RAILWAYS AND WAR before 1918. PICKING UP WATER (60-cm. gauge)

RAILWAYS AND WAR before 1918. PICKING UP WATER (6o-cm. gauge)

Steam locomotives propel themselves by turning water into steam and, hence, require a constant supply of water if they are to function at all. The provision of this on the tactical light railways of World War One was always a considerable headache, except in the quieter back areas; there normal railway facilities could be provided. In more exposed areas, and on lines whose route altered from time to time for tactical reasons, more esoteric methods had to be employed. There are gruesome tales of locomotives held up by shelling or other mishaps which only got home because their crews boiled water from shell holes with their tin helmets! As experience grew, however, four major methods of watering came to be employed.

Taking water via a water lifter (Allied)

The most basic was the original shell-hole method 'modernised'. As soon as the problem was fully realised, both sides fitted their locomotives with so-called water lifters. These were a species of injector-cum-pump designed to suck water in from an outside source below tank level and then to squirt it through what looked like a lavatory overflow pipe into a side-tank—usually the left-hand one. The business-end of the machine was mounted either below or just in front of the cab, the inlet nozzle normally being sited centrally on the rear buffer-beam; this enabled water to be taken from the left or right side with

equal facility. Apart from the outlet pipe to a side-tank, the apparatus was not prominent but locomotives thus fitted are easily recognisable. They usually carried lengths of flexible large diameter hose, draped over steel rests either on the side tanks (French) or on the cab rear (British and German).

Slightly more respectable (and much better for the boiler) was the use of a mobile water tank such as those shown in Plates 89/90. These could be filled with clean, softened water and run on to a convenient siding near the current base of operations; the water lifter was, of course, still required for transferring the precious fluid.

When things became more permanent, large galvanised-iron tanks were often constructed using a brick or sleeper base. They were filled either from a well or via a motor-driven pump but were rarely very high. Hence the ubiquitous water lifter again came into its own, as seen here.

Auxiliary water tender (Germany)

The Germans, as usual, had foreseen the problem beforehand. Not only were Feldbahn locomotives fitted with water lifters from the start, they could also be equipped with auxiliary bogie tenders with direct hose connections to the locomotive injectors. These tenders were originally developed for colonial use but were widely used on longer runs everywhere. Their advantages were constant supply of water and coal; the disadvantage was that the locomotive was pulling non-productive deadweight; this could even include extra men, seats for two 'guards' being provided fore and aft.

TOO MUCH WATER IN THE WRONG PLACE (6o-cm. gauge)

Events leading to derailment by water

The engineman's troubles were by no means over when he had managed to take on enough water to make steam. Peculiar to the American-built steam-engines with their high-set tanks was what happened to that water on uncertain track. The tanks of the Baldwins and ALCOs were joined underneath by a link pipe to equalise the water drawn off—a fine idea in theory and one shared by other types but one which was frequently embarrassing for these particular locomotives owing to their high centre of gravity. Plate 86 shows what would happen if the locomotive stood for any time on a slanted piece of track with half-empty tanks. The water ran 'downhill' from one to the other; as the 'lower' tank filled, so the distribution of weight made the locomotive unstable and eventually it toppled over on to its side (Plate 87). It was not unknown for this to happen to Feldbahn and Hunslet machines but the occurrence was much less frequent.

Using an improvised tender

In desperation a number of American tank engines were 'converted' to tender engines by the simple expedient of removing their tanks, putting them on a four-wheeled flat wagon, and arranging a connection to the locomotive injectors; the operation was comparatively simple since the tanks simply rested on flat trays, being held in position by yokes across the boiler. Needless to say, how-

ever, the enginemen's troubles did not stop there and there are many sad stories of drivers on a dark night putting on their injectors only to find that the 'tender' had become detached, all unnoticed in the darkness. It might be noted that a number of other locomotives were similarly treated after the war but mainly to reduce their axle-loading.

CARRYING LIQUID IN BULK

eH' class bogie tank wagon (U.K.)

All combatants using the 60-cm. gauge during World War One at some time found themselves having to use large capacity tank wagons to supply water— both to troops and for railway purposes. Typical of the special purpose vehicles developed to meet this need was the British 'H' class tank wagon. This was simply a standard bogie wagon under-frame as used on the 'D' class open goods wagon, fitted with a 1500 (imperial) gallon capacity tank. The tank had a manhole at each end but, unlike very similar continental vehicles, no hand-pump was provided.

Standard bogie tank wagon (U.S.A.)

