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 by 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. In doing so, eleven Grand Divisions were formed and forty-six operating battalions were assigned; however, five were never activated.

Military Railway service SSI.

History

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

[3]
UnitSponsorDate of Activation
701stNew York Central Railroad01/11/1943
702ndUnion Pacific Railroad10/15/1942
703rdAtlantic Coast Line Railroad08/01/1943
704thGreat Northern Railway11/30/1942
705thSouthern Pacific Lines05/19/1943
706thPennsylvania Railroad08/06/1943
707thSouthern Railway06/10/1943
708thBaltimore and Ohio Railroad04/06/1943
709thAssociation of American Railroads03/15/1944
710thAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway12/14/1943
774thNone (Organized in Italy)1944

List of Railway Operating Battalions

[3]
UnitSponsorDate of Activation
711thTraining Battalion. Built and maintained the 50 mile Claiborne-Polk Military Railroad05/01/1941
712thReading Railroad10/25/1942
713thAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway04/15/1942
714thChicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway10/31/1942
715thIllinois Central Railroad10/31/1942
716thSouthern Pacific Lines12/21/1943
717thPennsylvania Railroad12/01/1943
718thCleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway12/14/1943
719thTexas and New Orleans Railroad09/01/1943
720thChicago and North Western Railway08/26/1943
721stNew York Central Railroad04/14/1943
722ndSeaboard Air Line Railroad12/14/1943
723rdUnion Pacific Railroad12/28/1943
724thPennsylvania Railroad12/28/1943
725thChicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad02/17/1943
726thWabash Railroad06/26/1943
727thSouthern Railway03/15/1942
728thLouisville and Nashville Railroad01/11/1943
729thNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad01/11/1943
730thPennsylvania Railroad05/15/1942
731stUnion Pacific RailroadDid not Activate
732ndGreat Northern Railway01/12/1944
733rdCentral of Georgia Railway11/23/1943
734thTexas and New Orleans Railroad02/23/1944
735thARR/Erie Railroad02/10/1944
736thNew York CentralDid not Activate
737thNew York Central09/30/1944
738thChicago Great Western RailwayDid not Activate
739thLehigh Valley RailroadDid not Activate
740thChesapeake and Ohio Railway12/14/1943
741stGulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad01/12/1944
742ndPennsylvania RailroadDid not Activate
743rdIllinois Central Railroad01/12/1944
744thChicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad12/21/1943
745thChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad05/19/1943
746thMissouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad05/04/1944
747thAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayDid not Activate
748thTexas and Pacific Railway05/12/1943
749thNew York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad02/23/1943
750thSt. Louis – San Francisco Railway03/21/1944
751stDenver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDid not Activate
752ndBoston and Maine Railroad05/04/1944
759thMissouri Pacific Railroad09/01/1942
761stRailway Transportation Company07/22/1942
770thNone08/09/1942
790thNone07/08/1943
791stNo sponsorship (activated at Andimeshk, Iran)07/01/1943

List of Railway Shop Battalions

UnitSponsorDate of Activation
753dCleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway04/15/1942
754thSouthern Pacific Lines10/25/1942
755thNorfolk & Western Railway11/30/1942
756thPennsylvania Railroad01/11/1943
757thChicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad06/10/1943
758thAtchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway04/06/1943
760thNo sponsorship06/16/1942
762dNo sponsorship10/15/1942
763dDelaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad; Lehigh Valley Railroad07/27/1943
764thBoston & Maine Railroad10/25/1943
765thErie Railroad05/01/1944
766thAssociation of American Railroads07/17/1944

Note: The 760th and 762d were RSB (Diesel); all others were RSB (Steam).

See also

References

  1. "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.
  2. Ragsdale, Herbert Bernard. "A Railroader Goes To War". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
  3. Cunningham, Nancy. "Railway Grand Divisions". Retrieved February 10, 2012.
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