Locomotive No.

98
in the U.S. Army
The locomotive pulling your train today, No. 98, has deep ties to our
Nations military and veterans. In fact, No. 98 is a veteran herself.
During World War II the Mississippi Central Railroad loaned No. 98
to the U.S. Army at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, Mississippi for
use as a training locomotive for soldiers who made up units known as
Railway Operating Battalions.
Throughout World War II over 6,000 soldiers were trained in railroad
operation at Camp Shelby. This included the 727th, 715th, 724th and
749th Railway Operating Battallions, plus a number of replacement
troops who flled the ranks of many other battalions. Railroader sol-
diers who trained at Camp Shelby and the other railway schools went
on to move 30 million soldiers, refugees, and prisoners of war, plus
126 million tons of supplies at home and abroad.
Locomotive No. 98
No. 98 was built for the Mississippi Central Railroad in January of
1909 by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New
York. She pulled passenger trains between Hattiesburg and Natchez,
Mississippi for many years.
No. 98 is known as an American Type or American Standard be-
cause of her wheel arrangement. You will notice four smaller wheels
under the front part of the locomotive. This is called the pilot or pony
truck. Next, you will see four very large driving wheels. There are no
other wheels behind the driving wheels. The designation for this type
of locomotive is 4-4-0. During the 19th century this was the most
popular type of locomotive in America. In 1872 Railroad Gazette
suggested this type of locomotive be named the American because
of its popularity and the name stuck. More than 25,000 American
Types were built and used in America.
No. 98 has operated on the tracks of the Wilmington and Western
Railroad since 1972. She is among the oldest restored locomotives in
operation, and the last of the standard gauge American Type loco-
motives still steaming up on a regular schedule.
A Typical Railway Operating Battalion
World War II was a war of movement as our armies moved faster and
farther than ever before. They would never have been able to move
the massive amounts of troops and supplies without railroads and the
men to operate them. Responsibility for train movements fell on the
shoulders of Railway Operating Battalions who were part of the U.S.
Army Transportation Corps.
A railway operating battalion consisted of four companies. A Com-
pany, responsible for track, consisted of two platoons of trackmen
and one platoon of bridge carpenters. B Company handled loco-
motive and equipment maintenance with two platoons of roundhouse
workers and one platoon trained for the RIP track to repair equip-
ment in place. C Company comprised the engine and train crews.
The Headquarters and Service Company contained two platoons, one
with dispatchers, operators, and line repairmen, while the second han-
dled supply, messing, and housing. A battalion was about 900 men and
included enough men to operate and maintain between 90 and 150
miles of single-track railway. C Company was always the largest be-
cause they were responsible for furnishing between 40 and 50 crews
per day to operate over-the-road and switching duties on the route.
Roosevelt Inspects the 727th
Railway Operating Battalion
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Camp Shelby on Sep-
tember 29, 1942, and the 727th Railway Operating Battalion was one
of the battalions he inspected. Perhaps Roosevelt caught a glimpse of
No. 98 from the back seat of his big Buick convertible as he toured
the camp. The 727th completed its technical training and departed
Camp Shelby on November 20, 1942.
The 727th followed General Pattons advances through Northern Af-
rica, Sicily, Italy, France, and fnally Germany. It was the 727th that
was credited with operating the frst allied train into Rome on July 4,
1944. At the throttle of this train was Brigadier General Carl R. Gray
Jr. who was in command of the 1st Military Railway Service, also on
board was Henry L. Stimson, U. S. Secretary of War. For their actions
in World War II, the 727th Railway Operating Battalion earned a place
in the Army Transportation Corps Hall of Fame.