The U.S. equivalent is shown here to illustrate the close similarities between wagons. It is not perhaps so surprising in this case since the Americans designed their standard equipment at a late stage of the war and modelled them largely on existing British and French designs. Typical of the American attitude towards large scale planning is the fact that no less than 166 of these specialised vehicles were sent to France during the short period in which the Americans were engaged.

CARRYING LIQUID IN BULK: IMPROVISATIONS

There were various occasions on which the large tank wagons had far too great a capacity, or on which small quantities of several different liquids were required simultaneously. To meet this need both the French and the British improvised multi-cargo wagons.

G5 class 4-wheeled tank wagon (U.K.)

This vehicle was produced in small numbers, mainly for supplying tractors 'on detachment' from their main base. It was built up on an early pattern 4-wheeled wagon underframe on which was mounted three upright rectangular tanks, each with a capacity of 180 gallons. One carried paraffin, one lubricating oil and one cylinder oil, their respective contents were clearly indicated in stencilled lettering. Length was 8 ft 8 in. over couplers, with a gross weight of 4% tons.

Improvised tank wagon (France)

As might be expected from a wine-making country accustomed to cast its products about in bulk, the French artillery railways utilised large casks as their liquid containers. No dimensions are available for this vehicle which was produced only in small numbers, to meet local demand, but the idea behind

it was not new. It was the custom of several continental main-line railways of the period to convey liquid in wagons consisting essentially of two or three huge casks on a normal underframe.

MORE ADVANCED PETROL TRACTORS (60-cm. gauge)

Deutz 4-wheeled tractor (German)

Thorough as always, the Germans had foreseen even before 1914 that light railways might need to enter the frontline areas and had made their arrangements. These included a large quantity of a standard 20-h.p. petrol-mechanical tractor designed by Deutz, an angular machine powered by a 2-cylinder water-cooled engine. Although cruder in concept than its later Allied equivalents, and still bearing traces of steam locomotive ancestry in its brass-capped exhaust 'chimney', it was none the less an efficient hauler over the well-laid German tracks. Drive was by jackshaft to the coupled wheels.

Baldwin petrol tractor (U.S.A.)

Almost as soon as the Germans, the French Artillery Railways Dept. realised that petrol tractors would be needed in quantity. French capacity was already occupied so they placed large orders in the United States for a petrol-mechanical machine designed and built by the Baldwin Locomotive Company. This had a 45 h.p., 4-cylinder water-cooled engine driving through a jackshaft onto coupled wheels; the drive shaft was positioned in front of the bonnet giving it an odd appearance and, like the Deutz it had a steam-locomotive pattern exhaust 'chimney\ These tractors had a reputation for jerkiness and harshness of operation but were used extensively by both French and Americans; the latter adopted them as standard when they entered the war.

Schneider 6-wheeled 0-6-0P tractor (France)

Standard 'home-built' tractor of the French artillery railways was the 6-coupled machine seen here. It was of Pechot design, with a degree of articulation in the axles and a typical Pechot cab. It was powered by a 4-cylinder water-cooled petrol engine developing 60 h.p., and driving through a four-speed gearbox onto a jackshaft. The machine was not really suitable for front-line work being designed specifically for moving heavy artillery pieces on the 60-cm. gauge fortress railways, and was utilised mainly in base areas.

Simplex 20-h.p. tractor (U.K.)

The British, when they finally took up light railways in a big way, were by far the largest users of petrol engined tractors, and their success was due almost entirely to the products of the Motor Rail & Tramcar Co. of Bedford —trade name 'Simplex*. This firm in turn owed its success to the Dixon Abbott gearbox invented by its founder and capable of giving smooth operation with two or three speeds in either direction; it almost entirely obviated the problems of jerkiness and low reverse gearing found in other transmissions of the period while with practice gear

changes could easily be made on the move. Even more fortunately, Mr Abbott had before the war seen German light railway preparations and had in anticipation designed a light 20-h.p. machine weighing only i\ tons in working order and powered by a 4-cylinder water-cooled engine driving through his patent gearbox. This historic design, shown here in detail, was at first rejected by Lord Kitchener in person as being 'not our way of working' but proved so versatile that it later became the maid of all work on W.D. light railways. It could haul two bogie wagons over good track and was notable for ruggedness and ease of maintenance; the frame was open and the engine covered only by a removable hood. Experiments were made with an armoured cab but it was not popular, the enginemen preferring freedom to leap off if shelled! The 20-h.p. Simplex served on all fronts throughout 1916-18, and over 500 were produced. The design continued in production for some years after the war and its direct successors have only recently been phased out.

