The engineers of Rhodes's company, under Chief Mechanical Engineer George Labram, were instrumental in the defence of the town. They manufactured fortifications, an armoured train, a watch tower, shells, and a gun, known as "Long Cecil", for the defenders in order to supplement their inadequate weapons. "Long Cecil" was rifled with a bore of capable of propelling a shell . The gun was completed on 21 January 1900, and successfully test fired against a previously untouchable Boer position north of the town.