Richard writes ... 

1) I’ve attached the link to a British Army MRS book 'Railway Reconstruction In Italy 1943 - 1946' that a fellow Italian MRS enthusiast, Mr. Alessandro Tuzza, posted on his Italian website. The link to his website is: https://www.trenidicarta.it/reconstruction/contents.html

  2) The book was written and published by the British Royal Engineers in 1946. The majority of the book details the operations of the British Army Railway Construction Units and Operating Railway Units during the entire Italian campaign, but it does include numerous mentions of the US Army MRS Operating Units and Construction Engineer Units that aided the British. 

The website does not include the entire book, unfortunately, and it does have several useful sections missing, but the posted material is both useful and informative, and includes several photos and maps. The listed sections are marked in the normal blue link text on the Introduction Page. 

I suggest you add the link to your website since it will aid USA researchers of the MRS and educate them about the extensive role the British Army MRS and Construction Units played during the Italian campaign.

 

U. S. Army.
	701 Railway Grand Division.
	703 Railway Grand Division.
	704 Railway Grand Division.
	774 Railway Grand Division.
	'A' Company, 713 Railway Operating Bn. [Battalion]
	'A' Company, 715 Railway Operating Bn. [Battalion]
	'A' Company, 719 Railway Operating Bn. [Battalion]
	'A' Company, 727 Railway Operating Bn. [Battalion]
	'A' Company, 759 Railway Operating Bn. [Battalion]
	753rd Railway Shop Battalion

Eugene Russell Obituary Eugene P. Russell went to be with His Lord and Savior on August 29, just six days past his 91st birthday. Eugene was born on August 23, 1921 in McCook, NB to Perle and Anna Russell. He served with the 759th Railway Operating Battalion during WWII. After the war he continued his career with the railroad, working for the Denver and Rio Grande first as a fireman, then as an engineer. In 1953 he married Doris (Bower) Russell and together they raised three children in their Lakewood, CO home. He is survived by his daughters, Cheryl (Bob) Jeffryes of Castle Rock, CO, and Barbara (Patrick) Braun of Clarkston, WA, and daughter-in-law Diane Russell of Cody, WY, as well as six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Doris, and son Gordon. A memorial service will be held at Howard Moore Mortuary at 4345 W. 46th Ave, Denver, CO on Friday, September 7, 2012 at 9:00am followed by a military honors service at Fort Logan Cemetery at 11:15am.

Army Service Forces Unit Training Center (ASFUTC) played a role in military training related to transportation and logistics during World War II. While Fort Eustis, Virginia, later became a hub for army rail operations, training and deployment of the Military Railway Service (MRS) during the war occurred at various locations. 

Specifically, in 1943:

• Railway Operating Battalions (ROBs), often comprised of experienced civilian railroaders, received training from commercial railroad companies and at Army camps such as Camp Shelby, Mississippi.
• For example, the 713th Railway Operating Battalion, composed of Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad employees, initially trained near Clovis, New Mexico before being deployed overseas.
• Other units like the 727th trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and the 730th on the Pennsylvania Railroad line near Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

The ASFUTC in Slidell, Louisiana, circa 1943-45, was a training center within a larger military camp. While it's not explicitly stated that ASFUTC Slidell directly conducted railway training, the overall context of Army transportation training points to the importance of such programs during the war

Army Service Forces Unit Training Center (ASFUTC)  

New Orleans Port of Embarkation (NOPE)

Atlantic Coast Transportation Corps Officers' Training School (ACTCOTS)

Misc Documents

Documents originals HERE

October 1943

December 1943 

Soldiers attend a class inside a railroad car in New Orleans, Louisiana on 23 June 1943