Britain's Railways in Wartime

Author: Anthony Lambert
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781848024823
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
In the long and absorbing history of Britain's railways, the most challenging years were those of the two World Wars, when they were needed the most. Transportation of everything that was grown, made, or mined, as well as soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians largely fell to the nation's trains. Yet the indispensable role of railways in wartime has been largely overlooked. This book pays tribute to the way railway workers responded to the demand that they do more with less resources, called upon as they were to cope with an extraordinary change in the character and volume of passenger and goods traffic, to endure dangerously long hours, and to overcome the fear of moving in and through war zones. Small wayside stations could be transformed into a frenzy of activity by the arrival of a camp or supply depot on its doorstep, while disruption through bomb damage could turn the shift of the locomotive crew into an indefinite wait for relief. Featuring a gazetteer of the monuments and memorials created to honor fallen railway workers, this book pays tribute to their heroic responses to the demands of war.

Wartime on the Railways

Author: David Wragg
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752489208
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Presenting an account of the part played by Britain's railways during the Second World War, this book deals with operational matters and the impact of enemy action on railways. It also looks at financial arrangements, the part played by railway workshops in producing equipment for the military, and the wartime experience of the railways' ships.

Trains to Victory

Author: Donald J. Heimburger
Publisher: Heimburger House Publishing Company
ISBN: 9780911581607
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Trains to Victory tells the dramatic story of the years 1941-1945 when U.S. railroads, using fewer cars and locomotives than in WWI, moved more tonnage and more passengers than ever before. Divided into 13 chapters, plus a 32-page four-color section, an introduction, bibliography and a complete index, the volume appeals to railfans, historians, military historians, and many others. The 380-page hardbound book features 542 photographs, an additional 285 illustrations, a four-color laminated dustjacket and a complete listing of U.S. military camps, posts and bases as of August 1, 1941. The book discusses the implications of the war on the railroads, embarkation of troops and materiels, how the Military Railway Service joined the fight and what was happening on U.S railroads during the war. It also addresses new railroad cars and locomotives built for the war, military camp railroads, how Alaska’s railroads played a part in the conflict, how women helped the war effort, and what was happening in foreign theaters. It describes how railroads aided in the return of wounded troops and equipment, and the atmosphere on the railroads immediately after the war. Scale drawings of war-emergency box cars are also included, as are troop train car plans. Trains to Victory covers such topics as the huge Chicago & NorthWestern Proviso Yards during wartime, personal glimpses of the war from a number of railroaders and intriguing aspects of the war from the Army Engineers, Association of American Railroads and the War Department. Wartime products of locomotive and railroad car manufacturers such as Baldwin, Alco, Davenport, Lima, Whitcomb, Budd, Electro-Motive, H.K. Porter, Pullman, American Car & Foundry and the St. Louis Car Company are documented throughout the volume. Hardbound, 8½ x11", 380 pages, 825 photos and illustrations, 32-page all-color photo section, 13 chapters, extensive historical military/railroad documentation.

Engines of War

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: ISIS Large Print Books
ISBN: 9780753153314
Category : Large type books
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Book Description
"Before the nineteenth century, armies had to rely on slow and unreliable methods of transportation to move soldiers and equipment during times of conflict. But with the birth of the railroad in the early 1830s, the way wars were fought would change forever. In Engines of War, renowned expert Christian Wolmar tells the story of that transformation, examining all the engagements in which railways played a part from the Crimean War and American Civil War through both world wars, the Korean War, and the Cold War with its mysterious missile trains. He shows that the 'iron road' not only made armies far more mobile, but also greatly increased the scale and power of available weaponry. Wars began to be fought across wider fronts and over longer timescales, with far deadlier consequences. From armored engines with their swiveling guns to track sabotage by way of dynamite, railway lines constructed across frozen Siberian lakes and a Boer war ambush involving Winston Churchill, Engines of War shows how the railways - a fantastic generator of wealth in peacetime - became a weapon of war exploited to the full by governments across the world."--Publisher's description.

