The Use of Light Railways Behind the Firing Line on the Western Front

The Use of Light Railways (left plate)
The Use of Light Railways (right plate)

The need for mobility not only concerns itself with the troops in the field but extends to the officers who direct operations from far in the rear. The commander of troops finds it necessary from time to time to view certain sections of the line himself, and here we see the generalissimo of the French Army, in company with the French War Minister, proceeding from point to point on a light railways cut through the woods for the special purpose of affording rapid communication with the base. Hundreds of these new military miniature tracks have been laid down on both sides of the Western firing line. They carry a large quantity of goods in a short space of time, and where conditions are suitable are a most invaluable adjunct to those responsible for supplying the armies in front of them. The types of locomotive vary. They maybe steam or petrol driven according to circumstance. These miniature lines are specially useful in facilitating the delivery of heavy ammunition from the base to the firing line and in rapidly conveying troops to threatened sectors.

The Use of Light Railways Behind the Firing Line on the Western Front
Goods and Men being Conveyed along a Military Line at there back of a French Line