Already semi-autonomous since the end of the nineteenth century, New Zealand became an independent Dominion under the British Crown in 1907, and took part in both World Wars as part of the Commonwealth. During the Second World War, more than a quarter of the country’s railway workers were in uniform, serving in the 16th and 17th Railway Operating Companies sent to the Middle East1 as part of the MEF (Middle East Forces). In 1941–2 the theatre received forty-two Stanier 8F steam engines. In October 1942 during the British offensive following the second battle of El Alamein, the first train to roll westwards was hauled by one of these engines, with armour protection against aerial attack. In addition, two anti-aircraft detachments were included in all trains, in wagons attached at the front and rear of the rake. They were armed either with rifle-calibre Browning machine guns, or 40mm Bofors or 20mm Breda cannon.
The armoured cab and front end of the tender. The following two tank wagons are being filled with additional water for the engine.
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Stanier 8F No 329 at El Alamein in November 1942, protected by concrete panels. The NZ Rly Op Coy (New Zealand Railway Company) were responsible for running this train and the railway system.
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Note the absence of armour protection over the top of the boiler unit, to avoid overheating problems.
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The 2-8-0 wheel arrangement is clearly seen in this side view.
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Ford trucks coupled back-to-back for patrol duties, with the central pillar mountings for machine guns.
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A wagon converted into an anti-aircraft battery in Egypt, showing one of its two quadruple .30 calibre Browning mountings. The machine guns probably came from US-built tanks. The Brownings have not yet been fitted to the mounting at the rear. There are no known photos showing wagons armed with either Bofors or Breda cannons.
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SOURCES:
Judd, Brendon, The Desert Railway: The New Zealand Railway Group in North Africa and the Middle East during the Second World War (Auckland: Penguin Group New Zealand Limited, 2004).
1. These units were disbanded in 1943.
