Decided to write a book on narrow--

[FJ and G]

--gauge railways of France during WWI, which were jointly used, maintained, built by US/allies.

Have a wealth of material in my magazine (The Military Engineer).

Will be visiting Nat'l Archives & Library of Congress for more info/photos.

Is there anywhere else I should go to for material? Would the Nat'l Archives have War Dept. material?

Would you be interested in such a book: "The Yanks Are Coming ... By Train"

Much thanks.

[vsmith]

If you publish, they will come....

I will, especially given the subject... there is only one other book on that subject, I think it was called "two feet to the trenches" it came out a long time ago and that is now very hard to find.

[FJ and G]

vsmith,

thx for the lead on that book. So someone beat me to it. Well, I'm gonna press ahead anyway (just think how many books on the Transcon RR were written!!).

I'm thinking that railfans in US & Europe may be interested as well as military buffs, historians, and military railway modelers. If I make it interesting enough, perhaps the general public too?

Will try to also include background info on battles, road constructions (road-rail comparisons), rail-mounted weaponry; troop trains, ammo trains, hospital trains, maps, charts, stats, personal accounts, etc.

Most of my material was written by Army Corps of Engineers officers so that will need to be completely rewritten/quoted where necessary.

WWI was largely static trench warfare & the little trains came into their own in the many battles with tracks leading right up to the front. A remarkable story.

[FJ and G]

vsmith,

apparently someone else did some writing on the subject too!

go to the website & scroll to the end & you'll see a book on Light Railways in France

http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/ltrail.htm

I'm thinking more books might also turn up

[FJ and G]

and dozens more

http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/mil_hist_inst/r/rr2.asc

I won't bore you with more research I find. Suffice it to say, this is not virgin territory!

[Anonymous]

I'd love to read it. I'm a real history buff and am always interested in anything to do with the world wars. And considering that it has to do with railways, what's not to like about it? When it gets published I'll buy a copy.

[JoeKoh]

I'll check the book out too.
stay safe
joe

[vsmith]

AAARG!

The title of the book was "Narrow Gauge to No Man's Land",

not "Two Feet to the Trenches"... Sheesh, my memory aint what is used to be.

saw it on Amazon , used and out of print, asking $100 for it so there is demand for the subject.