Train movemens marked/diagrammed as 'ILF' trains?

[T8HANTS]

A friend of mine is doing some research into the train movements of the first month of WW1, and has discovered a group of trains principally bound for Holyhead, with a few diagrammed for Liverpool, that were referred to as 'ILF' trains.

They embarked from various places, but seemed only to be needed during the first two weeks of the mobilisation of August 1914.

His guess is that they are shipping replacement troops or equipment to Ireland, but would like to know for sure.

He also thinks they were what he describes as 'Q' trains, only being dispatched when required, and not a scheduled movement.

Any help appreciated.

Gareth

[Ron Clifton]

My first thought was that ILF might stand for something like "Irish-Liverpool Ferries", which might be the name of a shipping company rather than a specific route, which would explain why Holyhead is also mentioned.

In August 1914, 5th and 6th Divisions were stationed in Ireland (less one brigade at Lichfield), plus 3rd Cavalry Brigade. I think that all of them came to the mainland before embarking for France, rather than sailing direct from Ireland.

I can't help with "Q" trains, unless they carried supplies. Q for Quartermaster(-General) is a common indication of supply and transport services.

Ron

[T8HANTS]

Ron my understanding is that a Q train in railway speak was an unscheduled occasional service, that did not appear in the usual operating diagram.

I wonder if there were any Territorial battalions having their annual camp in Ireland, who needed to pulled back before their time?

Irish Liverpool Freight, also comes to mind, if war stores were being shipped out.

[seaJane]

I don't know if this is dealt with in E.A. Pratt's British Railways and the Great War, available in 2 volumes on archive.org - there's a link to them on my thread on rail travel in the Chit-Chat forum.

[Moonraker]

Jane, someone had the same thought on the

RM Web

where Gareth has also posted his query.

Understandably perhaps, the suggestions there are more helpful than those here on the GWF - but some of the comments on the war are a bit elementary!

Moonraker

[Richard Cawthorn]

Following recent visits to TNA, the answers appear to be as follows.

The trains that the OP referenced are shown in RAIL343/716, a 200-odd page file of Lancashire and Yorkshire (L&Y) Railway documentation covering August into September 1914. As well as 35 pages of full or near-full railway documentation of rail movements i/c/w the mobilization scheme, there is a supplement containing the ILF moves and retarded movements of Expeditionary Force units. The moves tagged ILF are units of the East Lancashire division of the Territorial Force.

The abbreviation ILF is not explained in RAIL343/716 but sub-folder W R/1 (III) in WO106/50 refers to the Move of the Local Force to Ireland and there are corresponding references in in WO33/2860 Irish Command scheme for Home Defence Parts I & II to the movements of the East and West Lancs divisions, TF to Ireland, arriving on and from Mobilization day 4.

So it seems reasonable to infer that 'ILF' stands for Ireland (or Irish) Local Force (or Forces).

The trains concerned were all one-off movements which would have been regarded in railway terminology, certainly in the 1980's & 90's, as being on a Special Traffic basis.

The term 'Q' train would not be appropriate here as (again applying 'modern' railway terminology) this refers to trains that form part of a regular published Working Timetable but which are denoted by the head-of-column note 'Q' as running 'as required', the actual dates of operation of which would then be published on a separate notice.

In fact the paperwork in RAIL343/716 is endorsed by hand to show that the 'ILF' moves were all cancelled. It appears that neither the East nor the West Lancs divisions went to Ireland as intended pre-war. Instead this file shows at least one West Lancs brigade was sent to Edinburgh and the East Lancs Division went to the home counties in a total of 58 trains across 2 days in the second week of September (full details of the planning of which are in this file), prior to proceeding to Egypt later that month re various Internet sources.

Again it seems reasonable to infer that the delay in sending the regular 6th Division from Ireland as part of the B.E.F. is in some way related to the cancellation of the ILF moves.

 

 

 

 

[Alan24]

2 hours ago, Richard Cawthorn said:

Following recent visits to TNA, the answers appear to be as follows.

Thank you Richard.  Welcome to the forum.

That's a very interesting and useful first post.

 

[Richard Cawthorn]

Thankyou Alan, for the kind welcome and the feedback.   

I'm intending to do some more work with RAIL343/716. It's a mine of information, down to charting the movements of individual wagons of Government Stores which would have been conveyed on normal goods trains. A fascinating snapshot of the impact of war on Britain's railways. 

[Richard Cawthorn]

Further scrutiny of this file at TNA shows that I was wrong to say that the East Lancs Division of the TF moved to the home counties in the second week of September 1914. This was the intention as of approx. 31st August with 70 trains and detrainments intended at Irchester and Higham Ferrers stations. The plan then changed; some at least and probably all of the units of the division moved direct to Southampton in 58 trains before embarking for Egypt as per Wiki and other posts in these forums. Interestingly the 5 train movements in this file (of L&Y Railway documentation) explicitly showing Southampton as destination ran with X in the train ID number (numbers in the series 16xx) despite not being part of the original Expeditionary Force.