THE RAILWAY MAKERS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XLV, Issue 6219, 9 December 1914, Page 1

THE RAILWAY MAKERS.

j WORK OF FRENCH CORPS. ! BRIDGE PATCH WORK. Directly the German retreat beoomes general there is a new force in France . whioh will begin to move, a force that is fresh, fully equipped, :nlensely eager —the Railway Makers (wrote the Rouen ' correspondent of the 'Daily Mail' on October 14). Last night I talked with one of them, a handsome, grey-bearded matt'from the | frontier district of Belfort, clearly an engineer of ability, as cleaily a man of noiable political insight. Such men, I believe, France produces more frequently than do other nations. He was occupied when I» met him on important works in Normandy. He was burniug to fight. This force of Ra ; lway Makers, he told me, was admirably equipped, ready to move at a moment's not.ce. Its duty | was to rebuild railways as the French troops moved forward. It would be no j simple matter; one might be sure thai German methods and the general chaos of war had ruined entire systems. New ! tracks must be ia.d down—fiist temporary, for the immediate urgency, then permanent. Br.dges must be bu.lt, . culverts, stations, a new signalling sysi tem installed. And so closely—with such character stic French insight and sympathy—had ail this been arranged that the officers of the Railway Make:s (of whom he was one) would have men to serve under them at their various points of effort whom they had emp.oyed and learned to understand in civil capacity before the wai bioke out. This, said my friend, w.th an eage.ness very pleasant to witness would make for more rapid and more »fficent work. DUPLICATE'S OF BRIDGES. "And if," I said to this enthusiastic engineer, "if the French troops push to thb German front.w —and beyond?" "When—not if," hecoirected. "Why, .we shall be ready for thai. We shall just get to work and build our railways in Germany. We have learned ail about the conditions and difficulties we shall have to face." "And the supplies for your force?" I • inquired. "We Railway Makers," he repled, "carry our supplies with us and arrange our own commissariat. We are independent of the army. You see"—he put the point with a charming, mischievous smile —"we've got the railways. Ue won't starve." I did not think they would—from the i impression of energy and competence | this one of them gave. "But," I said, "what about destroy- ' ed bridges? You cannot rebuild bridges 1 in the wink of an eye." ! He smiled. "We know," said he, i "whioh bridges have been destroyed, i Each bridge has already been reconi structed in duplicate. We carry the I sections with us. That won't be a lengthy matter. And," he added, as he I rose to leave me, "we shall also help | the Belgians to rebuild their railways. I That is an important part of our pro- . gramme. Directly the Germans enteried Belgium in. force a good deal of j Belgian rolling-stock was despatched into France." "Listen.," I said. "You have sotneI thing else too that will be useful, you ' | makers of railways. Last week I trav- , elled- right across France from Marseilles to the .English Channel. At many | stations I noticed rolling-stock that i gave me a thrill of surprise and pleasI Tire —carriages 'and trucks that" bore I names such as these: Essen, Kolu, Dortmund, Stuttgart. . . His face lighted up. "German captives," he cried. "Why —rolling-stock makes just as goodprisonereaamenl Splendid ISplendid I And won't we use them 1" You see, to a Railway Maker a truck has a soull