The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-11-06
AMERICAN AUTOMATIC TRAIN.
Remarkable System of Sending Sup
plies 10 The Front.

Remarkable System Of Sending sup
plies 10 The Front.
American Regulating Base. Advance
Zone, France, Sept 80 Correspond
ence of The Associated Press)-Ihe
| automatic train is one OF the
strange devices which has sprung out
o. the war, and there is nothing quise
| like it in the whole range of railway
/ Transportation. It has been develop
ed by the American military authorl-
] ties here as one of the cnecessitles OF
keep,ng up an automatic daily sup
ply of food, forage and all require
ments, to every unit of the Anaerl-
can Expeditionary Force in France.
To do this with unvarying regularity
/ each day, so that every man IN every
/ division stretching over vast area
along 900 miles of front, would have
| his daily needs supplied was a huge
! problem.
The only solution was to secure alb
sclute uniformity, or standardlza-
! ton of trains BY which the makeup
would be automatic day after day.
! Ard out of this has come the auto
rslic train" Of the American army,
! which is one of the wonders of
American organization.
Watching the makeup of the auto
matte trains as they go forward to
Efhe American divisions on the fight
| ing front, is like watching some
gigantic jig-saw puzzle, for there is
the same fitting together of confused
parts, until at last all the pieces form
! completed whole of fifteen OF these
so-called automatic trains SO. cars
/ to a train, each train moving off to
one Of the American divisions. s
Here at a small interior village OF
the American Advance Force4is the
center from which Il the automatic
i trains move out daily. The place is
/ well forward IN the advance zone, just
/ far enough away from the fghting
Ito be out of reach. Of hostile raids and
and yet near enough to permit the
supplies to move forward with the
/ greatest facility ss As
II was a sleepy village last Octob-
er, with 1000 inhabitants; todayeit is
a center Of intense activity, with an
American worlZing force of 22,000--
eleven times the population Of year
,iago-with 72 miles Of yard trackage,
As enormous warehouses, and rail-
ways radiating to. every point OF the
4 long front held wholly or in part by
I American troops. ~. 49,.
4 Last month $4,000 cars were moved
or over 1000 a day in this stupen-
dous stream Of supplies goinS for
ward to the fighting forces.
! Colonel Hilgard, Commanding OF.
! fcer, and Captain Bigger, regulating
officer explaine d the details Of these
automatic ira rs, and later there was
an opportunity to see the trains as
sembled like parts in a huge puzzle
and started on their way to the front
The basis on which the automatic
trains are made up is as follows:
2 cars of refrigerated fresh beef,
cars of fresh bread,
1 Z cars of food comprised in the
soldiers ration,
1 cars Of fuel for cooking,
IA cars of forage for horses.
| / car of gasoline, mineral oil and
lubricants for motors,
/ car for mail and packages.
These are the fixed and practical
lly invariable elements Of each auto
1 matte train. the same wants Of food
land forage being repeated day after
Cay.
In addition each division has vary
ing wants of clothing, ammunition
medical supplies, etc., as it may be in
the midst of the fighting or further
back in a calmer section. These vary
ing elements are added to each train
according to the needs of the division
Thus, Is trains go out daily in Il
directions, each train having some SO
to 35 cars in the fixed and automatic
makeup, and some Is or 20 cars with
the varying elements Of ammunition
medical supplies, clothing, ETC., de-
| pendent on the proximity to the fight
ing.