ll packs were removed from
the boat, the troops assembled in a large warehouse on the pier;
British Red Cross workers distributed refreshments while trains were
being made up to convey the soldiers to their first foreign training
center.

A combination of first, second, and third-class coaches of the
compartment type characteristic of the English rail system made up the
section of train that was assigned to Battery D. The coaches and
British locomotives were the source of considerable interest to the
soldiers. Each compartment accommodated eight men, which allowed a
division of squads being made for the journey.

At 4:30 o'clock the wheels began to grind the rails and the first ride
on foreign soil was started.

Fast-fleeting stretches of fertile farm land and extensive pasture
field, rich in verdure, with cattle grazing drowsily at the close of
day, presented the picture of a peaceful pastoral life of British
subjects as the train continued to add up mileage. Station after
station was passed without stop by the American troop special. Battery
D displayed an American flag from its section and the inhabitants in
the vicinity of the railroad station as the special passed through
their town or hamlet, could not mistake the identity of the Americans.

From Barry the route stretched to Penarth and Cardiff; passed through
Newport, Christ Church, and Major, thence across the funnel waters of
the Bristol channel to the thriving city of Bristol; into the rural
districts of Wiltshire; passing Bath, Trowbridge, and Warminster.

Rations of hard bread, corned-beef, corned-beef hash, canned tomatoes,
and jam, had been distributed to the squads before leaving the
Morvada. When the troop special was nearing Salisbury, evening was
well advanced and the appetites of the soldiers were being gradually
appeased enroute, stop was made at Wilton, where everybody on board
took advantage of permission to get off at the station and enjoy a cup
of hot coffee that a contingent of British Red Cross workers handed
out.

The journey was resumed after a twenty-minute lay-over. The South of
England was penetrated farther as the boys tried to figure out whether
they would remain on British territory long, or whether France was to
be the first active training center.

[Illustration: 3rd CLASS FRENCH COMPARTMENT COACH]

[Illustration: SIDE-DOOR PULLMAN SPECIAL
TRAVEL A LA MODE IN FRANCE]

[Illustration: INTERIOR FRENCH BOX CAR
BATTERY D ENROU