Railway Operating Division

The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate railways in the many theatres of the First World War. It was largely composed of railway employees and operated both standard gauge and narrow gauge railways.

The ROD operated their first line on a section of the Hazebrouck- Ypres line. The work was carried out by former employees of the London and North Western Railway.

The ROD requisitioned many diverse locomotives from Britain's railway companies, but as the war dragged on adopted the Great Central Railway's Robinson Class 8K 2-8-0 as its standard freight locomotive to become the ROD 2-8-0.

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