Railway operations, American Expeditionary Forces

Railway operations were originally established by the United States Army to provide support to France and Great Britain after the United States entered World War I. The Army organized and deployed different types of railway regiments and battalions. As operations progressed, the railway units were used to support the American Expeditionary Forces as well. U.S. rail regiments moved both troops and supplies for the AEF and for the allies from the seaports to the front.
Organization.
Organization began with a survey group established by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker and railway executive Samuel Morse Felton Jr. This group, led by William Barclay Parsons, examined docks and rail traffic and recommended a solution for the United States. After Parsons' group observed that the France's ports were inadequate, its rail system was carrying all the traffic it could bear, and its canals were blocked, it requested that engineers be sent to France. The Army sent nine railway regiments, all filled with volunteers from U. S. railways, as follows: five construction regiments, three operations regiments, and one shop regiment. Railway regiments typically consisted of two battalions of three companies each.
Operations.
Existing services.
France had six railway systems: the Etat, Nord, Est, Paris-Orleans, Paris-Lyon-Mediterranee, and Midi.
Track.
Broad gauge (width between the rails) track in France was . Standard gauge in the United States was . The difference between the two in tenths of an inch was negligible and the wheels of U.S. locomotives and rolling stock did not have to be modified to be used.
Locomotives and Rolling stock.
American rail equipment was larger than that of the French. The countries agreed that the size of U.S. locomotives used in France would have a traction force limited only by the clearances and load-bearing capacity of French railways and that cars would match the capacity of the locomotives. After two test runs proved the feasibility of air brakes, the French agreed to allow American cars to be equipped with those brakes, which the French rolling stock was not. Instead of American knuckle couplers, U.S. trains would be equipped with couplers and buffers used in France. American trains were limited to a length of ; the limit was imposed by the length of French passing sidings.
The standard American locomotive in use was the 2-8-0 Consolidation type. More than 1600 of the Consolidation locomotives were assembled in France by U.S. mechanics; most were allocated to the AEF.
Almost twenty thousand American-made railway cars were received in France during the war and after the armistice. Car types included box cars, flat cars, gondola cars (high and low sided), tank cars, refrigerator cars, ballast cas and dump cars.
Routes.
The American Expeditionary Forces were authorized to run their own trains operated by American crews on French rails from the ports to the advance section.