Pendraken release Trench Railway for WW1.

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

Stolen from the Pendraken Forums

Something for the WWI gamers now, as we’ve released a complete trench railway system along with a Simplex locomotive to run on it!

These railways were developed during the trench warfare period of WWI to allow the delivery of food, ammunition and contruction materials to the front line, where the usual transport networks had been destroyed.  These narrow gauge tracks created a connection to the standard gauge railways further back from the front line and proved extremely successful.  As well as the UK, similar railways were used by Russia, France and Germany, with a variety of gauges in use from 600mm to 750mm (ours is 600mm).

Simplex were known as Motor Rail during the war and were one of several producers of locomotives and wagons to run on these new trench railways.  We’ve done the early style of tractor with the open top, later versions had a covered roof over them and armoured side doors.  We’ve also done a small handcart as well, which could be pushed along the rail in front of the locomotive with smaller items or wounded soldiers on it.

WWI
Trench Railway – https://pendraken.co.uk/world-war-i/trench-railway/
SCN-NTR1   Simplex trench locomotive set (1 locomotive, 2 wagons, 1 handcart)   £5.00
SCN-NTR2   Simplex trench locomotive (1)   £1.00
SCN-NTR3   Wagons (2)   £4.00
SCN-NTR4   Handcarts (2)   £1.00
SCN-NTR5   Stowage set (5 pieces)   £2.00
SCN-NTR6   Trench railway set (4 large straights, 2 small straights, 2 small curves, 2 large curves)  £12.00
SCN-NTR7   Trench railway junctions (2)  £5.00
SCN-NTR8   Trench railway, damaged sections (2)  £2.50

Railway straight sections are 100mm long, curves are 90mm long, short straights/curves are 50mm long.  Junctions are 125mm long and the damaged sections are 50mm.

This is amazing.  So tempted to get this, even just for a diorama.

[torros 23816xp 1]

I saw this on the Pendraken forum. It’s very beautiful

[bigdave 3704xp 1]

Very, very cool – lot of misconceptions about the Great War but as time went on, logistics and supply became increasingly sophisticated and the trench railways are a perfect example of the level of innovation to big, complicated problems. The ability to move troops and equipment into the rearward trenches quickly and the wounded out was incredibly important. Starts to get really interesting when you look at the inter-war years with the sophistication of the Maginot Line, miles of underground tunnels connecting different barracks and fortifications, munitions dumps, canteens – all underground, and in a surprising number of them, being serviced by narrow gauge rail. God I love trains… hahaha

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

@bigdave Everyone loves trains, they just don’t know it yet.  I remember watching a series about how trains changed the world a couple of years back and one episode focused solely on warfare and how trains had revolutionised war as masses of equipment and men could be moved at great speed for the first time.  I knew how important they had been in WW1, but hadn’t realised how big a factor they played in the American Civil War as well.

[torros 23816xp 1]

Its why the British put so many business men into uniform. The Organization of running the Army was akin to running a large town and everything that goes with that and the Army didnt know how to do it

[bigdave 3704xp 1]

@robert railways in the ACW are fascinating, very first battle at Bullrun was won thanks to trains bringing in Confederate reinforcements and thats before you even start to consider the role they played in states like Ohio where food stuffs could be transported to the east coast to feed vast numbers of people in uniform. Have you ever read the Starbuck Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell? There’s only 4 books I think but the importance of the railways features in several of them, whether it’s the Confederates having to tear them up and burn desperately needed supplies as the army withdraws from the frontier into more defensible positions to going on the offensive and capturing the same said railyards now under Union control, bristling with warehouses full of supplies and equipment. Good stuff! Good books, too…

@torros too right – the Great War far exceeded anything the army had to deal with ever before (even the Napoleonic Wars, when on paper the forces available to the crown numbered around a million – the army, the militia, the fencibles, the whole host of volunteer units that formed – they all needed to be armed and equipped). Industrial warfare! Infinitely fascinating if it wasn’t such a bloody horrendous thing…

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

Must look out for those books as I know very little about the ACW in general.

[kantor72 4854xp 1]

Has anybody told @lloyd about this ? 😀 .

[lloydKeymaster 17733xp 1]

@kantor72 – they have now lol

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

@kantor72 I just assumed that the words Railway and Train worked just like putting in @lloyd and he got the notification!  I’ll know for the next time 🙂

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