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 troops and the evacuation of the wounded.
Hundreds of locomotives were built by companies such as Hunslet, Kerr Stuart, ALCO, Davenport, Motor Rail and Baldwin to work these lines.
Both the French Army and the U.S. Army had their own locomotives, which included Baldwin and ALCO designs
Thankfully some have been preserved
Probably the most famous of these war service engines were of class 10-12-D, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, U.S.A. Nearly 500 were built and those that survived the war found new homes around the world. Many went to India and after the war a few went to railways in Britain including:
One of the many that went to India, now runs at Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway
Balswin 2-6-2 tank engines in France
From this the light railways were expanded to 700 miles (1,100 km) of track, which supplied 7,000 tons of supplies daily. The ebb and flow of war meant that rail lines were built and rebuilt, moved and used elsewhere, but by the latter years of Passchendaele, Amiens and Argonne, light railways came into their own and pulled for the final victory.
A large number of locomotives (mostly of 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) gauge) was ordered for the WDLR.
Thirty or so Companies were formed within the Royal Engineers to staff the lines. These were mostly British ex-railwaymen pressed into service, though Australian, South African and Canadian gangs served with distinction. An American unit also served with distinction in France.
so cool
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