The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a division of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

formed in 1915 to operate

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

in the many theatres of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was largely composed of railway employees and operated both

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

and

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railways. The ROD operated their first line on a section of the

Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, , , ) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1880, when French was taught ...

–

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

line. The work was carried out by former employees of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

. The ROD requisitioned many diverse locomotives from Britain's railway companies and leased several Belgian locomotives sent to France in 1914, but as the war dragged on adopted the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

's Robinson Class 8K

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

as its standard freight locomotive to become the ROD 2-8-0. Some locomotives were also purchased from Baldwin in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. They also operated narrow-gauge engines (meter gauge or gauge trains). After the war, requisitioned locomotives returned to their foreign owners. * the ROD 2-8-0 were stored in Great Britain and sold to several British companies between 1919 and 1927. * the Baldwin locomotives were sold as

military surplus Military surplus is goods, usually materiel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when held in excess or are no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Usually the goods sold by th ...

; most of them ended up in Belgium and France. During the First World War, the Railway Operating Division were assisted in their duties by other army units. The 17th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. The Battalion, a

Pals Battalion The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours an ...

raised by the North Eastern Railway, began its life as a regular infantry battalion. It later became a Pioneer battalion and, owing to the large number of railwaymen available, became a Railway Pioneer battalion in October 1916 working under General Headquarters (GHQ) Railway Construction Troops. In September 1917, the battalion returned to an infantry battalion but returned to GHQ in November. They finally returned to an infantry battalion in May 1918, where they remained until the end of the war.

Railway Construction Companies

A number of Railway Construction Companies existed during the great war. The companies built standard gauge railways in combat zones on multiple fronts during the war. At the start of the First World War there were two regular and three special reserve, these were: * 8th Railway Company * 10th Railway Company * Depot Company * Royal Anglesey (1 company) * Royal Monmouthshire (1 company) It was soon realised the importance of railways on the front line, several more companies were raised for the duration of the war. The last company was demobilised in 1919. Great War companies included:

References

{{reflist United Kingdom in World War I Military railways in the United Kingdom Military logistics of World War I

Railway Construction Companies

See also

References