When the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1916 suffered from the appalling ground conditions, which restricted the supply of materials to the front line, a report by Sir Eric Geddes of the North Eastern Railway recommended implementation for 600mm gauge railways, following which the War Office ordered 7000 miles of prefabricated track, the majority of which was sent to France, along with around 6,000 tipping wagons and 5,000 bogie wagons of varying designs.