The 740th Railway Operating Battalion

in France & Belgium

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Sometime after the termination of World War I, the War Charles W. HEFFNER
Department, in conjunction with the Class I railroads,
formed paper organizations of Railway Operating Battalions
which were designated reserve elements under the Corps of
Engineers. Until the beginning of World War II, however,
the Battalions remained on paper; but then the War
Department called on the railroads to supply officer
personnel for the formation of Units, the enlisted personnel
to be drawn from inductees who had had civilian railroad
experience.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company was called on
in summer of 1942 to supply qualified men for filling the
positions of officers, but it was not until April of 1943 that
appointment began coming through. The first officer was
called for active duty on 10 August 1943 and the others on 740th Raiwlay
28 and 29 October. All positions had not been filled and
men from other railways were assigned to the organization, Operating Battalion
which had been designated the 740th. In the meantime,
military railway units had been transferred from the
Engineers to the Transportation Corps, and all officers were
required to undergo a basic military training course at the
Transportation Corps Officer's Training School at Fort
Slocum, New York. The 740th-to-be- officers graduated on
2 December.

The next duty station was the Transportation Corps, Army

Service Forces, and Unit Training Center at Camp Plauche,
New Orleans, Louisiana, where the Battalion was activated
on 14 December 1943… Completing basic training at Camp
Plauche, the Battalion departed on 23 January 1944 for
Camp William C. Reid, Clovis, New Mexico, to take
technical training on the Santa Fe Railroad, where it arrived
on 25 January. The training territory was from Amarilla,
Texas, on the east, to Belen, New Mexico, on the west, and
on the branch line from Clovis south to Carlsbad. Operators
were assigned, track gangs, bridge and building forces and
telegraph and signalmen were scattered over the line with
the Santa Fe workers. Shopman were placed in the engine
houses at Clovis, New Mexico and Amarillo, Texas, and
train and engine crews assigned to road and yard service.
Technical training was completed on 30 April and the
Battalion began marking time pending receipt of overseas
orders. The interim was filled in by an intensified military
training program, recreation, etc. Finally, on 20 May 1944
the advance party of two officers and one enlisted man
departed for the New York Port of Embarkation, from
where they sailed on 29 May, arriving at Liverpool on 5
June and debarking on 7 June. The Battalion left Camp Reid
on 2 July and sailed from New York on 18 July, arriving at
Liverpool on the 29th and debarking on the 30th. From there
it proceeded to St. Mellons, near Cardiff, Wales, where it
was split up into twenty detachments for work in the various
General Depots throughout midland and southern England.
Battalion Headquarters were established at Egginton,
Derbyshire, on 1 August. On 5 August orders were received
to call in the Detachments and assemble at St. Mellons for
movement overseas. Reaching St. Mellons on the 7th, the
Battalion remained until the 9th when it left for the
Marshalling Area in Nightingale Woods at Eastleigh, just
north of Southampton. 13th of August saw the Unit
embarking for the continent; Battalion Headquarters, and
Headquarters, "A" and "B" Companies, loading on one
transport and Company "C" on another. The convoy arrived
off Utah Beach the next day and while Company "C"
debarked immediately, the other Companies did not land
until 16th. On landing of Company "C", one detachment
was sent to Cherbourg to run engines east to Mayenne; truck
on the 14th, and the balance on the 15th sent one to
Mayenne.
When the other Companies landed they spent the night in a
bivouac area, with part leaving the area at noon on the 17th
and arriving at Mayenne that night, and the remainder
leaving about midnight and arriving at Mayenne the
afternoon of the 18th.

As of this time, tracks had been restored from the beaches

and Cherbourg through Coutances, Folligny, Avranches,
Pontaboult, Mayenne, La Chapelle and Sille Le Guillaume
to Le Mans, the railhead. The line from Pontaboult through
Mayenne to La Chapelle was a secondary single-track
railroad, the selection of which was made necessary because
the high bridge at Laval, just west of La Chapelle, on the
double track Rennes-Le Mans line, had been blown up. The
718th Railway Operating Battalion, which crossed the
channel in the same convoy with the 740th, had its eastern
terminus at Mayenne.
