Basically, have a story set during the zombie apocalypse. There's a manual out there that two warlords are fighting each other to obtain. The manual is essentially a training manual from the military to create all sorts of crazy weaponry, advanced enough to essentially have all the power in a post-apocalyptic society. Just kinda trying to figure out where one of the warlords' "base" could be located, and what kinda formers workers they'd have there. Set in WV/PA/MD, for what it's worth. Steel Mill? Foundry? Some sort of factory or auto manufacturing plant? I dunno.
How about windmills and, what are they called? The kind of mills built beside streams powered by a water wheel? You could hook up generators to the spinning axle of the mill (driven by wind or water) and use power tools. Of course many people would have already thought of that, but a powerful warlord could oust whoever is already using it.
You'll need steel regardless, but I think the key factor is size; is the plant large enough? Auto factories could certainly be retooled, but tanks are a lot bigger than cars. I found this list of Soviet tank factories. It looks like many of the plants were formerly used to build heavy machinery, ships, railroad cars, and things like that. List of Soviet tank factories - Wikipedia On the other hand, this article mentions GM's Cadillac factory being used during WWII to produce tanks. Must have been a big plant or something, idk, or maybe the USSR didn't have a history of domestic auto production and the only plants that were available were heavy machinery plants. How Detroit Factories Retooled During WWII to Defeat Hitler - HISTORY
When I worked a Lockheed Martin on the Titan 3 they had put wood blocks on the floor as I understood it to prevent waves in the concrete because of the weight of loaded trucks might cause. At any rate, here is a steel mill that closed. It may work out. https://millstories.umbc.edu/sparrows-point/
Basically, any factory can be converted to make other things. Do some research into WW2. Companies such as Remington-Rand (typewriters), Singer (sewing machines), various General Motors divisions, and many others were converted into arms makers for the duration of the war.
Interesting. Think it's plausible something like that, with the right knowhow (from the manual), could be used to make someone a very powerful man in the zombie apocalypse? Don't have to go into excruciating detail (it's just a screenplay), but want it to be plausible.
I don't think a full assembly line is feasible in a post-apocalyptic world - if you don't have one, a steel mill works perfectly. Likely they would start with single-unit assembly in the first place. Others have made an interesting mention; trains would be a game-changer in a post-apocalyptic setting and for a wastelander to see tanks loaded onto trains dashing through the desert...
British piano factories were producing parts for the wooden Mosquito fighter-bomber in WW2, one of the best planes of the war.
Amish Country - Around Lancaster PA. There are Amish areas in almost every state, so others could have the same idea, if necessary. The Amish have spent a good 200 years or so, trying to figure out how to avoid modern technology as much as possible. They don't avoid it completely, but they DO try. As a result, there are a lot of little shops in the area that cater to that mindset and a lot of local infrastructure that could lend itself to your needs. Welding is going to be very important in this (creating tanks, bombs, armored ships). Non electrical welding would have to be used since I don't see enough electricity being generated to make that possible. Certainly old nonelectrical welding techniques can be set up, as can Water/Wind mills. See this link: Welding without electricity Bombs will be relatively easy. Most communities will have most the chemicals to make serious bombs. The info is out there, you will need to look it up. Delivery technology is what you would need to work on. I don't see enough power being generated to power an existing factory. You are going to need non-electrical technology to build your weapons. So building them will be dangerous, and likely to be in an out of the way area. You can't build modern weapons without modern technology, so think about the year 1860 technology combined with Remember, those weapons don't have to be "Good", just better than the other guy's weapons.
I would imagine a piece of steel would weigh 250lbs so you would need overhead crane like equipment to move the steel. To cut the pices to size would require a plasma table or a water-knife. Of course, deep penetrating welds would require a lot of amps, something a photovoltaic system may not handle. Forging equipment would also take a lot of power, so at some point you would have to tap into the grid. To be honest, there won't be much difference in the real factory to a home spun effort. http://www.theshermantank.com/tag/tank-factories/
Which one? Having messages flashing up in the air telling me a paperclip is a paperclip could get kinda tedious... oh wait, it already did in episode 1.
Honestly, was kinda going for the idea that post-apocalyptic power was kinda figured out by a few groups. Lots of blue-collar workers in the area (PA/WV), so figured I'd anyone could get it done, ex-miners and factory workers could.
Small generators to power a few lightbulbs maybe. But an entire power plant? Need a shit ton of fuel, the transportation to get it there, and however many workers needed to run the plant. I don't know. They got a plant running in Stephen King's The Stand, but wasn't that hydroelectric? But I suppose there's post-apocalyptic and then there's post-post-apocalyptic.
Gotcha. Well, it doesn't necessarily need to be tanks, just something big and militaristic that would give this warlord an advantage over another who already has a large weapons cache and lots of men. A real game-changer that means total dominance of the post-apocalyptic landscape. Now, luckily, with it being a screenplay, I don't need to go into every last detail, but if certain type of weaponry is mentioned, I want it to only be stuff that could have a plausible explanation for it still being able to be around.
look into the stuff middle eastern and African militants make...they can make a Toyota into an armored personnel carrier without a ton of technology...
I am a journeyman millwright. I install machinery in factories. For the basic kind of stuff you are thinking of a warehouse would be plenty big but unnecessary. What about a scrap yard or a junk yard? There would be plenty of old car engines, transmissions, axels, etc. Tools could be brought in. Propane or gasoline powered welders can be found on most construction sites. Some are dual fuel and any welder that runs off gasoline could be converted to run off alcohol, which could be distilled from wood or grain. Welding rods could be scavenged from hardware/farm/home improvement stores. You could power various cutting tools by plugging them into the welders. The welders have outlets built into them. In many cases, you could use rivets instead of welds. Early WWII tanks like the Lee and the Grant had riveted hulls. Making small tanks like WWI FT17s is simple in comparison to monsters like the M1 or the Challenger but if you want something larger, the Panzer MK IV would impress the heck out of somebody with nothing but a rifle. All the heavy lifting could be done with simple hand powered chain hoists hung on rolling A-frames. Once the wheels are on the hulls, a team of draught horses could be used to pull them where you want them to complete assembly. I could go on but I think you get the idea. If you are still working on this project and have more questions, just ask.
I’d think any large construction company would work fine. You have tons of materials, infrastructure for moving those materials around, and likely dozens of caterpillar-style vehicles. It would not take a ton of effort to armor and arm a bulldozer, remember the guy who rampaged through a town in his? Police had nothing capable of penetrating it and it had the power to push through any barricade they made. Also, depending on how long it’s been since the world fell, but American aircraft carriers can operate at full power for something like fifty years before needing to refuel. Nuclear energy is crazy efficient.
