Norwich bulletin., 1917-02-14
STORIES OF THE WAR
"The Light Railway"

Of all the machines that have been pressed into war service, none appears to have more individuality and more consciousness of it's own importance that the narrow-gauge railway, the light railway as it is known in mili- tary phraseology. With its fussy little engines, it is to be found everywhere behind the front.
 It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that without the narrow gauge railway, the artillery preparation which attack on a trench position, would be impossible.
 Much has been written concerning the splendid services rendered by the motor lorries at Verdun and they cer- tain1y did much to save the situation But on that occasion they were acting in their proper capacity as an emer- gency service. They enabled the French troops to resist the first German on rush. and so gave time to the military engineers to build the narrow-gaug lines which could alone be regarded as a satisfactory and permanent means of supply.
 The narrow gauge railway, with tracks 60 centimeters (twofeet) apart, is easily and rapidly laid down. Its rails are riveted two by two to metal ties, and can be put together with minimum of delay With a thin layer
 
 anywhere. Thanks to the narrowness of the gauge they can negotiate safely curves of a radius of 30 yards, and can climb grade of in 1GO-
 The military light railway needs rel atively little in the way of embank- ments and engineering, and the work of laying down the track can be car ried out with great speed. A gang of 300 men under the direction of a few experts can lay a half mile a day ready for immediate use. The engines used are capable of hauling load of 25 tons up a grade of . in 100. The ed on four wheels, built for a load of eight tons.
 The French staff has carefully-pre- pared map of the German railways before Verdun at the moment of the great offensive. It provides eloquent Germans avail themselves of the mar row gauge covered with a network of lines that for their complexity and number can only be compared to the filaments of a spiders web. Wherever the ground affords cover for artillery. there the lines are most complicated and close. At certain points on the most advanced sections of the narrow gauge line a series of sidings betrays the position of the heavy guns, which fire from trucks on the rails. The great advantage of the light rail way is that practically it does not take
 
 permits, the roads are left entirely free for motor and horse-drawn ve- hicles, which thus become a supple ment of the light railway. German shells do n ot interrupt traS- f1c on these lines. since even when by lucky chance the line is damaged, it is a matter of no great difficulty or time to restore communication. Before this war the importance of the narrow-gauge railway was not realized. Everything for the army is, of course, brought up as close as pos sible to the firing line by the broad gauge lines, but owing to the great range of modern heavy artillery, trains cannot hope to come up along the or dinary lines with safety and regularity As a rule, the normal railhead for the broad-gauge lines is from six to ten miles from the front Tn times of att tack each broad-gauge railhead may be called upon to deal with as much as 2,000 tons daily of ammunition and material.
 Upon the return of peace, France ex- poets to utilize the whole magnificent system of light railways built up dur ing the past two years for agricultural purposes.
 Village of Heroes and Hercines. Although only 800 yards from the Italian infantry line TOIu1eira still has