WWI trench railway in France

Driving around in the Dordogne (Valley of 1,000 Castles) in France, photographing

castles with a map, on a back road, I came upon what was probably a meter gauge,

apparently abandoned, railroad, running in the grass and high weeds along side

the road.  It looked like it crossed the valley and I couldn't tell where it began or

ended, but rails were in place.  Certainly did not look used for some time.

Since I like to track "ghost" railroads, driving from just east of the French border

down the Mosel River, famous for Mosel wines and Burg Eltz, a castle in a "box

canyon", somewhat like Mesa Verde ruins, I stopped at a hotel in a town that had a foot bridge across the Mosel.  After eating in the hotel and walking out to the middle of the footbridge to look up and down the river and at the grape arbored slopes, I

saw what looked like an abandoned RR station on the hotel (south) side of the river.  I

checked it out and it was an obvious RR station with removed tracks that had

paralleled the Mosel.  I, of course, wondered if these railroads had had wartime

use, and was pleased with the discoveries.

That video is quite the fascinating look into the past.  Thanks, Casey.

Years ago while stationed in Germany, we visited Verdun, France, and one of the museums there had a great display on the role of narrow gauge railroads both during the siege, and throughout the Western Front. It made quite an impression and I've often thought about a WWI-themed narrow gauge operation. Richard Dunn's book, Narrow Gauge to No Man's Land (Benchmark Publications: Los Altos,1990) has a wealth of information on the subject. And lots of pictures.

How about this one Casey? Thanks for sharing that video, Bruce

Very nice. Where is #5 located?

Old #5 is now at our National Infantry Museum in Columbus ga near the main gates of Ft. Benning for all to enjoy.  Thanks for looking, and by the way the buildings to the rear are from WW2. Bruce

I would LOVE to see Bachmann make an On30 model of #5, along with that transfer caboose.  I doubt it will happen, but I sure would be first in line for a couple of those models.

I find their On30 line wonderful, and certainly won't complain. But just imagine if they branched out to the Welsh narrow gauge, German, French and other countries who send locomotives to work their colonies. They all had stock factory models. The Darjeeling in India, the South African 2 ft. Garretts. That would be so neat.   

My Grandfather was a member of the 19th Engineer Regiment in France during WWI.He  was employed by the PRR after the war and retired after 47 years of service. I would also like to see Bachmann do these locos...

Try www.billerbahn.de   No longer made but interesting little trains modelled after the narrow gauge railways used in France & Germany.  Not just wartime railways but general purpose systems.  Used after WW2 to help rebuild the wartime damage. The Billerbahn locos were clockwork and battery powered, and ran on same gauge as H0.

Colin

That's a terrific video, especially with the centennial of WW I approaching. Were those 2-foot gauge? It would be nice if someone made them in On30.

When visiting a model railway show earlier this year, I saw a model of a Great War narrow gauge railway. Below are a couple of photographs that I took of it.

A window to the past.Thank you for sharing this.