Trivia Tuesday— A: The famed Red Ball Express truck convoys ran from August until November of 1944, to keep fast moving Allied forces resupplied. Designated routes were closed to all other traffic and marked with red ball signs, giving rise to the nickname. It actually originated in the British navy as a Vice-Admirals signal flag during the 1800s, then entered railroad slang around 1892 when the Santa Fe began using it to denote highest priority freight traffic. Some sources also suggest red ball express came about because of the many red signals visible at night behind fast freight trains.
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 20:30:00 +0000
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