When the Battalion arrived at Mayenne, it was without
supplies or equipment, insufficient time having been
allowed in the United Kingdom to accumulate them, and
found trains waiting to be run east, only one track open, all
buildings severely damaged by bombing, no communication
lines to the east, and the one to the west inoperative; very
little water in the tank and the pump broken; only 15 tons of
coal on hand with the nearest supply 65 kilometers away; no
roundhouse facilities available, and no flagging equipment.
Information was received that 31 trains of ammunition,
rations and gasoline that General Patton said was required to
enable him to take Paris in 20 days, were on the way
through. Three of these trains had passed Mayenne by the
17th of August, but on the afternoon of that day, crews of
Battalion relieved at Mayenne, all crews of other Battalions
to the west.
From this beginning, trains were operated to the east on
manual block system; then lenemen opened a circuit to the
east, and assisted in the repair of the line west to Fougeres;
track laborers, with a motley and inadequate collection of
tools, restored three yard tracks at Mayenne and started on
the removal of slow orders between that point and La
Chapelle; and old reciprocating steam pump that had not
been used for years was repaired and used for pumping
water to the tank from the river; a small open air engine
terminal was established; a supply of very poor coal was
sent in, and an additional water pint was provided at Ernée
as the pump at Mayenne continually gave trouble.
An officer to take charge of the railhead operations was sent
to Le Mans on 19 August, but as this was the scene of our
principal operations, Battalion Headquarters were moved
there on 22 August, leaving a detachment at Mayenne.
Le Mans, one of the largest rail terminals in France, was
found to have been given a severe bombing and was almost
completely demolished. As of the 22nd of August, only one
main line into the terminal and two yard tracks had been
restored. Orders were received to begin the rehabilitation of
the yard for increased unloading. This was a stupendous
task. The terminal was a twisted mass of wrecked
locomotives, cars, rails, ties, buildings, etc. The work was
planned and started and continued under the supervision of
this Battalion, but on arrival at Le Mans of the 712th and
722nd Railway Operating Battalions, their trackmen were
also assigned to this work. While operations of Le Mans
terminal was assigned to the 712th Railway Operating
Battalion effective 31 August, the Superintendent
Maintenance of Way of this Battalion remained in charge of
the rehabilitation on request of the Commanding Officer of
the 706th Railway Grand Division. To 15 September, when
the Battalion was transferred from this territory, 20 yard
tracks, the 'loop' tracks and five engine house tracks had
been restored for service.
When the Maintenance of Equipment Company moved into
the engine terminal on 20 August, they found it deserted.
One roundhouse had been completely destroyed, the other
badly damaged and the machine shop about two thirds
wrecked. Bomb craters, collapsed walls and beams, wrecked
locomotives and machinery proved a great obstacle to
setting up shop. Men were assigned the job of clearing a
working space, and a survey was made of the tracks to
determine what would be necessary to get engines into the
shop. This revealed that one track could be used with a little
repair work. When a search failed to locate tools,
blacksmiths were assigned the task of making wrenches,
hammers, screw drivers, punches, chisels, etc., so that the
other crafts could go to work. Oil was no problem – The
Germans had left a large quantity. The mechanism of the
turntable had been damaged and had to be manually
operated, requiring the services of eight to ten men each
time an engine left the roundhouse. Despite these handicaps,
engines were serviced and light repairs made and there was
no delay to movements due to lack of power. While the
764th Railway Shop Battalion moved into Le Mans and
took over the back shop about 1 September and jurisdiction
of the entire terminal was assigned to the 712th Railway
Operating Battalion on 30 August, shopmen of this Unit
continued to work in the shops until the Battalion was
assigned to another sector on 15 September.
