The Women's Troop Train Service - Railroad Y.M.C.A., St. Louis, Missouri

During WWI, the Women’s Troop Train Service Committee operated out of the Railroad Y.M.C.A. which was located at Union Station in St. Louis, Missouri. The committee members met locomotives in the train yards and brought soldiers to the Y.M.C.A.'s Happiness Hut.  At the Happiness Hut they were provided with snacks, reading materials and a friendly smile. This was a welcome respite for the soldiers who often traveled on cramped cars for days at a time. 

Railroad Y.M.C.A. Troop Train Service, 1918. Lucille C. Chapman, Jae P. Myers, Louise S. Bailey, Abey Dodge Barstow, Zae Kaine, Captain. In front of hut background is the Union Station Car sheds.



Louise Salmon Bailey in uniform, ca. 1918

Louise Salmon Bailey was the secretary of the Troop Train Service Committee. Her collection, which is located at the Missouri History Museum, has been selected by the Over There project staff for digitization.  The collection contains portraits of Bailey and others in uniform, photographs of troops returning home, parades, Y.M.C.A. tents, etc. Bailey also donated the minutes from the Committees meetings which include postcards, newspaper clippings, and various documents. This collection was selected because it is a wonderful example of the critical role that women played on the home front during the war.

Cozy corner in Happiness Hut. R.R. Y.M.C.A. St. Louis, MO.

In a Report of the Train Service Committee, Mrs. Eloise S. Vimont, Chairman, (pictured below) described a typical week in January 1919 at the Troop Train Service. Below are two excerpts from the report:

"Monday evening the committee was able to be of a special service to Private John Allen, of Hutchison, Kansas, who had been severely wounded by an explosive bullet which had lodged in his neck, and as a result had to be placed in a plaster cast. He was traveling alone, but was very happy. . . Tuesday morning 500 men, on their way to Camp Sherman, were brought to the Hut in the pouring rain to spend a few hours.  They enjoyed every good thing that the committees had to offer, and as they left they gave three cheers in the rain for the Railroad Y.M.C.A. Happiness Hut."

During Vimont's tenure as the chairman of the Train Service Committee, a list of 18 rules was developed for committee members. Most of the rules were pretty basic, for example, rule 1 states "All women on this committee must be on duty promptly."  While others addressed important issues, for example rule 7 states that “There will be absolutely no definite information as to movement of troop trains over phone, are very specific.”




Eloise Vimont in uniform, ca. 1918 






Rules Train Service Committee

Train Service Committee Report

Based on the above report, it is clear that the women were kept very busy. In a two week period they met 48 trains and served 13, 941 soldiers.

In addition to the Troop Train Service Committee, there were four other committees that operated under the Transportation Bureau of the National War Work Council in St. Louis at the Railroad Y.M.C. A.  They were the Information Booth Committee, the Canteen Committee, the Motor Service Committee,  and the Entertainment Committee. Over 750 women volunteered for these committees and made it possible for the Railroad Y.M.C.A to serve  a total of 1,500,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and recruits during WWI.  

Below is a brochure that reported the organizations statistics for 1918. On January 14th, 1920, the Transportation Department National War Work Council at the Railroad Y.M.C.A. and its committees officially closed.

Brochure "A Bright Spot in a Dark Corner" ca. 1919

Sources:

Louise Salmon Bailey Collection, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO.

World War I Collection, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO.