High Iron in Africa

It certainly was a hell of a way to run a railroad, with German tanks pumping shells at your locomotives from ranges as close as 150 yards, and demolition charges double-crossing your bridges before you could come to them.

But Brigadier General Carl Gray's special American-British railway corps stayed on the job all through the North Africa fighting. It moved up with the front-line troops and performed a series of minor miracles to keep the vital rail supply lines open. This week the corps had virtually every foot of the 1,200-mile North African railway system back in apple-pie order and running on schedule.

During the main Tunisian fighting the Allies controlled only 200 miles of the system. Another 200 was in the actual battle areas, while the remaining 800 miles served the Axis and had to be recaptured mile by mile. Some sections of the line were put back into operation within two hours after the last enemy had been driven back; others required ten days. Prize exploit for Gray's men was the rebuilding of a 125-ft. bridge which had been blown to bits.

When Mateur was taken, the railroad gang found an isolated spur leading to Tabarka, and rounded up a pathetic collection of rolling stock, including one locomotive, 19 cars, one Diesel car and a motor truck with flanged wheels to run on the rails. In a few hours this spur was converted into a miniature local system, hauling 300 tons of supplies daily.

When Allied troops suffered temporary setbacks, the railway corpsmen had to scramble to save their own rolling stock. German troops were approaching Gafsa when a detail dashed into town in a truck, got up steam and dashed to safety with 13 locomotives and many cars. Enemy tank patrols potted away at the last trains from close range, but could not halt them.

General Gray and his men are railroaders all, in the Army to do this very 'job. Before the war Gray was executive vice president of Chicago & North Western Railway;-now he is director general of Military Railway Services in North Africa. His officers average 16 years of railroading experience, the men under them average five. Most of his corps of 6,500 are Americans, but some British construction experts are included. The British have portable bridging material that fits together as neatly as a youngster's Meccano set, and made it possible for them to repair seven thoroughly damaged bridges on the Kasserine-Sousse line in ten! days flat.

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