727th Railway Operating Battalion- Rails of Valor
In the midst of World War II, the role of the railroad was pivotal in ways that may surprise you. Beyond transporting civilians and goods, railroads like the Southern Railway stepped onto the front lines. They sponsored Railway Operating Battalions, an initiative that was critical for the Allied forces’ success.
The Southern Railway’s 727th Railway Operating Battalion, comprised of America’s “soldier railroaders,” is a prime example of this effort. These brave men were tasked with an extraordinary mission: to ensure the prompt delivery of equipment and supplies across the varied and often treacherous terrains of North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Their success was not only in their delivery but also in their valor.
The Battalion was decorated with seven Legions of Merit and seven Purple Hearts. Notably, General George S. Patton himself awarded the 727th an official Battalion Commendation. General Patton lauded their “initiative and perseverance… without regard to personal safety,” which, he said, honored the traditions of the Military Railway Service and the service as a whole.
This Veteran’s Day weekend, we pay tribute to the courage and dedication of these soldier railroaders. We invite you to join us on the Missionary Ridge Local to experience a part of the Southern Railway heritage that contributed to the freedoms we enjoy today. As we ride along the same lines that were once a strategic part of the war effort, let us remember and thank all those who have served. https://www.tvrail.com/2021/11/11/southern-railway-wwii-battalions-valor/
743rd Railway Operating Battalion - Stevens
Earl G Stevens, 95, of Girard, died on Monday, February 8, 2021 at Lecom Senior Living Center.
Earl was born on May 4, 1925, a son to the late Francis C. and Lillian D. (Bitilian) Stevens. He attended Albion High School and in his senior year was inducted into the United States Army on July 14, 1943. He was deployed with the 743rd Railway Operations Battalion as a car mechanic, earning the rank of Corporal. Earl was awarded the American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
He was involved in the Central Europe Campaign as well as the Rhine Land Campaign. Earl served in foreign service for one year, six months and seven days. Upon his honorable discharge in September of 1944 Earl returned home to Cranesville. Earl was a carpenter by trade and worked at George Burns Saw Mill in Albion. He then worked with Craft Lumber until his retirement in 2014 at the age of 87. He built his own boat from wood, which he used to sail in Lake Erie.
Earl was a patient man, a man of few words. He was also known as a hard worker. Earl earned an electronics diploma, with the knowledge he learned there, he built TV's as a hobby. He often fixed neighbors and family's TV's. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, enjoying time well spent with his brothers and brothers in-law.
Earl enjoyed bowling and was a member of the Girard American Legion Post #494 and the Edinboro McKean VFW Post 740. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters, Myra I. Smith, Gladys J. Johnston and Alice M. Bricker; three brothers, Harold J. Stevens, Clifford "Sonny" Stevens and Francis "Chet" W. Stevens. He will be greatly missed by his family which include a niece, Susette Vanaskey; two sisters, Norma Bille and Mildred Ogren; two sister in-laws, Evelyn Stevens and Shirley Nelson; and his best friend, Gene Herhold; as well as many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to A. F. Dobler Hose & Ladder Company, 37 Walnut St, Girard, PA 16417. A service will be held this spring. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Edder Funeral Home Inc. Girard To send condolences please visit edderfuneralhome.com.
743rd ROB Historical Sketch
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743rd Railway Operating Battalion - Pipes
Taylor Roby Pipes Sept. 9, 1916-Sept. 20, 2003 LA GRANDE -
Taylor "Roby" Pipes, 87, of La Grande, died Saturday, Sept. 20, 2003 at his home. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Oct. 24, at the First Christian Church in La Grande. A gathering for friends who wish to visit with the family or who were not able to attend the service will be held at 3:30 p.m., Oct. 24, at the Grande Ronde Retirement Center. Mr. Pipes was born on Sept. 9, 1916, at the Pipes family home near Fayette, Mo. As a young man in Arvada, Colo., he enjoyed going with his dad who was buying and shipping dairy cattle to California. In his spare time he enjoyed playing baseball, ice and roller skating, fishing and swimming. He quit high school near the end of the Depression, working many days for a place to sleep and eat. Fifty-cent-per-day wages were considered a gift! After his parents divorced when he was 19, he made his own way in life, spending much time at Filer, Idaho.
On July 4, 1940, he married Anita Hermann at Weiser, Idaho. He always said "he gave up his independence on Independence Day, on Leap Year." On Dec. 18, 1943, he enlisted in the Army and served with the 743rd Railroad Operating Battalion, Company C-European Theater. He served mostly in Belgium keeping supplies going through for the ground troops. A perfectionist, he was very mechanical and skilled with his hands. After he was honorably discharged as a Captain, he joined the Army Reserves and was discharged in 1963. In 1946 he returned to La Grande and went to work for Union Pacific Railroad. When the yard office closed in La Grande, Yardmaster Pipes went on the road as a brakeman on the Wallowa Branch line and later worked on the main line between Hinkle, La Grande and Nampa. He retired in 1977 as a conductor.
