The Military Railway Service was created in the 1920s as a reserve force for the Quartermaster Division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. It had existed twice before: first as the

United States Military Railroad The U.S. Military Railroad (USMRR) was established by the United States War Department as a separate agency to operate any rail lines seized by the government during the American Civil War. An Act of Congress of 31 January 1862 authorized Presi ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and later by the

United States Railroad Administration The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalisation, nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In the original documentation for the service, all

Class I railroad In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$ ...

companies were to create a battalion for the war effort. In doing so, 11 Grand Divisions were formed and 46 operating battalions were assigned; however, five were never activated.

History

Each railway operating

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

was established with four

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

. The

headquarters company A headquarters unit is a specialised military unit formed around the headquarters of a commanding officer and the requirements of that position. As such, a headquarters unit is always a component of a larger unit. Examples include: * headquarters ...

was used for signaling, dispatching, and supplying their section of the railway. The A company was set up to handle the maintenance of tracks themselves, the B company handled the maintenance of the rolling stock through the stations, and the C company was set up with roughly 50 men to operate the trains in their area. As for the Grand Division it was established with multiple operating battalions and then a shop battalion and a base depot company. The shop battalion was only to work on the engines themselves. During the war, there were two types of shop battalions. The main type at the start was the steam engine battalion; however there were a few diesel shop battalions. The 1st and 2nd Military Railway Service (MRS) controlled supply by rail in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

(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. By 1942, the first units started to be shipped out. Besides units for the

Persian Gulf Command The Persian Gulf Command was a United States Army service command established in December 1943 to facilitate the supply of US lend-lease war material to the Soviet Union, through the "Persian Corridor". History The command originated in Septem ...

and North Africa, the 761st Operating for England and for Alaska the 770th Operating was shipped out. Another MRS was established to handle the supplies sent to Russia through Iran (

Persian Corridor The Persian Corridor was a supply route through Iran into Soviet Azerbaijan by which British aid and American Lend-Lease supplies were transferred to the Soviet Union during World War II. Of the 17.5 million long tons of U.S. Lend-Lease aid pro ...

). The 3rd MRS was set up using the 702nd with the 711th Operating, 730th Operating, 754th Shop, and 762nd Diesel Shop battalions as its core units. Initial Command was under the 702nd Grand Division but by April 1944 it was replaced by the 3rd MRS. 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. The 1st MRS was led by Brig 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.

List of Railway Grand Divisions and their sponsors

List of Railway Operating Battalions

List of Railway Shop Battalions

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

References

{{reflist Military railways Transportation units and formations of the United States Army

History

List of Railway Grand Divisions and their sponsors

List of Railway Operating Battalions

List of Railway Shop Battalions

See also

References