Railway operating battalion

Living History / Reenacting uniforms, field gear, and equiptment, Wanted, For Sale (NO EBAY ITEMS) or Trade.
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Hammer1942
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Railway operating battalion

Post by Hammer1942 » Fri Oct 07, 2022 2:59 am

Hi all. I do 724th rob during WW2 living history. I'm currently looking for a war time us army railroad speeder . An if anyone has pics or documents of the 724th. Thanks

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Lee Bishop
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Lee Bishop » Fri Oct 07, 2022 2:15 pm

Interesting choice of the 724th, wasn't that one of the units sponsored by the Southern RR?
I'd love to see some of your stuff and your impressions!
I have a modest collection of ROB items, I just scored a Army ALCO S2 diesel loco plate from 1942.
Heck, I even created a fictional ROB for my model railroad layout.
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have you ever been to the Transportation Corps museum at Ft Eustis? They have some great army railroad displays!
of course most of it is either late WW2 or postwar and most of it is painted in postwar markings (I'm certain you already know they were running steam there into the 60s).

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As for a speeder, I have seen photos of some M series cars that were army owned, but I know of none that exist today.
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Former US Army Captain and REMF :mrgreen:

Hammer1942
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Hammer1942 » Sat Oct 08, 2022 5:04 pm

The PRR sponsored them. Yea I been talking to the guy who runs the society there.

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Hammer1942
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Hammer1942 » Sat Oct 08, 2022 5:09 pm

I'm currently restoring a 42 gpw that I'm marking up 724.ImageImageImage

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MP45
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by MP45 » Sun Oct 09, 2022 3:49 am

Great looking display, do you set up at the Reading WWII Weekend Show?

Hammer1942
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Hammer1942 » Sun Oct 09, 2022 8:39 am

I go there with another group. But I'm hoping to set up next year.

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Rustman
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Rustman » Sun Oct 09, 2022 4:36 pm

Some friends of mine do 746th and have set up at East Broad Top.
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https://www.facebook.com/746ROB

I'm supposed to be doing it with them too, but I'm usually busy with work when there's an event.

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Lee Bishop
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Lee Bishop » Mon Oct 10, 2022 10:26 am

That is great, Matt. Is that a MT-series (speeder) car? Did they have those in the 40s? I've operated them at NARCOA events in years past but I don't know if they were from that era. I genuinely don't know, but it they could have bene used in WW2, that's a great addition to such a display!
I'd always assumed there were a handful of people wanting to portray ROB soldiers, but the problem with them doing so at a working railroad is that a tourist RR or museum wouldn't (not should they) let anyone handle brakeman/conductor/engineer cutis without those people being actually trained and certified for the duty. Same as a B-17 owner won't let a USAAD re-enactor be real-life flight engineer or pilot unless they're done so in real life.
I'm a brakeman at a tourist railroad (and have done WW2 living history since 1989), and I speak from experience on both sides of this concept.
Given how gung-ho many in the hobby are to re-enact the latest TV series of movie (while declaring at each turn that it's a confidence, even though they didn't go those impressions until right after those movies/series came out) or cool high-speed combat units, it's unlikely we'll see a large ROB group do displays.
I've been wanting to get a repro WW2 German bahnhof belt buckle to wear with my GI impression just to show my love for trains.
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Hammer1942
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Hammer1942 » Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:13 am

That's why I do railroading ww2 impression cause I have my engineer conductor licence along with track inspector certification. An other certifications. An have been railroading for some time. So people ask questions at events like how do you know . Well I do this in real life.

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Lee Bishop
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Re: Railway operating battalion

Post by Lee Bishop » Tue Oct 18, 2022 8:50 am

Hammer1942 wrote:
Tue Oct 11, 2022 6:13 am
So people ask questions at events like how do you know . Well I do this in real life.
I've never understood why the public thinks you have to have personal experience in something to want to re-enact any phase of it.
For my war correspondent stuff, people can't grasp my interest in that until I shut them up by correctly telling them I used to work for a newspaper and have been published many times with my art, words and photos...
And then I always add, "But I also was born almost 25 years after WW2 was over!" Because in the end, unless you really did the thing you're re-enacting in that war, what difference does it make if you do it right?
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former US Army Captain and REMF :mrgreen:


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