713th Railway Operating Battalion: A Railroad to Rome: Company “A”, 713th Railway Operating Battalion (Santa Fe) in Italy, 1943-1944.By James T. McGhee

Todd shared his very interesting paper on the 713th and an unbelievable collection of photos !

713th Santa Fe Mcghee by Nancy

This is part 1 and 2 of Todd's 713th photos


Pasqual from France has identified some locations and equipment from the photos

#8 & 9 : Orléansville, now : Chlef. This station has always been rather busy, as in steam locomotive times, all passenger trains running between Oran and Algiers had to change locomotive here. Locomotive 4-A class built in the 1870s and 1880s for the Paris – Lyon – Méditerranée French company, later transfered to the Algerian PLM network.
#12 : Orléansville ? Diesel shunter supplied for wartime by British army.
#13 : Orléansville ? Same steam locomotive class as # 8 & 9.
#20 : Berliet diesel truck, fitted with “gazogène” (used during wartime in France, because of oil shortage).
#21 : Valmy, now : El Kerma. Just outside of Oran city.
#23 : Garratt steam locomotive, 231-132-BT class, #12, built 1936. Huge engines for European and Nth African loading gauge : length 29,43 metres, 216 metric tons. #25 : Garratt steam locomotive, 231-132-BT class (same unit as #23 ?)
#28 : Western Tunisia or Eastern Algeria, near Tebessa : meter gauge locomotive, class 150-851 to 865, built 1930.
#30 : Western Tunisia or Eastern Algeria, near Tebessa : meter gauge locomotive, class 2.2-251 to 258 or 451 to 482 (I can’t read unit # on the cab), built between 1895 and 1906.
#31, 37, 39 : Same class 150-8xx as #28.
#34 : Same class 2.2-xxx as #30. #28 to 36 seem to be in the same location, but where ? The station is rather extensive for a meter gauge network.
#37 & 39 : Same class 150-8xx as #28.

Part 2