionaries similar to Poland, in the Polish-Soviet War. Along with fending off an attempt reanexation by the Empire of Mexico.

That and a Vice President Theodore Roosevelt while visiting the troops on the frontline ends up helping defend a bridge for two days straight.

Agreed! Plus it would be a natural development from the days of the Wild Wild West and the crazy cattlepunk tech. Wonder if there's any way for genetic engineering to be discovered with realistic dieselpunk tech. Just to get some nods to both Bioshock and the Dark City...
pattontank12 you done milking me for ideas yet? I enjoy sharing ideas, but I'm sad to see no one else is sharing much.
 
Something about the action of the 1895 Browning or "Potato Digger" seems quite steampunk. I wonder if this tech could have been feasible maybe 10-20 years earlier and would have been a rival and likely supplant the Gatling gun.

Would seem much easier to outfit trains or wagons with this than it would a Gatling:

 
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