The Car Platoon also suffered from lack of tools with a
tremendous job facing it. Soon after arriving at Le Mans, a
call was made for every available empty car for the ports.
Great numbers of cars, of all European nationalities and in
all states of condition were in the yard. Many were
completely wrecked, some required minor repairs and a
large number were serviceable but on tracks that had had
switches or leads blown out. To get out these cars, track
repair was necessary and then frequently the use of an old
French 'tea kettle' hook that had been resurrected, was
required to clear out damaged cars and locomotives that
were blocking exits. The car shop was completely wrecked.
On arriving a search was made for tools, brasses, and other
equipment. Baling wire was used to make repairs to cars in
transit. Journal brass was a problem until a Frenchman
informed the car force that some American brasses were
stored in an old warehouse uptown. On investigation, it was
found this brass had been sent over in 1918 for use on
World War I equipment. It was collected and immediately
put to use.

For the first few days of operation between Mayenne and Le

Mans, the very crudest of operating conditions prevailed.
On the completion of the communication circuit dispatchers
and operators were placed. At night, absolute blocking was
in force, with both permissive and absolute blocking,
depending on conditions, prevailing in the daytime. Trains
were operated and switching performed at night by the
trainmen using personal flashlights, cigarettes lighters and
lighted cigarettes for flagging. Crews were on the road as
long as 96 hours, catching catnaps in cabs and cabooses.
The Germans that had been bypassed at Mayenne by the
combat forces, cut the wires night after night, and sniped at
passing trains, and at yard and engine house men.
Until the end of August, no civilian traffic was permitted on
the railroad. The food situation in Paris was so acute,
however, that the French were finally permitted to move so
much tonnage per day over the road. By this time the line
had been restored through Chartres and Dreux to the
outskirts of Paris.
In reassignment of territory effective 30 August, the 740th,
which was under the 708th Railway Grand Division, gave
up the Le Mans terminal and the line to Paris, retaining the
line from Mayenne to the west switch of the Mans yard, and
being assigned the double track road from Surdon to Le
Mans. Only one track on this latter line was open, but
trackmen sent to Alençon opened for traffic 15 miles of
second track to 14 September. Effective 31 August, the
bridge at Laval was completed and traffic was then routed
through Rennes; the first train over the bridge being loaded
with potatoes destined for Paris. All operation over the
secondary railroad from Mayenne to La Chapelle was
discontinued effective 4 September.
In the meantime, the Engineers were engaged in
rehabilitating the northerly and more direct rail route from
the beaches and Cherbourg to Paris; and one completion
thereof on 14 September the roundabout line from Folligny
to Rennes, thence through Laval, Le Mans, Chartres and
Dreux to Paris was discontinued as the main supply route
and it's operation turned over to the French.
The Battalion had been well baptized. It had learned under
what conditions it was expected to perform; conditions that
in civilian life would have been deemed impossible, testing
the intelligence, ingenuity and physical stamina of every
officer and enlisted man. Suffice it to say that without GI
supplies of any kind until 30 August (when our supplies and
equipment started catching up), the road, yard, motive
power and communication facilities and operating practices
had been improved to the extent that from the handling of
36 trains in the first six days, 45 trains were handled on 13
September.
Concurrently with turning over the Rennes – Le Mans line
phase III operation, the Battalion received orders to move to
Laon, France, for operation of the railroad from there to
railheads in Belgium. West of Paris we had served the Third
Army, but with arrival at Laon on 17 September, we began a
service to the First Army that continued without interruption
until after V-E day.
As the Army rapidly advanced until it reached the defenses
of the Siegfried Line, the Engineers restored a single track
line, and as that was done, the Battalion moved in and
established railheads; then improved the roadbed for
operation at higher speeds, opened yard tracks for increased
traffic, and constructed additional communication lines. As
of 17 September, one track had been restored to Liege,
Belgium, the most advanced railhead. A circuitous route
reached this over secondary roads, mainly, from Laon
through Liart, Hirson and Anor, France; and Mariembourg,
Charleroi, Gembloux, Ramillies, Namur and Huy, Belgium.
