Military Railway Service (United States)
The Military Railway Service was created in the 1920s as a reserve force of the United States Army. It had existed twice before: first as the United States Military Railroad during the American Civil War, and later as the United States Railroad Administration during World War I. In the original documentation in the creation of the service, all Class I railroad companies were to create a battalion for the war effort. Eleven Grand Divisions were formed and forty-six operating battalions were assigned; however, five were never activated.
History
[edit]Each railway operating battalion was established with four companies. The Headquarters Company was used for signaling, dispatching, and supplying the battalion's section of the railway. The A Company was set up to handle the maintenance of tracks, the B Company handled the maintenance of the rolling stock, and the C Company was set up with roughly 50 men to operate the trains in their area. Grand Divisions were established with multiple operating battalions, a shop battalion, and a base depot company. The shop battalion worked on the engines themselves. During the war, there were two types of shop battalions, steam and diesel; most were steam battalions.[1]
By 1942, the first units started to be shipped out. Besides units for the Persian Gulf Command and North Africa, the 761st Operating Battalion went to England and the 770th Operating Battalion to Alaska. In November 1942, jurisdiction of Military Railway Service shifted from the Corps of Engineers to the newly-created Transportation Corps.
The 1st and 2nd Military Railway Service (MRS) controlled supply by rail in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). The 1st was assigned to the Mediterranean with Italy, North Africa, and southern France as its main areas of operations. The 2nd was assigned to Northern France and Germany. The 3rd MRS was established to handle supplies sent to Russia through Iran (Persian Corridor).
The 1st MRS was led by Brigadier General Carl R. Gray Jr., an executive from the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad, who was the son of Carl R. Gray Sr., the former president of multiple railways in the United States, including the Union Pacific. The battalions under his command included the 701st, 703rd, 704th, 713th, 715th, 719th, 727th, 753rd, 759th, and the 760th. The 3rd MRS was set up using the 702nd Grand Division with the 711th and 730th Operating, 754th Shop, and 762nd Diesel Shop battalions as its core units. Initial command was under the 702nd, but by April 1944 it was replaced by the 3rd MRS directly. The 702nd and initial 3rd MRS commander was Colonel Paul F. Yount, but in May 1944, he was sent east to assist the China Burma India Theater and Colonel Frank S. Besson Jr. was tasked to take over the 3rd MRS.[2]
List of Railway Grand Divisions and their sponsors
[edit]| Unit | Sponsor | Date of Activation |
|---|---|---|
| 701st | New York Central Railroad | 01/11/1943 |
| 702nd | Union Pacific Railroad | 10/15/1942 |
| 703rd | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | 08/01/1943 |
| 704th | Great Northern Railway | 11/30/1942 |
| 705th | Southern Pacific Lines | 05/19/1943 |
| 706th | Pennsylvania Railroad | 08/06/1943 |
| 707th | Southern Railway | 06/10/1943 |
| 708th | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 04/06/1943 |
| 709th | Association of American Railroads | 03/15/1944 |
| 710th | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 12/14/1943 |
| 774th | None (Organized in Italy) | 1944 |
List of Railway Operating Battalions
[edit]| Unit | Sponsor | Date of Activation |
|---|---|---|
| 711th | Training Battalion. Built and maintained the 50 mile Claiborne-Polk Military Railroad | 05/01/1941 |
| 712th | Reading Railroad | 10/25/1942 |
| 713th | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | 04/15/1942 |
| 714th | Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway | 10/31/1942 |
| 715th | Illinois Central Railroad | 10/31/1942 |
| 716th | Southern Pacific Lines | 12/21/1943 |
| 717th | Pennsylvania Railroad | 12/01/1943 |
| 718th | Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway | 12/14/1943 |
| 719th | Texas and New Orleans Railroad | 09/01/1943 |
| 720th | Chicago and North Western Railway | 08/26/1943 |
| 721st | New York Central Railroad | 04/14/1943 |
| 722nd | Seaboard Air Line Railroad | 12/14/1943 |
| 723rd | Union Pacific Railroad | 12/28/1943 |
| 724th | Pennsylvania Railroad | 12/28/1943 |
| 725th | Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad | 02/17/1943 |
| 726th | Wabash Railroad | 06/26/1943 |
| 727th | Southern Railway | 03/15/1942 |
| 728th | Louisville and Nashville Railroad | 01/11/1943 |
| 729th | New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad | 01/11/1943 |
| 730th | Pennsylvania Railroad | 05/15/1942 |
| 731st | Union Pacific Railroad | Did not Activate |
| 732nd | Great Northern Railway | 01/12/1944 |
| 733rd | Central of Georgia Railway | 11/23/1943 |
| 734th | Texas and New Orleans Railroad | 02/23/1944 |
| 735th | ARR/Erie Railroad | 02/10/1944 |
| 736th | New York Central | Did not Activate |
| 737th | New York Central | 09/30/1944 |
| 738th | Chicago Great Western Railway | Did not Activate |
| 739th | Lehigh Valley Railroad | Did not Activate |
| 740th | Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 12/14/1943 |
| 741st | Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad | 01/12/1944 |
| 742nd | Pennsylvania Railroad | Did not Activate |
| 743rd | Illinois Central Railroad | 01/12/1944 |
| 744th | Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad | 12/21/1943 |
| 745th | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad | 05/19/1943 |
| 746th | Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad | 05/04/1944 |
| 747th | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | Did not Activate |
| 748th | Texas and Pacific Railway | 05/12/1943 |
| 749th | New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad | 02/23/1943 |
| 750th | St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | 03/21/1944 |
| 751st | Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | Did not Activate |
| 752nd | Boston and Maine Railroad | 05/04/1944 |
| 759th | Missouri Pacific Railroad | 09/01/1942 |
| 761st | Railway Transportation Company | 07/22/1942 |
| 770th | None | 08/09/1942 |
| 790th | None | 07/08/1943 |
| 791st | No sponsorship (activated at Andimeshk, Iran) | 07/01/1943 |
List of Railway Shop Battalions
[edit]| Unit | Sponsor | Date of Activation |
|---|---|---|
| 753d | Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway | 04/15/1942 |
| 754th | Southern Pacific Lines | 10/25/1942 |
| 755th | Norfolk & Western Railway | 11/30/1942 |
| 756th | Pennsylvania Railroad | 01/11/1943 |
| 757th | Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad | 06/10/1943 |
| 758th | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway | 04/06/1943 |
| 760th | No sponsorship | 06/16/1942 |
| 762d | No sponsorship | 10/15/1942 |
| 763d | Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad; Lehigh Valley Railroad | 07/27/1943 |
| 764th | Boston & Maine Railroad | 10/25/1943 |
| 765th | Erie Railroad | 05/01/1944 |
| 766th | Association of American Railroads | 07/17/1944 |
Note: The 760th and 762d were RSB (Diesel); all others were RSB (Steam).
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "American "Rails" in Eight Countries" (PDF). Headquarters, Southern Lines of Communication, European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army. February 1945. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
- ^ Ragsdale, Herbert Bernard. "A Railroader Goes To War". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
- ^ a b Cunningham, Nancy. "Railway Grand Divisions". Retrieved February 10, 2012.