Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-28
RAIL SYSTEM N FRANCE
VAST, COMPREHENSIVE
Plans Worked Out by American
Army Engineers Are Compared to
Gigantic Wagon Wheel.
BY JuNrus n. wooD.

WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
FRANCE. December 24.-The railroad
system worked out here by the Ameri-
can Army may be compared to gigan-
tic wagon wheel lying across the map
of France. On the northeast side the
rails like spokes. radiate to the ports
of entry Of our ships and the supply
bases and factories. On the other
side they spread through the camps
in the training areas until the tips
touch the front lines in the lighting
zone The center. or the hub. is Of
fcially designated as the expeditionary
distributing station. Actually 1t is .
vast railroad clearing house for every
thing. with trains moving in either d.
rection. This Is already in operation
and has been growing bigger every
hour. for work never ceases day or
night
The two functions of this regulating
station are providing trains and provid-
the other. Like a train dispatchers
office. it controls the movement of
traffic whether of hospital trains re-
turning from the front or of supply
trains going to the front. Solid trains
of forage, meat, ammunition and other
supplies coming from the bases at the
ports are split up here into different
trains with all these commodities, each
going to the various division bases in
the advanced section. In the same way
arriving troop trains are distributed
Work Of Distribution Station.
When the Army reaches its proposed
vast size and starts active campaigning
operations the operation of the dis
trfbutfon station will be herculean
task. On it will depend getting food
and ammunition to the front daily and
with regularity. II 1t falls the Army
fails. 1t is difficult task even wnen
the Army IL stationary. but when the
units change size over night or oftener
the task will be heavier than ever The
number OF men to be supplied at q
particular railhead at the front may in
crease or decrease by many thousands
in single day. The supplies must
vary accordingly.
In the ONCE 81 the lieutenant general
Of the quartermaster department now
in command Of the distributing station
| Is a wall map with pins, the heads OF
which are OF different colored glass
eral plan of distribution. The pins are
aprinkled over the training area like
quarantine cases on city health de-
partment map. Each light blue pin
while pins Of darker shade indicate
divisional unloading stations in each
area where wagons, trucks and trains
unload and the cars are distributed to
the different camps. As the canton
| ments move the pins move on the map.
1t WIN be the same when the troops
are in the trenches. Each pin signifies
| SO many hundred men.
This distribution station has an anchor
| to windward. however. Even the best or
| ganization Is sometimes unable to keep to
| its schedules. as every railroad man and
every business house knows. Occasionally
| it may not be possible to get supplies at
the depots or ports or at the front the
\ troH lie tHA
and ammunition trains that these cannot
| be moved with the scheduled promptness.
| In the case Of the first contingency an
immense emergency supply warehouse Is
| to be drawn on when required In the
second case the warehouses at the sd-
! vanced railroads will be stored with two
days rations for use IL the supply train
a few hours late the officers IN charge Of
these reserve warehouses will be able Ia
make the distribution. as they have teams
and trucks waiting during the idle hours.
handle the outgoing freight and twelve
for the incoming trains. A supply Of
Ificer. transportation officer, assisted
by a technical man from the French
railroads. artillery officers and en-
distributing base. The lieutenant
colonel in command today a few months
ago was the captain OF the truck train
that brought me out OF sizSling Mex
leo. The transportation colonel was
once a police commissioner in New
York city, who gave up the practice
Of law to help the nation.
| The American locomotives which will
replace the smaller French types have
not arrived in any number as yet, nor
are the Belgian locomotives donated
| to the expedition on the ground
Salvage Plant Important.
| Many Of the military shops will be
located at this railroad junction. The
salvage plant is one Of the. most Inn
portant. An experienced laundryman
has been selected to take charge of
that department with shoemakers
wheeIwrights, harnessmakers and so
the work. The distribution station will
be another vast military city which the
year has brought to France.
How the supply problem has grown
| was shown by visit to a neighboring
city, which fs temporary supply base.
Two months ago, when was there. the
Quartermaster Corps was using two
were complaining because they had in
sufficient supplies to I'LL them. They
are now using every available vacant
building in the city, while hundreds
of carloads of non-perishable supplies
are piled on the ground and are covered
with tarpaulins. There is no longer
any complaint of shortage. but the city
will eventually relapse into a reserve
base when the new modern base is
completed, obviatfng cartages and re-
loading.
This city manufactures candy and the
jolly quartermaster has contracted for
a large weekly supply, the Americans