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A large-format wall map produced by the Army Map Service in the final phase of World War II, showing the entire continental United States with its railroad infrastructure as it stood in January 1944. Issued under the direction of the Chief of Engineers for the Office of the Chief of Transportation, this map offered a comprehensive visual summary of the national rail network at a time when efficient domestic transport was essential to the Allied war effort.
The map identifies single tracks, double or multiple tracks, narrow-gauge lines, and railroads under construction using distinct line styles indicated in the legend. It includes insets of greater New York, San Francisco, and Brownsville, Texas, all critical intermodal and international hubs. International boundaries, rivers, lakes, and coastal outlines are rendered in blue, providing a geographical context to the dense overlay of black rail lines. The overwhelming density of trackage in the Northeast and Midwest contrasts markedly with the sparser but strategic lines crossing the West.
Of note is the strategic context: as the United States ramped up war production and mobilization, railroads became the logistical backbone for moving troops, materials, and munitions between inland production zones and coastal embarkation points. This map would have been a working document for planners coordinating rail traffic, port access, and inter-theater logistics.
A remarkable document of wartime infrastructure, it captures the apex of U.S. rail development before the postwar shift to highway and air transport.
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