New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-10-05
RAILROADS MOVE
ARMY OF 100000
Meet Test Of War Conditions
When Suddenly Called On

Washington, Oct. 5.-Coincident
with the start of the third division
of the new National Army for the
training camps today, the Railroads.
War Board issued the following
statement in connection with the part
which the railroads have played in
handling the biggest troop movement
ever attempted in this country:
Including the National Guard, the
Regular Army and the new National
Army, the railroads to date have
moved approximately 10000 soldiers
from their homes to training cana;
or ebarkatton points.
/. The great bulk of this army-all of
it, in fact, except the 32,549 men in
cluded in the first 5 per cent. of the
National Army that moved by regu-
lar train on September 5th-has re-
quired special train service. involving
the use Of 1880 passenger cars, in
Guiding $500 Pullman and Tourist
sleepers, 1000 baggage cars and L.
500 freight cars.
The troop movement problem has
been most difficult to handle, as it
comprises not only the movement of
men selected for the National Army
to the National Army environments,
but the movement of hundreds of
thousands of troops in the National
Guard and the regular army as we'll
either to training camps or embarka-
ton points.
Some slight conception of what this
problem means may be deduced from
the fact that in the National Army
movement alone the railroads have
had to prepare special schedules COW
ering the 1881 towns and cities desig-
| mated by the provost marshal general
as the points of local concentration
from which the recruits to the new
National Army proceed to their can
tonments.
In addition, the special train move
ments have had to be so directed as
to prevent interruption to the regular
passenger service.
Longest Haul.
The longest haul made in the new
National Army movement to date was
that of the special train which moved
the citizen soldiers from Yuma, Arr
IONA, to Fort Riley, Kansas, a dis
lance of 1914 miles. This trip occu-
pied forty EIGHT hours.
The shortest distance travelled by
any unit of the new National Army
was that of the District of Columbia
unit to Camp Meade in Maryland, a
trip of less than twenty-five miles.
Practically all of the National
! Guard movements to date have been
of great length. The longest one was
that made by a battalion of San Fran
| cisco engineers from San Francisco,
California, to a point on the Atlantic
Coast This battalion included sos
men and 10 officers. They occupied
a special train comprising one stand
ard sleeper, nine tourist sleepcrs, one
baggage car. two kitchen cars and
three box cars. Their train left San
Fra nCiscO at p. m. on September L
and arrived at destination at 1915 a.
| m. September Sth.
Twenty-Five per cent of the men in
! the new National Army or approxi-
mately 172, 900, are included in the di-
vision that Will be entrained for the
cantonments from now until October
, 7th.
! It is expected that the balace of the
! citizen soldiers will be entrained be-
! ginning October 18th.
The railroads have taken every step
! possible to safeguard the lives that
| the Government has entrusted to them
and to complete the troop movement
without delay and also without inter
fering with the abnormal amount Of
| commercial traffic that the war has
! produced.
j For obvious reasons it would not be
! wise to divulge in detail the plans
! which have been followed in moving
! the men ito the various environments
! and mebarkation points; sufficient to
say that the movement is progressing
! smoothly and to the complete salts
| faction of the Government.