Railway Operating Division (War Department)

The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a unit of the Royal Engineers, formed in August 1915 to operate the British military railway system on the Western Front during the First World War. By the Armistice in November 1918 the ROD was running 1,800 route-miles of railway, employing 80,000 men and operating over 1,200 locomotives, making it briefly one of the largest railway operators in the world.

The ROD's locomotive fleet was largely standardised on the ROD 2-8-0, John G. Robinson's GCR Class 8K of 1911, of which 521 were built for ROD service. The class proved exceptionally robust and successful in mainland European conditions.

After the Armistice the ROD's surplus locomotives were dispersed across British and overseas railways, many returning to British service with the LNER, GWR, LMS and SR; others sold to Australian, Chinese and Egyptian customers. The ROD was disbanded in 1919.