On 25 September, however, restoration of the bridge over
the Meuse River into the Liege Guillemins passenger station
was completed. While this station was a bottle neck, trains
having to pull in, the engines run around the cars and then
coupled on again and run east, it re-opened Liege as the hub
of railroad supply lines to the east, north and south, and
Advance Section, Communications Zone, and Air Corps
Units to the West. One of these lines ran north to Vise,
another through Chenee to Pepinster, and the other from
Chenee to Herve.
While the combat forces were butting against the Siegfried
Line, restoration of the lines east of Liege were in progress,
and continued so until finally railheads were established
only a few kilometers behind the line. On 2 October 1944,
rail territory was reassigned giving to the 740th all lines
from Namur to the railheads. This brought the Headquarters
up to Liege on 4 October.

Liege
Liege, Incidentally, is also a province, not only a city;
although Guillemins, Ans, Longdoz, Bressoux, Tilleur,
Kinkempois, Renory, etc, are so closely grouped they
appear to be one big city. Effective 5 October, the road east
from Vise through Remersdael and Montzen to Herbesthal
was opened, and later in the month, the track was restored
from Herbesthal to the Belgian-German border town of
Raeren. The opening of operation of the Vise-Herbesthal
line was just another case of getting a supply road opened
quickly. It was a circuitous route from Liege to Herbesthal,
but was the more feasible of the two that could be quickly
restored while work was in progress on the bomb-damaged
bridge just east of Pepinster. Outside of distance, another
objection was that at Remersdael, the road was on an
ascending grade in the direction of loads through a tunnel,
from the lining of which seepage caused slippery rails. With
the completion on 21 October of the bridge east of
Pepinster, traffic for Herbesthal and east was routed over
this line.
On 15 October, the Gembloux – Landen – Ans – Liege Line
was opened to relieve traffic conditions on the one through
Namur – Huy – Liege. To ever come some of the difficulties
at the Liege-Guillemins station, Company "B" and
Company "C" were moved to Ans so that engines and crews
could be changed there.
Ninth Army units began moving into Holland in the early
There were no changes in assigned territory during the first
half of November, but improvements to track and structures
were still in progress. Company "A" track forces restored
the track into Germany as far as Walheim, which had been
chosen as a prospective railhead. No heavy work was
involved except where the line runs through the 'Dragons
Teeth' at Smithoff, and there it was found the work was not
only heavy but also dangerous. The first swipe of the
bulldozer blade raked up four mines. Before completion of
the job, a total of twenty-five were removed. The work was
completed on 7 November and on that day a work train of
Company "A" passed through the Siegfried line; followed
on 14 November by the first of two trains of Engineer
supplies and equipment for Walheim. While the track was
ready for operation, First Army authorities refused to grant
permission to establish a railhead at Walheim, giving as the
reason that it was too close to the front line.
To overcome the objectionable operation through Liege-
Guillemins passenger station, construction of a bridge at
Flemalle-Grande over the Meuse and the restoration of
tracks in Kinkempois yard had been started in October.
With the completion of the bridge on 14 November, the bulk
of the traffic was routed over the Namur – Huy –
Kinkempois line. Kinkempois yard was another Le Mans
and Laon. Concurrently with the completion of the bridge,
three tracks on the Maastricht side of the yard, five on the
Herbesthal side and three stub tracks were ready for use.
This brought a reassignment of operating territory effective
as of 15 November, whereby the 740th gave up all lines
west of the Meuse River and took over all east of the Meuse
in Belgium and Holland; i.e.:
Flemalle-Grande to Raeren, via Kinkempois, Chenee,
Pepinster and Herbesthal.
Chenee to Battice.
Chenee to Herbesthal, via Vise and Montzen
Vise, through Maastricht to Schinnen and Wylra Gulpen.
