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956 SMITH, Charles Henry 5th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Unit
956 SMITH, Charles Henry 5th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Unit
World War 1 , Australia Western Australia, Railway Operating Division, SMITH, 1918
1917Subcollections
Overview
Studio portrait of Corporal Charles Henry SMITH of 5th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Unit
Historical information
The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate railways in the many theatres of the war. It was largely composed of railway employees and operated both standard gauge and narrow gauge railways. The ROD operated their first line on a section of the Hazebrouck–Ypres line.
The ROD requisitioned many diverse locomotives from Britain's railway companies and leased several Belgian locomotives sent to France in 1914, but as the war dragged on adopted the Great Central Railway's Robinson Class 8K 2-8-0 as its standard freight locomotive to become the ROD 2-8-0. Some locomotives were also purchased from Baldwin in the United States. They also operated narrow-gauge engines, 600 millimetres (2.0 ft) gauge trains).
Australian Imperial Force units within the Railway Operating Division were
Headquarters Australian Railway Group
1st Light Railway Operating Company
2nd Light Railway Operating Company
3rd Light Railway Operating Company
4th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company
5th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company
6th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company
Details
Details
Registration number
cwa-org-32-P1978.82.1a
Item type
Contextual Information
From August 2023 to February 2025, the Australian Army Museum of WA is presenting an exhibition of Edwin Garbett’s technical drawings and watercolours relating to his wartime service with the Railway Operating Division.
Year
Australian Army Museum of Western Australia
Australian Army Museum of Western Australia
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