Opinion & Answer Part 23: Railroad Veterans
Good Day to all today
As we've reached another Friday, it's time for another part of my Opinion & Answer Series. But this Friday's (11/11/22) edition of Opinion & Answer is different because like my Part 12: Ambulance Trains, this Opinion & Answer honors our veterans who've served in World War 1. But this Opinion & Answer is the focus towards the people who've served in the ROD and the Railway battalions. So please enjoy Part 23: Railroad Veterans where we look at the steam locomotives who've served on the railroads on the war fronts.
Please Note: This is my opinion that is backed with research sources that will be linked below to view more about this topic.
1. What does ROD stand for & the Railway battalions?
The ROD stands for "Railway Operation Division" who were charged with operating the railways under the Royal Engineers in the year 1915. The Railway battalions were the battalions made up of railroad workers who had/trained to operate the ROD steam locomotives during the war time. Some Railway Battalions were also charged with building railways & repairing the ROD steam locomotives.
2. What was their role in World War 1?
Their role involved operating both standard gauge railway and narrow gauge railway (more on narrow gauge next Friday) along with the railway workers in the different war fronts that were fought during WW1. They were charged with supplying both soldiers & equipment to the different war fronts along with bringing back the wounded soldiers as covered in my Part 12's Opinion & Answer post.
3. Railway Operation Division's equipment during WW1
During World War 1, the ROD or Railway Operation Division was using many diverse steam locomotives from Britain's railway companies and leased several Belgian locomotives sent to France in 1914. As the war kept going on, the ROD adopted the Great Central Railway's Robinson Class 8K 2-8-0 as its standard freight locomotive to become the ROD 2-8-0. Even some of the steam locomotives that were used by the ROD were purchased from Baldwin company in the United States. Along with having Standard gauge locomotives, they also operated according to researched operated meter gauge or 600 millimeters (2.0 ft) narrow gauge trains.
4. Who assisted the Railway Operation Division with their equipment?
Along with the Railway Operation Division, there were at least 42 Railway construction company on top of the two regular and three special reserved companies at the start of World War 1 who were charged with building standard gauge railways on the war fronts with the last company being destroy at the end of WW1 in 1919.
5. What happen to the ROD after World War 1?
After World War 1, the Railway Operation Division returned their leased steam locomotives to their foreign country owners and kept both the ROD 2-8-0 and the Baldwin locomotives. The ROD 2-8-0 were stored in Great Britain and sold to several British companies between 1919 and 1927 and the Baldwin locomotives were sold as military surplus with most of them ended up in Belgium and France.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this edition of Opinion & Answer on this Friday November 11th 2022. Please join me again on Sunday for 4 examples of the ROD steam locomotives and again next Friday November 18th where we examine the narrow gauge railways on the War Front.
Sources:
