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Our feature article is
"All About Troop Trains"
Then we have a Troop Train Photo Album Photos of a trip from Texas to New York City (World War II) as an armored division brings its equipment and troops to the port. |
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Viet Nam Troop Trains
Picture above is protestors blocking a troop train. Over 40 million men and women served in W.W.II and almost every one of them rode a Troop Train during that war. In the latter part of the war on any given day over one million servicemen were riding a Troop Train. The US was averaging 2500 Troop Trains a month. We continued to use trains to transport soldiers during the Korean War. Large numbers of military units in the eastern half of the US rode trains to the West Coast to ship out to Japan, and then Korea. The last major troop train to be used was in 1965 when 15,000 men and their equipment from the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) rode the rails from Ft. Riley, Kansas, to Oakland, California on their way to Vietnam. I never realized at the time I "rode" in it that it was the last major one. Makes sense though. By 1965, passenger was passé. It was probably tough to find all the equipment. What we had was a bunch of "rainbow" trains. During W.W.II railway bridges and tunnels were guarded to prevent sabotage from disrupting the critical flow of troops and supplies. When the 1st Infantry Division deployed to Vietnam many of the same bridges were guarded against American war protesters trying to stop the Army from sending solders to another foreign battle ground. Times had changed since the Pearl Harbor generation rode the rails to war. My one and only involvement with troop trains was to go from Junction City, Kansas to Oakland, California in September, 1965. I never made a written record of this trip (who expected to be writing about it 25 years later and besides I had other things on my mind). I was part of a large movement of several trains but not in a position to know how many trains were required, what type of equipment was required, or the routes. Both men and equipment went West and not all trains took the same route. The 1st Infantry Division consisted of 15,000 men and tons upon tons of equipment. As much as possible, our equipment was packed in containers which we trucked to rail sidings. Vehicles were driven on flat cars and then tied down. Fortunately, Fort Riley, Kansas had ample sidings at several spots. It was on the Union Pacific. Junction City was not a big rail center; it was named for the junction of two rivers, not the junction of two railroads (although a Katy branch once ran there and a Union Pacific branch to Concordia was intact but out of service). The Rock Island ran on the other side of the fort (a 104-mile branch between Belleville on the Colorado line and McFarland on the Tucumcari line), but was not used at all for this troop movement. The trip began early in the morning (doesn't everything in the Army?). I rode in a Union Pacific sleeper consisting of 4 double bedrooms, 4 compartments and 2 drawing rooms. I was approximately fifteen cars back but every once in a while I could spot at least three cab units pulling us. Our diner was also Union Pacific and had real china, glasses and tablecloths. While I was an officer, I understand that everybody in the division had comparable transportation. A 1940-era draftee would have felt out of place. 1965 was near the end of good intercity rail transportation. My understanding was that Pullman was contractor to the military to assemble the equipment. They pulled equipment from railroads all over the country. The resulting trains looked like the "rainbow trains" in the first years of Amtrak. We ran day and night, but held up several times for as long as two hours. We went west to Denver, then through Wyoming to Utah. At Ogden, we ended up on the Southern Pacific "Overland Route" through Reno and Sacramento to Oakland. The trip was almost 1900 miles and not as interesting as trains in the East. Remember Reno in the middle of the night: not very sophisticated looking place! The only real excitement was as we neared Oakland and each grade crossing was protected by National Guardsmen (the first train had delays because of war protestors). At Oakland, we pulled onto a siding that ran right on to the dock. This gave us only a short walk to the transport that sailed us across the Pacific. |
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| The Department of Army plans its moves carefully |
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| Army planners are very detailed |
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| The Army works closely with the railroads |
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| Decisions are made at the top level |
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| Security is important |
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| Equipment begins to move |
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| Equipment begins to move |
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| Equipment begins to move |
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| Here comes the equipment! |
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| Loading crews at work |
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| Loading crews at work |
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| Loading crews at work |
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| Loading crews at work |
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| Move that tank! |
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| Shutteling the cars |
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| Loading Underway |
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| Big load to pull |
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| Block it in |
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| Block it in |
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| Get on Board |
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| Get on Board |
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| Pull that load! |
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| Pull that load! |
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| Check that chow |
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| Rest break? |
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| Taste good? |
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| Moving Fast |
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| Moving Fast |
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| The end |
World War II from a US Government film
The film gives a good understanding of troop train movements
There was a lot of pressure on dispatchers to move troop trains on time.
Troop movements required a lot of advance preparation
Security of troop trains was always an issue
The train is positioned
Here comes the freight!
Army transportation specialist waves them on board
The half-tracks roll on next
Equipment must be tied down
Here come the passengers!
To the tune of a marching band!
OK, the train is ready!
The train is ready as can be.
The troops are on board
The leader checks his men.
The train moves out.
Troops "pull KP" on the train
The train rolls across the country
Meanwhile, the troops keep busy.
That chow tastes mighty good!
The engine is working hard! No time to loose.
Engine and passengers get watered together!
Breaks over, let's get going!
Nighty night!
Good Morning!
All the way from Texas to New York by train.
Interested in Penn Central? New York Central? Pennsylvania Railroad? New Haven Railroad? or in the smaller Eastern US railroads? Then you will be interested in "What if the Penn Central Merger Did Not Happen". You will also enjoy
"Could George Alpert have saved the New Haven?" as well as
"What if the New Haven never merged with Penn Central?"
(Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight)
(Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight)
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In the home stretch now.
The train roars out of a tunnel on the "Water Level Route"
JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing
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Railroads On The Rebound
Over the last 50+ years, railroads have changed a lot. Now they are about to change again.
It is all about a combination of economic factors and climate factors.
Since 1950 , railroads have consolidated. Freight moved from a "box car mentality" to a "unit train,mentality".
Passenger went from a robust business to a "caretaker" arrangement called AMTRAK.
This happened as everybody could drive for free on the Interstate Highway System or fly on an airline system where the government subsidized both airlines and airports.
In the meantime, railroad express and railroad post offices went "down the tubes".
The old Post Office Department and the Railway Express Agency could not adjust to the new way. UPS and Fex Ex could.
Carbon Calculator
What's the most environmentally-friendly way to transport goods? The answer is freight rail. The EPA estimates that every ton-mile of freight that moves by rail
instead of by highway reduces greenhouse emissions by two-thirds. But what does that really mean? Our
easy-to-use carbon calculator will estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that can be prevented from entering our environment just by using freight rail instead of trucks.
We'll even tell you how many seedlings you'd need to plant to have the same effect.
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Ominous Weather is about more than weather.
Its about our environment. Its about our
social issues that need to be surfaced if we want to save our environment.
See Champions of our Environment like Al Gore
SAS le Prince Albert II de Monaco
John R. Stilgoe Ralph Nader.
We have other environmental sites on
garbage trucks and
Rapid response temporary shelters / portable housing.
We have addressed several railroad-related projects that will conserve fuel and lessen pollution.
Our Window on Europe spotlights projects that can help the rest of the World.
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