Railway troops

Railway troops are soldiers who are also railway engineers. They build, repair, operate or destroy militarily relevant railway lines and their associated infrastructure.

The establishment of railway troops by the great powers followed the emergence, rapid growth and rising importance of the railway network, when the advantages of the railway for the transport of troops, heavy weapons and supplies became recognised. Originally these were known (at least in the German-speaking areas of Europe) as field railways. In many countries, however, there were little or no military units of this type.

In the American Civil War, unlimited authority over all railway lines in the North was given to General McClellan. To begin with, McClellan formed a construction corps from ordinary soldiers, but he soon recognised that the lack of training of these troops for technical work meant that a specially organised corps was needed within the Union Army for technically trained civil engineers and workers. During the war this branch of the army grew to about 25,000 men. They were divided into railway operating units as well as construction units with sub-units for line and bridge building.

The construction units had the task of building new lines, repairing destroyed railway facilities or even destroying them themselves. The operating units managed the provision and proper use of operational materiel and services. For large construction projects, civilian workers were also contracted, for example, up to 1,400 carpenters were employed to build the Etowah and Chattahoochee Bridge.

The large and often decisive influence that these railway troops had on the course of the American Civil war, resulted in the European states establishing similar formations.

In 1866, Prussia formed three railway units during mobilisation for the Austro-Prussian War. These units comprised twelve railway engineers and a detachment of about 50 men provided by the Ministry of Trade. The 2nd Railway Regiment (II. Eisenbahnregiment) was linked to the Royal Prussian Military Railway at Berlin. This railway, which was part of the army budget was managed by the Royal Military Railway Division (Königliche Direction der Militäreisenbahn).

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