Simplex 40 h.p. 'open' tractor (U.K.)

The light Simplex 20-h.p. tractors proved invaluable wherever they appeared but they had one severe disadvantage—their haulage power over the rickety track was often limited by adhesion to one bogie wagon. This was not so vital in the extreme front areas where a train of five wagons might be scheduled for five destinations, and thus composed of five separate 'tractor-wagon' groups, but it was a handicap further back.

When the Motor Rail Co. proposed an enlarged version, therefore, the War Department was enthusiastic. The 'new* tractor was a more massive version of the old with plate frames instead of channel steel ones and with the driver mounted centrally. It had a 4-cylinder water-cooled engine of 40 h.p. and the ends were protected by heavy, armoured steel curved shields which also acted as ballast weights; further weights were bolted to the frames, bringing adhesion weight up to 6 tons which was still within the permitted axle-loading for 20 lb/yd rail. A pillar roof protected the driver.

Simplex 40 h.p. 'protected' tractor (U.K.)

In certain exposed areas, trains were exposed to sniper fire and a number of the 40-h.p. tractors were built with driver protection. This comprised armoured side doors to the cab, and a lowered roof provided with steel Visors' at sides and ends to enable the driver to look out. When not needed, the doors could be hooked back to provide ventilation to what must have been a hot airless and very noisy steel box! Over 120 of these machines were supplied.

Petrol-electric tractors (U.K.)

Undoubtedly one of the most interesting 60-cm. gauge motive power units to come out of World War One was the British War Department design for a 4-wheeled petrol-electric tractor. This had its origin in the realisation that steam locomotives were too conspicuous for working up to the front lines and someone had the bright idea of electrify-

ing the forward area lines with overhead pick-up. The project even got so far as to be included in the main outline order programme for 1916-17 but in its original form was then quietly dropped. Possibly someone with front-line experience realised the difficulties of maintaining such equipment under constant shellfire; possibly the Simplex petrol-mechanicals were already proving their worth. In either case the overhead idea was put into abeyance but the original order for 200 electric locomotives was completed—as petrol electric tractors.

These were fascinating machines in their own right. It seems likely that the War Office was to some extent hedging its bets since the machines were designed for not a dual but a triple purpose role. Each order was strictly not for 100 machines but for 50 pairs, deliberately designed to work as straight electric double locomotives if the need arose. Thus the electric motors could be driven direct from a suitable current supply, one of each pair was fitted with electrical connections and socket to take a trolley pole, and the generators could be connected in parallel via a built-in junction box. In the event these provisions were never used. The machines materialised with 45-55-h.p. petrol engines driving the electrical equipment; the design was by British Westinghouse Ltd. who were main contractors for 100 locomotives, the other 100 being built by Dick Kerr at Kilmarnock.

They were equipped with armour shuttering to cover the cab and radiator for front-line work, although this was rarely used in practice and also had provision for starting the petrol engine via another unit's generator—a wise move since it was easy to do oneself an injury trying to 'swing' the big engine by hand.

The main identification differences were that the Dick Kerr machines, seen in Plate ioo as a pair, had louvered bonnet sides, the Westinghouse ones (Plate 99) had panelled sides. Each unit, with its two 22'5-h.p. motors, could pull three or four bogie wagons in service and could also act as a mobile generating station for powering workshops—a feature not found on any equivalent tractors elsewhere. The 'PE's' were in general coveted by their 'owners' since they were strong and flexible in operation; their usefulness was limited only by a low top speed and the reputation of some for stubbornness.

Main dimensions were: loaded weight 8 tons; 55-h.p. 4-cylinder water-cooled petrol engine; driving two 22'5-h.p. electric motors via a 30-kW. generator set at 500 V.

ARMOURED TRACTORS (60-cm. gauge)

A specialised development of petrol-engined motive power was the fully armoured tractor—virtually a small, unarmed tank on rails—which was produced in small quantities for use in very exposed areas. It was not popular in service, being almost unbearable for its driver and very heavy to heave back on the track when it derailed.