He loved to fish, pheasant hunt, camp, to putter around in his shop and to visit people. In 1984 he had a lemon-size brain tumor removed and was fully recovered after three months. He and his wife then went on a European trip to visit their daughter's family in England, and then on to Belgium to revisit World War II sites and to renew foreign friendships made during the war. In 1997 he suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke following the removal of a second brain tumor. Intensive therapy and tenacity helped him to regain his ability to walk, read, write and speak small sentences. After living in their own home on Washington Avenue for 50 years, the Pipes moved to the Grande Ronde Retirement Center in 2001. In 2002, he had a third brain tumor removed.
Even after suffering further setbacks, he was committed to regain and retain his health. He could be seen walking around various parts of town, carrying his cane like a "country gentleman," only using it for safety purposes when going up or down curbs or crossing rough spots.
Survivors include his wife, Anita Pipes of La Grande; daughter, Janice Kerns and her husband, Tim, and daughter, Jean Conklin and her husband, David; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; a sister, Helen Burt of Arlington, Wash.; and other relatives and friends. A brother, David Pipes preceded him in death. Memorial contributions may be made to the GRH Hospice or a charity of choice through Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 7th Street, La Grande, OR 97850
Great list from Wikipedia page for the Military Railway Service units - 1st 2nd and 3rd MRS
Great list from Wikipedia page for the Military Railway Service units - 1st 2nd and 3rd MRS
List of Railway Grand Divisions and their sponsors
Unit Sponsor Date of Activation
701st New York Central Railroad 01/11/1943
702nd Union Pacific Railroad 10/15/1942
703rd Atlantic Coast Line Railroad 08/01/1943
704th Great Northern Railway 11/30/1942
705th Southern Pacific Lines 05/19/1943
706th Pennsylvania Railroad 08/06/1943
707th Southern Railway 06/10/1943
708th Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 04/06/1943
709th Association of American Railroads 03/15/1944
710th Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 12/14/1943
774th None (Organized in Italy) 1944
List of Railway Operating Battalions
Unit Sponsor Date of Activation
711th Training Battalion. Built and maintained the 50 mile Claiborne-Polk Military Railroad 05/01/1941
712th Reading Railroad 10/25/1942
713th Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 04/15/1942
714th Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway 10/31/1942
715th Illinois Central Railroad 10/31/1942
716th Southern Pacific Lines 12/21/1943
717th Pennsylvania Railroad 12/01/1943
718th Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway 12/14/1943
719th Texas and New Orleans Railroad 09/01/1943
720th Chicago and North Western Railway 08/26/1943
721st New York Central Railroad 04/14/1943
722nd Seaboard Air Line Railroad 12/14/1943
723rd Union Pacific Railroad 12/28/1943
724th Pennsylvania Railroad 12/28/1943
725th Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 02/17/1943
726th Wabash Railroad 06/26/1943
727th Southern Railway 03/15/1942
728th Louisville and Nashville Railroad 01/11/1943
729th New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 01/11/1943
730th Pennsylvania Railroad 05/15/1942
731st Union Pacific Railroad Did not Activate
732nd Great Northern Railway 01/12/1944
733rd Central of Georgia Railway 11/23/1943
734th Texas and New Orleans Railroad 02/23/1944
735th ARR/Erie Railroad 02/10/1944
736th New York Central Did not Activate
737th New York Central 09/30/1944
738th Chicago Great Western Railway Did not Activate
739th Lehigh Valley Railroad Did not Activate
740th Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 12/14/1943
741st Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad 01/12/1944
742nd Pennsylvania Railroad Did not Activate
743rd Illinois Central Railroad 01/12/1944
744th Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad 12/21/1943
745th Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 05/19/1943
746th Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad 05/04/1944
747th Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Did not Activate
748th Texas and Pacific Railway 05/12/1943
749th New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 02/23/1943
750th St. Louis – San Francisco Railway 03/21/1944
751st Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Did not Activate
752nd Boston and Maine Railroad 05/04/1944
759th Missouri Pacific Railroad 09/01/1942
761st Railway Transportation Company 07/22/1942
770th None 08/09/1942
790th None 07/08/1943
791st No sponsorship (activated at Andimeshk, Iran) 07/01/1943
List of Railway Shop Battalions
Unit Sponsor Date of Activation
753d Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway 04/15/1942
754th Southern Pacific Lines 10/25/1942
755th Norfolk & Western Railway 11/30/1942
756th Pennsylvania Railroad 01/11/1943
757th Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad 06/10/1943
758th Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 04/06/1943
760th No sponsorship 06/16/1942
762d No sponsorship 10/15/1942
763d Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad; Lehigh Valley Railroad 07/27/1943
764th Boston & Maine Railroad 10/25/1943
765th Erie Railroad 05/01/1944
766th Association of American Railroads 07/17/1944
Note: The 760th and 762d were RSB (Diesel); all others were RSB (Steam).
