Today were are November 11. In France we celebrate the “armistice”, the end of the first world war. I know the decisive role of the US army, but I don’t want to tell you the story of this war.
I have been working at SNCF since 7 years in the “NEVERS” workshop. It looks like Amtrak’s Wilmington locomotive shop. We overhaul many railcars for regional passenger service.(http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ATELIERS.jpg)
During the first world war, it accommodated the 19th division, one of the nine division of the Transportation Corps established in 1918. From October 1917, this division carried out many improvements to the workshop because it was under construction at the beginning of the war (overhead crane, boiler, power hammer,…). Under major LESTER commandment, 600 soldiers and 80 prisoners overhauled 158 locomotives and about 3500 freights cars. The 1919 February 11, 500 soldiers and 15 officers left Nevers. This forerunner of the modern Transportation Corps was abolished after the war.
I’m proud of this story and bonds between USA and Europe.
One of the books I have in my collection is Narrow Gauge ro No Man’s Land by Richard Dunn, which describes the 60 cm railways operated by the US Army during the first World War.
A few years back my aunt found my grandpa’s photo album from England & France during WWII , he served in the Army Transportation corp , rebuilding the railroads in France . I knew he did this but it was the 1st time I had seen the photos . When he returned from Europe he worked for a short time with the New York Central Railroad in Vincennes , IN as a switchman . I have have his lantern .
The armistice was signed in a Wagon-Lit rail car at Compiegne (sp). During WWII, Hitler forced the surrender of France in the same railcar at the same site. It was then taken to Berlin where it was destroyed in an air raid.
The dependence on rail is interesting as some historians say once mobilization was ordered, there was no turning back in 1914. Doing so would have upset complicated time tables and equipment marshalling. The resulting chaos would have given the enemy an excellent opportunity to strike while you were off balance. This was said to be especially true of the Germans.
I know of at least two Alco 2-6-2T’s used on these lines during WW1. One is preserved on the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales, and carries the name “Mountainer”. I gather as similar loco is preserved on a heritage railway in France but I’m not sure where. It may be the Baie de la Somme railroad in northern France.
Were any internal comubstion locomotives used on the trench railroads? Assuming it was so and troops with civilian railroad experience ran the lines, it was probably their first encounter with anything other than steam, or electric.
Don’t forget the French 40&8 boxcars. There use to be 1 at each state capital, and I have seen a few of them. Now, most are probably in storage or scrap.
Yes, you spelled the name correctly except for omitting the grave accent over the second e in the name (but it is not always easy to insert the accent marks that are used inother languages). The wagon-lits car was Marshall Foch’s private car, and it was placed inside a building at the spot–and the Germans broke a wall down so they could remove the car on 6/20/1940 so that the armistice could be signed 6/21/1940.
There were about 2000 locomotives “BALDWIN 2-8-0” used on the french network during WW1. These locomotives was called “140 G Pershing” in France, because we count wheel set for a steam locomotive. None of his type were preserved. The Nevers workshop overhauled many of these.
This pictures show you a change of wheel at the Nevers workshop in 1918.
I believe examples of Perhsings DO survive in ITaly and the USA.
With regard to the question about internal combustion locos, I know the British forces certainly had armored gasoline powered l60cm gauge ocos; quite a few survive in preservation. I believe the US Army also had some, and some of these found their way to UK narrow gauge railways after WW1. The Ffestiniog Railway gasoline powered loco “Mary Anne” is one of these I think.
Some of the earliest Diesel Electrics built by GE were built for use in near the front lines. The locomotives are described in several publications. The locomotives had armor plating for use near front lines.
These locomotives as far as I read never left the US, and were eventually scrapped.