Decauville-Crochat petrol-electric tractor (France)

The French artillery railways had such machines in service in the fortified areas even before the war; their requirement was logical since the outlying forts had

to be supplied under fire. The 'standard' armoured tractor was a bogie, petrol-electric machine on the Crochat system —later used for a number of railcars. This had a transversely-mounted 4-cylinder water-cooled petrol engine driving electric motors through a generator, the petrol engine occupying one end of the body and the generator the other. Characteristic of all Crochat machines was the side-mounted cooling fan drawing its air through a circular, gauze-covered porthole. The armoured protecting cover for this can be seen at the rear end by the soldier. Entry was via a two-part 'stable-door' placed centrally on each side.

Simplex 40-h.p. armoured tractor (U.K.)

The British contribution was a modification of the ubiquitous Simplex petrol-mechanical, four-wheeled tractor, in this case the 40 h.p. version. This really did look like a miniature tank, being totally enclosed with only small vision slits for the driver and was reputedly appallingly hot and noisy to drive. The additional armour added nearly a ton to the all-up weight bringing it, with driver to 7*2 tons (Simplex weights, rather quaintly, always included a hypothetical 12-stone driver). Only 27 were put into service.

American armoured tractors

The Americans inevitably decided to go one better and produced complete armoured trains at least in prototype form. There is little information on these which so far as is known never entered service on the Western Front. Plate 104 shows a rather rakish and long petrol locomotive by Hall-Scott, apparently with two motors. Plate 105 is an obvious prototype of an oil-electric machine officially termed an 'armoured motor car*. Like the Hall-Scott it is fitted with an automatic coupler, and even the bogies have armoured 'skirts'.

MOTOR AMBULANCE TROLLEYS

Drewry eB' type motor ambulance trolleys (U.K.)

Final refinement of the narrow gauge military ambulance vehicle was the motorised trolley with special bodywork. This was not produced in great numbers by any of the combatants but was used on the so-called 'colonial' fronts where narrow gauge railways often acted as lines of communication; they were, therefore, often quite long. A total of 25 such cars was built for the British operations in Mesopotamia and these are described below.

Drewry *B' type trolley chassis

Basis of the cars was the Drewry Car Co.'s standard 'B' type motor trolley chassis designed to be adaptable to all gauges. These were actually built by Drewry's subsidiary, Baguley Cars Ltd., and were typical of a pattern adopted by both British and continental manufacturers. The chassis consisted of a straightforward metal underframe about 16 ft long, with a wheelbase of 7 ft. The 4-cylinder Baguley petrol engine developing 20 h.p. was mounted at one end under a pair of transverse seats and drove onto one axle. It was water-cooled, horizontal tube radiators being

fitted to both ends of the car, and duplicate sets of driver's controls were provided though in common with tram-car practice the actual operating levers had to be transferred when the driver changed ends. Unusually the handbrakes were of car-type lever pattern and not handwheels. The cars had three-speed gearboxes with reversing box and maximum speed was about 35 m.p.h.

Motor trolley in use for stretcher patients

The body comprised a central 'compartment' with a driver's platform at each end. It was designed with a central space giving access to the driving platforms via a door in the middle of each end bulkhead, and was fitted to take two stretchers at each side. An attendant could therefore service the stretcher cases while the car was moving and a seat was provided for him against one end-bulkhead. Alternatively, the stretchers could be removed, the platforms holding the upper ones folded into the roof, and a canvas seat for six lighdy wounded men could be erected; this normally was kept folded down to form the car floor.

Motor trolley ready for running

To protect the patients from rain, wind and sand the cars were equipped with full length canvas side-curtains which could be let down to enclose the body. These were normally furled under the roof eaves, and bore the red cross on a white background. The remainder of the curtains and the vehicle bodywork were coloured khaki in accordance with normal military practice.

Drewry passenger motor trolley

Not specifically an ambulance vehicle, but equally typical of the period was the Drewry trolley pictured here for use on the 4 ft in. gauge. This pattern of vehicle, with its swing-over seats, its motor under the seat boxes and its end radiators, hardly varied over the years, though presumably improvements were constantly being made to the motors and mechanical parts. Cars of this type were used widely for inspection and permanent way purposes by all armies. This particular one was built for Mesopotamia and is a six-seater; iо ft 4 in. long with a wheelbase of 5 ft 5 in.