The line in Holland was extended during November and
December eastward to Kerkrade and Kerkrade-Rolduc. The
lines east and north of Maastricht resembled a crude figure
'8', with Maastricht and Sittard on the west, Schinop-Guel
and Heerlen in the middle, and Kerkrade and Kerkrade-
Rolduc on the east. Except for the short stretch between the
last named two stations, the line was in operating condition,
although after Sittard had been shelled by artillery several
times, the section north from Maastricht was discontinued.
The only other extension of note in December was from
Pepinster to Malmedy where a gasoline railhead was
established on the 14th. This operation was short-lived. The
German break-through in the Ardennes swept quickly into
Malmedy and the last train in on 16 December was turned
around and brought it's load right back, out. At that, the
crew had to locate a track gang to replace a rail length that
had been blown out by an aerial bomb between the up and
down trips. Besides abandonment of this line, all supplies
east of Pepinster on the road to Herbesthal and Raeren were
evacuated to depots west of the Meuse, and traffic east of
Pepinster practically ceased until after the enemy was driven
back across the border.
Again on 1 January 1945 the Battalion relinquished the lines
in Holland. This time for good. The 734th Railway
Operating Battalion arrived just after Christmas and was
assigned the territory north from the east switch at Liege –
Bressoux. The only other changes to the end of January
were the opening up of the branch out of Angleur south to
Trois-Ponts on 17 January, and resumption of service on the
Malmedy line to Sart-lez-Spa on 25 January. Repairs to this
line continued through January and most of February until
the entire loop (a scenic route through the northern part of
the Ardennes) – Pepinster – Stavelot – Malmedy – Waimes
– Weywertz – Roetgen – Raeren was in operation.
Reconstruction work was in progress on the line through
Raeren and Walheim to Stolberg, and on 7 February the first
freight railhead in Germany was established at Walheim.
This was not the first train operation into Germany;
however, as the Battalion had run trains into Walheim and
Aachen as far back as November. While the road was
opened to Stolberg by the 8th of February, further extension
of rail service was stopped until the first part of March the
bridge and tunnel work necessary between that point and
Eschweiler. Extension of the line east necessarily caused a
reassignment of territory. Effective 1 March, the Battalion
gave up line except the one from the east switch at Chenee,
through Pepinster, Herbesthal and Raeren, Belgium, to
Stolberg, Germany; and the loop – Pepinster – Stavelot –
Malmedy – Weywertz – Raeren. There was assigned the line
from Aachen West (exclusive) to Stolberg to connect up
with the Maastricht – Aachen line. Battalion Headquarters
was moved from Liege and opened at Aachen on 8 March.
On completion of the bridge and tunnel work just east of
Stolberg, rapid progress was made in restoring a single-track
line through to Duren, then Zulpich, then Euskirchen, then
Bonn and then Urmitz… Again on 19 March a reassignment
of territory was announced. Under this, the 740th
relinquished the line from Chenee to Herbesthal, and of the
loop, retained only that part between Raeren and Weywertz.
… A complete account of the activities of the various
Companies and sections of the 740th Battalion would fill
several books… Beginning with the operation at Laon, our
notes include the following:
Arriving on 17 September the railroad was in a very
disorganized state. Through communications did not exist.
Railway maps were hard to find and the average French
railway employee did not know anything about general
conditions. While we were operating in Phase II, due to lack
of communications, we actually had no centralized control.
Trains were blocked and operated by the French
stationmasters. G.I. operators were placed at the more
important stations, and by various methods of
communications, managed to maintain some sort of train's
records. When the Battalion moved to Liege, we found
conditions not much improved. This area was directly in the
rear of the First Army and we were faced with the problem
of establishing and supervising a large number of railheads.
The Belgian soon set up a system of centralized dispatching.
Our dispatchers kept joint records with them, and operators
were placed in their block offices….
