Those photos with the older rifles could have been early in the war before the M1s were readily available to more troops. Those Springfields were heaby beasts especially in boot camp where we carried those around for drill.
If your doing European railroading don't forget that those troop trains were used once the rails were rebuilt. They used lots of US built steam on those roads. You could even model a WWII German troop train. They also used railroad armored trains to keep the lines cleared.
The thing that appears to be anachronistic is that the guards aren't wearing the "doughboy" WWI helmets like the Marines were equipped with at Midway...but they're still carrying tightly slung O3A3's. So, it can't be too early in the war as the rest of the troops in the train have M1 Garands. Who knows!?
I also got to work out with old, plugged (a lead rod down the barrel) Springfields while in boot camp in '72 in San Diego. Also, the USN didn't have M-16's yet, so we qualified with M1 Garands converted to .308. I always thought that was funny since the Marines across the fence were all decked out in the latest gear. Guess Zumwalt didn't think us boot camp "squirrels" needed to be familiar with the then-current battle rifle! I guess it still is!
