Military railways
Encyclopedia
Military railways are a form of transport communication technology used by the military forces for movement of strategically significant forces, bulk cargo
or as a platform for military systems.
Due to the expense of building the railway networks, the national railway infrastructure is usually utilised by the military forces, however it often uses specialised rolling stock
designed to solve uniquely military logistics
or combat problems.
, track repair, ballast, banking and lining, tamping, ties, rail, laying rail or replacing damaged rails, turnouts, joints, fastenings, gauging and spiking, lining and surfacing, curves, string lining, throwing track, shims, track maintenance on bridges, through tunnels in interlocking plants and electrified areas, bumpers, removal of derails, and provision of track cars. It also includes maintenance and repair of railways associated structures, bridges, buildings, culverts, piles, tunnels, crossings, signs and fences, turntables, water supply facilities, demolition of obstructions, and negotiating foreign railway characteristics as experienced by the Wehrmacht
on the Eastern Front
.
troops in the Balaklava
positions during the Crimean War
severe winter of 1855.
known as the City Point Railroad
, which extended to Petersburg
during the Siege of Petersburg
during the American Civil War
in 1864 -1865.
n Main Railway (Транссибирская железнодорожная магистраль - Транссиб), before 1917 was named The Great Siberian Way (Великий Сибирский Путь). First construction begun on 19 May (31 May) 1891.
, Kitchener
extended the Egyptian railways into the Sudan
.
, see Trench railways
, Decauville
(French), Feldbahn
and Heeresfeldbahn
(German and Austrian) and War Department Light Railways
(British).
because of the number of Allied prisoners-of-war and Asian labourers who died constructing it.
The existing Northwest Indian Railways
were expanded by the Americans to supply China via the Ledo Road
.
Bulk cargo
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...
or as a platform for military systems.
Due to the expense of building the railway networks, the national railway infrastructure is usually utilised by the military forces, however it often uses specialised rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
designed to solve uniquely military logistics
Military logistics
Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:...
or combat problems.
Military railway maintenance
Maintaining a rail network during its use by military forces requires maintenance and repair of railway bridges, buildings, signals, track and tunnels. The purpose of this work is to ensure scheduled movement of troops and equipment in support of time-critical operations, and include rail road maintenance, rail safety and railway security, maintenance of roadbeds and drainageDrainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
, track repair, ballast, banking and lining, tamping, ties, rail, laying rail or replacing damaged rails, turnouts, joints, fastenings, gauging and spiking, lining and surfacing, curves, string lining, throwing track, shims, track maintenance on bridges, through tunnels in interlocking plants and electrified areas, bumpers, removal of derails, and provision of track cars. It also includes maintenance and repair of railways associated structures, bridges, buildings, culverts, piles, tunnels, crossings, signs and fences, turntables, water supply facilities, demolition of obstructions, and negotiating foreign railway characteristics as experienced by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
.
Current railways
- British military narrow gauge railwaysBritish military narrow gauge railwaysThese are narrow gauge railways at military establishments and former UK Government-owned explosives sites. These locations were often subject to the Official Secrets Act and other government restrictions, so many of them are less well documented....
- Melbourne Military RailwayMelbourne Military Railwaythumb|[[Buffer stop]]s by [[Isley Walton]] RoadThe Melbourne Military Railway was a military railway in Derbyshire used by British Army and Allied engineers during the Second World War from 1939 until late 1944 to prepare them for the invasion of mainland Europe...
- Bicester Military RailwayBicester Military RailwayThe Bicester Military Railway is a railway in Oxfordshire, England belonging to the Ministry of Defence. It links military depots at Piddington, Arncott and Graven Hill with the Oxford to Bicester Line.The line has no road bridges...
- Fort Eustis Military RailroadFort Eustis Military RailroadThe Fort Eustis Military Railroad is an intra-plant United States Army rail transportation system existing entirely within the post boundaries of the United States Army Transportation Center and Fort Eustis , Fort Eustis, Virginia...
Crimean War
One of the first uses of military railways was to establish a more reliable supply of British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
troops in the Balaklava
Balaklava
Balaklava is a former city on the Crimean peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol which carries a special administrative status in Ukraine. It was a city in its own right until 1957 when it was formally incorporated into the municipal borders of Sevastopol by the Soviet government...
positions during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
severe winter of 1855.
