The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-05-13
ENGINEERS WAR
RECORD PUBLIC
History of Their Achieve
ments Published by War
Department
WERE IN THE THICK
/. OF THE FIGHTING

Great Progress in Construction of War
Railroads-New War Inventions
Were of Great Aid in Locating Raid
ers at Night.
WASHINGTON, May 13.-The war
story of the Engineer corps at home
and in France is told officially for the
first time in chapters of the war de-
lpartment S brief history of the Ameri-
can war efforts, made public in adj
| vance sheets. Many of the recorded
accomplishments of the, engineers have
been published before as isolated incir
dents, but this is the first complete and
connected story which gives any. idea
of the extraordinary scope of the duties
modern warfare has laid upon engineer
ing troops.
These special units, all composed of
men trained in civil life in the United
States for the work they did in France,
Were in addition to the fighting engl-
neefs with each division, the sappers,
who formed about eight per cent of all
| the combatant troops in France.
One section of the report is devoted
to the development of American rail
lways in France aud to the production
of railway equipment in the United
States to meet the call from the front.
There were shipped to France 1908
locomotives before the armistice was
signed, of which 90S were in service
ut that time. In addition, 1878
freight cars We're shipped abroad, both
engines and cars having been produced
Especially for service in France. These
were employed upon the 937 miles OF
s standard gauge track laid III France
lby the engineers with equipment
shipped from this country, and the roll
ing stock was in addition to great guam
titles of light railway equipment fol
front line work that was also sem
abroad.
Hospital trains were obtained in Eng
land, 10 of them with total of 60
cars, having been completed by De
cember, 1918, with 30 additional train
under construction. They cost NOR
than $4,000 per car, but it is estimat
ed that to have produced them in TN
United States and shipped them woul'
have cost 900 per car,
The report hays stress on the fac
that great progress was made durini
the war in the development of roa'
building, railway and other engineer
ling euuinment which will be of valu
commercially in peace time The motor
lied machine shops alone, it is stated
are practically certain 10 bring abou
in this country the use of moving shop
of this character in agricultural eommr
mites as farming machinery increases
'"The day may come, the rePoI
says .'when the travelling machine sho
win be a familiar sight upon our run;
highways.
Among the motorized shops create
were the photolithographic press truck
which were able to reproduce maps frel
original sketches within II hours ;
compared with four days required b
similar French and British units.
A special chapter is devoted TO lister
ting instruments developed during Il
war to locate hidden guns. lmprovir
upon allied designs the engineer corr
produced machines for this purpo
which operated with "uneanny ace
raey.' one of them having spotted L
German gun positions in single da
Subsequently. these were followed |
isntrumen.s of even greater power al
at the close of the war there were
complete outfits, each covering y fv
mile stretch of front, at work on t
American lines.
Similar development of instrumen
for locating hostile airplanes was ca
ried out until it was possible to dete
mine the location of a raider at mig
within an angle of three degrees, 7
American types produced were easi
- portable and quickly set up to aid t
> searehlights. A hint at the scienti
4 developments which were in sight
\ connection with these sound rangi
n devices is contained in the followi
\ paragraph: ..1s3
When the fighting stopped our mi
A tarv scientists and others cooperate
4 with them We're working on the devele
II ment of a sound ranging apparatus
tended to give troops warning of sh
fred by enemy in their direction. /