…. When the assigned territory was changed on 2 October,
Company "A" was sent to Herbesthal due to the fact this
was German territory prior to 1918 and there was very little
native labor to rely on for maintenance. In addition to
performing normal maintenance around Herbesthal, men
from this Company acted as guards for bridges and tunnels
between St. Martin and Remersdael and at Berneau until
relieve by the Belgian F.I. A track gang was also sent to
Maastricht to open additional tracks. The Telephone and
Signal section found some communication lines to the front
already installed by Signal Corps, had to install others, and
patched up German cables when found and suitable for use.
At Laon switchboards were installed in the Headquarters of
the 740th and 708th Railway Grand Division; and from the
740th board, lines were run to all companies, dispatcher's
office, motor pool, the towers, sand house, roundhouse, etc.
One dispatcher's circuit and a message circuit were patched
up between Laon and Hirson. When the railroad from
Namur to the railheads was taken over, lines were installed
from Liege to Tilleur; at Ans from station to Company "C"
engine house and to each end of the yard; from switchboard
at Liege to dispatcher, Chief Dispatcher; yard office; Tower
2; roundhouse; barracks; motor pool, 741st Headquarters;
two trunks to the 708th; yard office to Tower 2; roundhouse,
and from 708th switchboard to the Belgian board in Liege.
From Liege to Namur, and Liege to Herve – Verviers –
Herbesthal, German cables were used. From Liege to
Pepinster, through Chenee and Trooz; Liege to Maastricht,
Holland, via Vise; and from Liege to Landen via Ans,
German circuits were rehabilitated. In one instance when
wire ran out, a wire fence along the right of way was used.
At Laon, messes were established for all companies, and in
addition, a 24-hour mess was opened at the passenger
station. On moving to Liege, 24-hour messes were
established at Liege, Ans, Pepinster, Herbesthal and
Maastricht, with regular messes at Headquarters Company,
Company "B" and Office's Quarters. Rations were
distributed by truck to all men – yardmen; telegraph
operators, car inspectors, switching and pusher crews, and
linemen.
For one period while Headquarters were at Liege, the
Battalion served a total of 31 railheads. The table of
organization allowed three yardmasters. Because the
number of railheads, conductors and brakemen were utilized
as yardmasters. Officers from other companies were detailed
to duty with Company "C" as railhead commanders.
Although Belgian and Dutch crews were utilized, and crews
were reduced to four, and sometimes three men, a shortage,
and a crew that spent less than four continually plagued five
days or us on the road without rest was the exception.
Company "C" of the 741st Railway Operating Battalion,
newly arrived from the States was attached about the middle
of October and this helped to ease the situation. A few days
later, the main body of the 741st reached Maastricht, and the
line in Holland was turned over to it…
…The numbers of individual acts of heroism are too
numerous to attempt to record here, and this is true also of
the men who put in long, arduous hours of toil in all
companies and sections. The Battalion has ample reason to
be proud of its men individually and collectively; and higher
headquarters, as well as the First Army have commanded its
achievements, and the Traffic Regulating Station with
which it was longest associated. Some of the achievements
of special note are:
During the period 20 November 1944 to 28 January 1945,
when Liege and vicinity were subjected to an intensive
barrage of robot bombing (V-1 and V-2), and, in addition,
during the period 16 December 1944 to the end of the month
to aerial bombing and strafing attacks, the Battalion suffered
casualties of eight killed and thirty-three wounded, besides
damage to tracks and equipment and constant interruption to
communication lines. The 'Battle of the Bulge' caused the
Battalion to cease operations entirely on the Malmedy
branch and the line east of Herbesthal. All supplies and
material from railheads at Malmedy, Eupen, and Herbesthal
were evacuated and moved west of the Meuse River. All
guards were doubled and men of Company "A" spent their
nights in foxholes south of the town of Herbesthal.
Although conditions in Liege and environs at times
approximated from line conditions, the Battalion (to borrow
from a letter from the Commander of the 708th Railway
Grand Division) did not "back up inch or lose one ounce of
supplies entrusted to its charge." "Buzz Bomb Alley" will
long remain in the memories of the veterans of this Unit….