American Civil War Railroad Tactics

Author: Robert R. Hodges Jr.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178200212X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
The American Civil War was the world's first full-blown 'railroad war'. The well-developed network in the North was of great importance in serving the Union armies' logistic needs over long distances, and the sparser resources of the South were proportionately even more important. Both sides invested great efforts in raiding and wrecking enemy railroads and defending and repairing their own, and battles often revolved around strategic rail junctions. Robert Hodges reveals the thrilling chases and pitched battles that made the railroad so dangerous and resulted in a surprisingly high casualty rate. He describes the equipment and tactics used by both sides and the vital supporting elements – maintenance works, telegraph lines, fuel and water supplies, as well as garrisoned blockhouses to protect key points. Full-colour illustrations bring the fast-paced action to life in this fascinating read; a must-have volume for rail and Civil War enthusiasts.

Wartime GWR

Author: Elaine Arthurs
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780711038059
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
This title presents a collection of photographs illustrating the human and operational cost of two world wars on the Great Western Railway taken from the archive of the Museum of the GWR at Swindon.

Railways of the Great War

Author: Colette Hooper
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780593074121
Category : Military railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
From the exploits of railwaymen at the Front to the secrets of railway spies who worked behind enemy lines; the manufacture of munitions in railway workshops to the role of railways in post-war remembrance âe" this book explores some of the remarkable stories of the railway war. Individually, each illuminates a different aspect of the conflict. Taken together, they provide us with a fresh perspective on the First World War as a whole. The Great War was the quintessential railway war. Railways helped to precipitate this mechanized conflict: they defined how it was fought and kept the home front moving; they conveyed millions to the trenches and evacuated the huge numbers of wounded. The railways sustained a terrible war of attrition and, ultimately, bore witness to its end. In Railways of the Great War, Michael Portillo and Colette Hooper tell the forgotten story of the war on the tracks and explore the numerous ways in which Britainâe(tm)s locomotives, railway companies and skilled railway workforce moulded the course of the conflict. From mobilizing men and moving weapons, to transporting food for troops and later taking grieving relatives to the battlefields on which their loved ones had fallen, the railways played a central role throughout this turbulent period in our history.

Railways in Wartime

Author: Tim Bryan
Publisher: Shire Publications
ISBN: 9780747810506
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The strategic importance of railways was recognized almost from the beginning of their development, but it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that their real value was appreciated by the military. In both the First and Second World Wars, railways were crucial in the transportation of men, munitions and coal, whilst on the Continent British forces operated railways to support the war effort. The heroic story of railways at war was confirmed in the months before and after the 'D' Day landings in 1944 when literally thousands of trains were run to support the Allied invasion, cementing their role as the 'fourth service' during World War II. Here, Tim Bryan provides an authoritative and fully illustrated guide to the railway's role in twentieth-century wartime.

Ordinary Workers, Vichy and the Holocaust

Author: Ludivine Broch
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108705745
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Should French railwaymen during the Second World War be viewed as great resisters or collaborators in genocide? Ludivine Broch revisits histories of resistance, collaboration and deportation in Vichy France through the prism of the French railwaymen - the cheminots. De-sanctifying the idea of railwaymen as heroic saboteurs, Broch reveals the daily life of these workers who accommodated with the Vichy regime, cohabitated with the Germans and stole from their employer. Moreover, by intertwining the history of the working classes with Holocaust history, she highlights unexpected histories under Vichy and sensitive memories of the post-war period. Ultimately, this book bursts the myths of cheminot resistance and collaboration in the Holocaust, and reveals that there is more to their story than this. The cheminots fed both the French nation and the German military apparatus, exemplifying the complexities of personal, professional and political life under occupation.

War on the Line

Author: Bernard Darwin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Southern railway company (Gt. Brit.)
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Book Description