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

War time editions of N.Y. Central Railroad Headlight are a goldmine and this edition includes mentions of soldiers in the units: 

CH Aug 1945

• 718thth ROB MRS Company B
• 714^th ROB Alaska
• 718^th ROB Luxembourg
• 701^st RGD
• 743^rd ROB Stimson
• MRS India

 

War time editions of N.Y. Central Railroad Headlight are a goldmine and this edition includes mentions of soldiers in these units: 

• 726th Railway Operating Battalion
• 711th Railway Operating Battalion
• 701st Railway Grand Division
• 753rd Railway Operating Battalion
• 720th Railway Operating Battalion
• 764th Railway Battalion
• 733rd Railway Operating Battalion
• 774 Railway Grand Division
• 2nd Military Railway Service

December 1944 

• 701st RGD France
• 753rd RSB 
• 725th ROB Yoder India
  
• Italy 
• General Ross Cherbourg

 

 

part 2

 

The attached article, which is the 1st Part of a 2-Part Series, describes some of the methods used by the US Army Engineer Battalions and Military Railroad Operating Battalions to rebuild wrecked railway bridges in Italian Theater during the 1943 and 1944 period. The Wehrmacht demolished numerous Italian Railway bridges during their retreats and these required extensive repairs by the Allies in order to return the railways to operation. The original article was printed in the December 16, 1944 edition of the USA railroad industry magazine 'Railway Age’. Thanks Richard