Model Forum / General / Railroads / June 2004

Guessing, would landing craft be a bit too wide for trains? Some tanks
were designed to be able to travel by train, which was quite a
restriction for tanks which needed to be moved around Britain.

In early May the French magazine "La Vie Du Rail" had amn article on
railways and the invasion of Normandy, with pictures of Allied rolling
stock being unloaded from ships on arrival in France,
and photos showing Sherman tanks and various supplies loaded on
railway wagons (taken on the continent?). Motor Books might have a
copy.

(FWIW, the May issue of "Rail Passion" had an article on
the current state of Iraqi Republic Railways, including a photo of a
T55 tank loaded on a flat wagon and abandoned in a siding.)

Only thing I can find is a shot of railway wagons being loaded on an LCT, the
reverse of what you were after!

Might be worth contacting Southampton City Museums, they have a large
collection of pre-D-Day photos.

Eastleigh and Swindon constructed a number of LCAs and I assume they were
shifted by rail to Southampton.

I shall insert a digression ito the thread, I can't help with the answer
you seek but I can point out there is a very very strong liunk with
British landing craft and HSTs.

Paxman developed high speed 7 inch bore vee engine for marine and
industrial use. In particular, the TP model was developed as a short
life power unit for tank landing craft. Entering production in 1942,
2227 engines built at Colchester and 1306 at the London Renault factory.
In 1947 a commercial version - RPH - appeared, as in 10800, 11001, and
others, evolving with bore and stroke changes over time through YH (e.g.
D8200 BTH, B8400 NBL, and in ZH form D8500) to YJ (74s, 14s, D830,
rebuilt D6100). HST 'Valenta' initially designated Y3J later RP200; then
VP185.

--
Nick

Hi  Ricardo

You miss a day or two on this group and when you next look in there
has been signifcant thread on WWII railways.

As others have posted only the small assault caft cound be rail
transported in the UK. The Southern Railway built a number at
Easleigh and tested them at Southampton.
Bullied, when informed tha boats were built from the keal upwards
promptly decided the Southern would build them the other way round.

There is some good video footage of a finished craft being moved out
of the works by rail. the clearance to the door opening is clerly but
a few inches. contact me off list if you are interested and I will
find which of the several SR WWII videos it is on.

Other small vessels were moved by rail including whalers (rowing
boats) and small launches. Again I can provide references to pictures.

In America the need for the vast numbers of landing craft resulted
in many inland fabrication plants building some of the larger types
in kit form and  then transporting the bits to the coast. There is an
excellent sequence of video in colour of one such train.

Regards

Tony Cane
Secretary World War Two Railway Study Group

Southampton and D-Day,[*] p8 has a photograph of a train of LCSMs ( eg
LCSM 50 ) at 101 Berth on bogie low-loaders.  Photograph is captioned
"Landing Craft built at Southern Railway Works Eastleigh arriving at the
New Docks 12th May 1943"  and is credited to the ABP Collection of
ex-Southern Railway photographs now held by Southampton City Heritage.

There are other photographs of an LCM arriving at the docks from
Eastleigh on a Pickfords outsize load road trailer and numerous other
photographs of landing craft in and around Southampton during 1943/4.

* Southampton and D-Day, Oral History, Southampton City Council, 1994,
ISBN  1 872649 04 1

Philip Morten