Historic Army Transportation Corps Train Car
The US Army Transportation Corps was founded in 1942 as one of the Army’s three logistical branches. Its mission was to transport troops and supplies by truck, rail, air, and sea. Anticipating that Europe might be embroiled in yet another world war, the military had a fleet of light weight, disposable box cars developed that could operate on Europe’s rail network. They had the ability to be quickly modified to handle the standard, narrow, and broad gauge railroad tracks that might be encountered in different countries. During World War II (WWII) more than 30 million soldiers were transported within the continental United States; and 7 million soldiers plus 126 million tons of supplies were transported overseas.