Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-12-05
TRAINS
The WONDER OF ALL
American Army Is Supplied BY
Great System Which OPP
crates Daily.

American Regulating Base. Advance |
zone, France (by mail)-The "auto-
matte train" is n of the strange de-
vices which has sprung out of the war,
and there is nothing quite like it in the
whole range of railway transportation.
IT mas been developed by the American
military authorities here as one of the
necessities of keeping up an automatic
daily supply of food. forage and all
requirements. to every unit of the
American Expediticnary Forces in
france. To do this with unvarying
regularity zach day. so that every man
IN every division stretching over a
vas area along 500 miles of front.
would have his daily needs supplied
was a huge problem.
The only solution. vas to secure alb
solute uniformity. or a Standardization
or trains by which the makc-up would
be automatic day after day. And out
OF TINS has come the "automatic train"
OF the American army. which is one OF
the wonders of American %organiza-
ton.
Watching the makeup Of tie 'au-
tcinatlc ain as they go forward to
the American divisions on the fighting
front, is like watching some gigantic
1ig-saw puzzle, for there is the same
fitting together OF confused parts. un-
til at last all the pieces form a com
pieted whole of is of these so-called
automatic trains so cars to a train.
each train moving off to one OF the
American divisions.
Here at a small interior village OF the
American advance force Is the center
from which the automatic trains move
out daily: The place is we'll forward
In the advance zone. just far enough
away IRON the fighting to be out Of
reach of hostile raids and yet near
enough to permit the supplies to move
orwa with the greatest facility.
IL was q S1QenN villa no 1oct Oofoha~
with 1000 inhabitants; today it is a
center OF intense activity. with an AM
erican working force of 90, O00-11 times
the population a year ago-with 72
miles OF yard trackage, As enormous
warehouses;, and railways %radiating to
every point of the long front held wholly
or in part by American troops.
Move $4,000 Cars.
Last month $4,000 cars were moved,
or over 1000 a day in this stupendouI
stream of supplies going forward to
the fighting forces.
Colonel Hilgard. commanding officer,
n Captain Bigger. regulating officer,
explained the details of these automatic
trains, and later there was an oppor-
tunity to see the trains assembled like
parts in a huge puzzle and started or
their way to the front. The basis or
which the automatic trains are made
up is as follows:
wv iIS Va ISll iSci dleu Dcel.
Two cars of fresh bread.
Seven cars of food comprised i'm the
soldiers ration.
-Four cars of fuel for cooking.
Fourteen cars of forage for horses.
One car of gasoline, mineral oil ant
lubricants for motors.
One car for mail and packages.
These are the liked and PRACTICAL!
invariable elements of each automatic
trair, the sane wants of food and for
age being repeated day after day.
5 In addition each division has varying
wants of clothing. ammunition, medi
cal supplies, etc, as it may be in TIL
) midst of the fighting or further bacl
| in a calmer section. These varying ele
> ments are added to each train. accord
ing to the needs of the division.
Thus, is trains go out daily in 4
directions, each train having some 3
to 35 cars in the fixed n automati
makeup, and some is to 20 cars wit
the varying elements of ammunition
medical supplies, clothing, ETC., de
pendent on the proximity to tn
I, fiphting.