WW1 C.E.F 257th (Railway Construction) Battalion collar badge

Rare WW1 C.E.F 257th (Railway Construction) Battalion brass other ranks collar badge.

Redesignation: Shortly after arrival it was redesignated the 7th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops, and served in France and Flanders from 1917 to 1919 .

Railway troops battalions like this one built and maintained the light and standard-gauge rail lines behind the front — critical for moving troops, ammunition, and supplies to the trenches, and for evacuating wounded. This was heavy, often dangerous engineering work done under shellfire, laying track, building bridges, and repairing lines damaged by bombardment.

End of service: The unit served in the field until the end of the war and was disbanded in the fall of 1920 .