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

 CH October 1945

• 718^th ROB Battle of Bulge
• 712^th India Bassell
• 725^th ROB Austria Finley
• 759th ROB Zimmerman  
• 762^nd ROB Hilstrom

 

The great Dave Kaufman - thanks

721st-- 725th -- 726th

Lincoln: University of Nebraska / Potomac Books, 2017. Pp. xvi, 200. Illus., maps, notes, biblio., index. $29.95. ISBN: 161234853X.

  Military Railroading in Asia's Jungles and Mountains Inspired by a box of memorabilia left by his father, a sometime staff sergeant in the 721st Railway Operating Battalion (ROB), Hantzis set out to learn more about his father’s war, and the result is this interesting history of two largely overlooked subjects, military railroading and the neglected CBI theatre, which included some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world, the jungle clad mountains of northeastern India and Burma.
  After an introduction offering some family background and comment on military railroading, Hantzis covers the recruiting and organization of the ROB battalions, each of which was organized around a cadre drawn from one of the nation’s great railways, the 721st ROB was recruited from the New York Central, the 725th from the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific, the 726th ROB from the Wabash, and so forth. He then follows these troops on their nearly 70 day voyage aboard a converted former luxury liner from the East Coast to Bombay in India, and thence overland to the front in the northeastern part of India, altogether journey of nearly 20,000 miles. From there, the book follows these troops as the engaged in upgrading the local railroads, building new ones, and bringing up the matériel needed to support the Allied war effort in the theatre.
  As he tells the story of the organization, movement, and work of these troops, Hantzis also gives us a look at the battalion’s personnel and their individual experiences coping with alien cultures and war. In the process, he also fills the reader in on a lot of information about railroading, civil and military, so, for example, we learn that one ROB could sustain operations along a 100-150 mile stretch of line. Although his primary concern is the story of the 721st ROB, Hantzis sets this within the overall picture of events in the theatre. Rails of War will prove a profitable read for anyone interested in military railroading or the CBI. Note: Rails of War is also available in several e-editions

https://goo.gl/PY7Dpe

 

725.pdf by Nancy

American Battle Monuments Commission
ABMC manages 24 overseas military cemeteries, and 25 memorials, monuments, and markers. The cemeteries and memorials honor those who served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Search for names from the honor rolls. Information presented includes service information, dates of birth and death, and notes which relate to the circumstances of death, status, and awards received. http://www.fold3.com/title_853/

Harland J Broussard
Full Name:Harland J Broussard
Death:Buried: Missing in Action or Buried at Sea Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery Manila, Philippines
Death: 12-Sep-44
Death Date: 12 Sep 1944
Memorial Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Memorial Country: Manila, Philippines
Memorial Location: Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Residence:State: Louisiana
World War II
Rank:Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army
Service Number:38266655
Regiment:725th Railway Operating Battalion

Harry Samuel Keith
Full Name:Harry Samuel Keith
Death:Buried: Buried at: Plot H Row 10 Grave 10 North Africa American Cemetery Carthage, Tunisia
Death: 14-Jun-43
Death Date: 14 Jun 1943
Memorial Cemetery: North Africa American Cemetery
Memorial Country: Carthage, Tunisia
Memorial Location: Plot H Row 10 Grave 10
Residence:State: Pennsylvania
World War II
Rank:Private, U.S. Army
Service Number:33246949
Regiment:727th Railway Operating Battalion

Francis Waldbillig
Full Name:Francis Waldbillig
Death:Buried: Buried at: Plot A Row 14 Grave 22 Sicily-Rome American Cemetery Nettuno, Italy
Death: 28-Jun-44
Death Date: 28 Jun 1944
Memorial Cemetery: Sicily-Rome American Cemetery
Memorial Country: Nettuno, Italy
Memorial Location: Plot A Row 14 Grave 22
Residence:State: Michigan
World War II
Rank:Technician Fifth Class, U.S. Army
Service Number:36238037
Regiment:727th Railway Operating Battalion

David O Champagne, Jr
Full Name:David O Champagne, Jr
Death:Buried: Buried at: Plot C Row 4 Grave 31 Cambridge American Cemetery Cambridge, England
Death: 18-Jul-43
Death Date: 18 Jul 1943
Memorial Cemetery: Cambridge American Cemetery
Memorial Country: Cambridge, England
Memorial Location: Plot C Row 4 Grave 31
Residence:State: Connecticut

Railroaders in Olive Drab:The Military Railway Service in World War II By Lieutenant Colonel Clayton R. Newell, USA-Ret

Running on Time by Nancy

Burma by Nancy

** Locomotive Engineers Journal September 1945

The biggest and most important job they tackled was running most of the Bengal & Assam Railway in northeast India, operating generally from Parbat-ipur northeast. The meter-gauge line east from Parbatipur was mainly single-track, powered by an assortment of locomotives made in Germany, England, Belgium, France and Czechoslovakia.

The Indian method of operation was often protracted. There were schedules, of course; but the Indians observed them in the manner of a timeless land. If a train arrived hours late, and the schedule called for a 15-minute stop, the Indians observed it, even though loading and unloading took only two minutes.

The war supplies over the railroad under Indian operation totaled only 15,000 long tons in May 1943. In June the Bengal & Assam didn't move enough tonnage to fill the planes flying the Hump to China.

Maj. Gen. W. E. R. Covell, chief of CBI Services of Supply, gave orders Christmas Day 1943 establishing the Military Railway Service, with headquarters at Gauhati, Assam, halfway between Parbatipur and Tinsukia. It was to operate 752 miles of meter-gauge track, headed by Headquarters, Military Railway Service, and Headquarters, 705th Railway Grand Division. Operating under this authority would be five railway battalions, the 721st, 725th, 726th, 745th and 748th, and one shop battalion, the 758th.

This grand division of about 4,600 officers and men arrived at Gauhati in late-January 1944 and set up offices and quarters in a weaving school. It assumed operation March 1, and by that time, CBI Theater had reached agreement with India to operate 804 miles of track.

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743rd and Others Railroad S... by Nancy Cunningham

 

To simulate wartime repairs of railroads the Claiborne-Polk United States Military Railroad was built. The railroad was about 50 miles long and had 25 bridges. It crossed the Calcasieu River. Camp Claiborne was a U.S. Army military camp during World War II located in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana. If you enjoyed this video please don't forget to hit that LIKE and SUBSCRIBE button.

725th Railway Operating Battalion by Nancy