American Civil War
United States Military RailroadUnited States Military Railroad
The United States Military Railroad was an organization during the American Civil War that ran railroads for the Union Army wherever they were needed. It was established in 1862 under General Daniel McCallum.- Petersburg Campaign :...
known as the City Point Railroad
City Point Railroad
The City Point Railroad was a nine-mile railroad in eastern Virginia established in 1836 which ran from City Point on the navigable portion of the James River to Petersburg, Virginia...
, which extended to Petersburg
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
during the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in 1864 -1865.
Russian use in Asia
Trans-SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n Main Railway (Транссибирская железнодорожная магистраль - Транссиб), before 1917 was named The Great Siberian Way (Великий Сибирский Путь). First construction begun on 19 May (31 May) 1891.
Mahdist War
In 1896-98 during the Mahdist WarMahdist War
The Mahdist War was a colonial war of the late 19th century. It was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese and the Egyptian and later British forces. It has also been called the Anglo-Sudan War or the Sudanese Mahdist Revolt. The British have called their part in the conflict the Sudan Campaign...
, Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
extended the Egyptian railways into the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
World War I
Narrow gauge military railways serviced the Western FrontWestern Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, see Trench railways
Trench railways
Trench Railways represented military adaptation of early 20th century railway technology to the problem of keeping soldiers supplied during the static trench warfare phase of World War I...
, Decauville
Decauville
The Decauville manufacturing company was founded by Paul Decauville , a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to steel sleepers; this track was portable and could be disassembled and transported...
(French), Feldbahn
Feldbahn
A Feldbahn is the German term for a narrow gauge railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth and sand...
and Heeresfeldbahn
Heeresfeldbahn
A Heeresfeldbahn is a German or Austrian military field railway . They were field railways designed for the military transportation purposes.- History :...
(German and Austrian) and War Department Light Railways
War Department Light Railways
The War Department Light Railways were a system of narrow gauge trench railways run by the British War Department in World War I. Light railways made an important contribution to the Allied war effort in the First World War, and were used for the supply of ammunition and stores, the transport of...
(British).
World War II
Japan built several railways for military purposes, notably the Burma-Siam Railway, known as the Death RailwayDeath Railway
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, the Thailand–Burma Railway and similar names, was a railway between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma , built by the Empire of Japan during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign.Forced labour was used in its construction...
because of the number of Allied prisoners-of-war and Asian labourers who died constructing it.
The existing Northwest Indian Railways
Northeast Indian Railways during World War II
The efficient running of the Northeast Indian Railways during World War II became critical to the success of the Allied war effort in the South-East Asian Theatre....
were expanded by the Americans to supply China via the Ledo Road
Ledo Road
The Ledo Road was built during World War II so that the Western Allies could supply the Chinese as an alternative to the Burma Road which had been cut by the Japanese in 1942. It was renamed the Stilwell Road in early 1945 at the suggestion of Chiang Kai-shek...
.
See also
- Central Asian Military railway
- FeldbahnFeldbahnA Feldbahn is the German term for a narrow gauge railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth and sand...
- HeeresfeldbahnHeeresfeldbahnA Heeresfeldbahn is a German or Austrian military field railway . They were field railways designed for the military transportation purposes.- History :...
- German and Austrian military railways - Light railwayLight railwayLight railway refers to a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail". This usually means the railway uses lighter weight track, and is more steeply graded and tightly curved to avoid civil engineering costs...
- Longmoor Military RailwayLongmoor Military RailwayThe Longmoor Military Railway was a British military railway in Hampshire, built by the Royal Engineers from 1903 in order to train soldiers on railway construction and operations.-Route:...
- built by the Royal Engineers in order to train on railway operations on it. It closed in 1969. - War Department Light RailwaysWar Department Light RailwaysThe War Department Light Railways were a system of narrow gauge trench railways run by the British War Department in World War I. Light railways made an important contribution to the Allied war effort in the First World War, and were used for the supply of ammunition and stores, the transport of...
Sources and references
- Vecamer, Arvo L., Deutsche Reichsbahn: The German State Railway in WWII, http://www.feldgrau.com/dreichsbahn.html
- Connor, W.D., Maj., Military Railways, Professional Papers No.32, Corps of Engineers US Army, Revised edition 1917, Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1917.