METRE GAUGE ROLLING-STOCK

Metre gauge 4-wheeled wagon (U.K. for Belgium)

Besides specialised narrow-gauge railways, both sides in World War One also utilised existing narrow gauge local railways where these existed. The Germans, Austrians and French normally used the existing stock, supplementing it as required with further equipment commandeered from local railways in their own countries outside the fighting zone. Great Britain had never possessed a rational system of secondary railways, and certainly had none on the metre gauge. Her positions in the north around Ypres and the Belgian coast, however, included big segments of the Belgian National Secondary Railways Co. (Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Vicinaux), a concern operating almost entirely on the metre gauge. The War Department had therefore to provide 50

train locomotives of standard Belgian pattern and, in addition, no less than 1200 wagons. These were mainly 4-wheeled io-ton open wagons of a type standardised by the S.N.C.V. and fitted with normal S.N.C.V. draw gear. A number were fitted with brakesman's perches as shown here.

Metre gauge refrigerator van

The Middle East Fronts included considerable mileage of metre gauge railways, especially in Mesopotamia. Most stock for these lines was commandeered from Indian lines but some specialist vehicles were built in England. They included these substantial bogie refrigerator cars built to order Mesrail 7 as early as autumn 1916 and taring 17 tons 16 cwt. It will be seen that, in contrast to the light equipment used in France and Belgium, these lines were built as longdistance systems to a high standard. The vehicles were supplied by Leeds Forge Co.

WORKSHOP TRAINS (60-cm. gauge, U.K.)

Once the British decided to take light railways seriously they were in many ways the most inventive of the combatants in World War One. One example was the series of complete mobile workshop trains built for the W.D. light railways early in 1918 by the Gloucester Carriage & Wagon Co. Each train was specified to be capable of carrying out running repairs to equipment in the field and was composed of six vehicles.

Office van for workshop train (U.K.)

This provided quarters for the senior officer in charge of the train and his assistants. It was fully equipped, the senior officer even having an electric radiator run off the train's generator system and was, like all the other vehicles, mounted on a standard 'D' class underframe.

Tool and stores wagon

Included in the train were one or more ordinary bogie vans with side-opening doors and equipped with racks for tools, lockers for stores and two small swivel cranes or derricks. They were arranged so that the interior also provided working space for artificers engaged on small jobs and an awning could be stretched over the opened doors to provide a kind of porch.

Machinery wagon, closed and open

The other three vehicles in the train were machine wagons. They had van bodies with the sides designed to open up to provide increased working space. Each side was in three sections and each section was split into an upper and lower flap. The lower flap dropped down to become a working floor, suspended on chains (though they were usually supplemented by baulks of wood); the upper one was raised horizontally to form a roof or canopy that could in turn be supplemented by tarpaulin awnings. Two of these vehicles contained machine tools comprising grindstones, drills, a shaping machine and a 6-in. lathe, driven from

overhead shafting. The third was a generator car which provided power to light and heat the train besides powering the machinery. The plant consisted of two 15-20-amp. Aster petrol engines driving a 10-kW. dynamo and was completely self-contained, water and petrol tanks being provided in the car.

An interesting feature of the trains was that the two workshop cars could be used individually away from their parent train, connections being provided so that they could take power from a petrol electric tractor (Plate 99). The trains were intended for use away from established depots—for example in the case of a rapid advance—but were also used as auxiliary base workshops.

60-cm. gauge railway in abandoned village

World War One saw one marked change in the relationship of railways and war. Before 1914, railways might have been at war but rarely were in it. True the railway acting as a line of communication occasionally got tangled up with the fighting through accident or enemy infiltration. It even got torn up in places. Yet basically earlier wars were wars of movements and the railways normally operated behind advancing or retreating lines largely over existing civilian tracks. The most that was done was to build the occasional military feeder railway.

In 1914 the war of movement suddenly stopped, and stopped arbitrarily wherever the armies halted each other. Since the fighting was for once in a populous region, whole farms, villages and, later, even towns such as Albert and Ypres found themselves deserted and caught in the battle zone. Standard gauge railheads became static and a network of light narrow gauge feeders penetrated the battle zone. The railway came into the war as a daily part of its life, a scene typified by this ammunition train wandering through a wrecked village almost in the front line. For probably the first time, such railways had to be operated under the threat of constant shelling in forward areas. Their track ballast and the rough roads by which they ran, were even composed at times of the rubble of the villages they helped the guns to destroy. To cope with this new railway operating organisations expanded on both sides of the line. The Germans, and in Italy the Austrians, ran them as railways, with proper procedures and even system names. The British, and to a lesser extent the French and Americans were more flexible, evolving new methods and new material to meet the new situations. This British train, with its internal combustion engined tractor to help escape observation, and its high capacity bogie vehicles each of which could carry the load of an ordinary standard gauge io-ton wagon, marks the new approach; its background is symbolic of the change in attitude.