Railway Clearing House
Encyclopedia
The British Railway Clearing House (RCH) was an organisation set up to manage the allocation of revenue collected by numerous pre-grouping
railway companies. These companies all operated their own railway lines, but gained revenue from fares charged for passengers and goods travelling over the lines of more than one company.
The Railway Clearing House commenced operations on 2 January 1842, in small offices at 111 Drummond Street opposite Euston Station
, London
. These were premises owned by the London and Birmingham Railway
, which also provided the initial costs of setting up the organisation.
The founding members, whose first meeting was on 26 April 1842, were:
This first meeting agreed the principles by which the ongoing activities of the RCH were to be funded. This involved a fixed payment per station served (£5, reduced in 1844 to £2 for stations which were not termini) plus an apportionment of the balance of costs according to the total share of receipts afforded to each participating company.
The first manager was Kenneth Morrison, auditor of the London and Birmingham Railway.
By the end of December 1845, the following companies had joined:
The Grand Junction initially refused because of the £300 pa. cost of using the Edmondson tickets
and the Liverpool and Manchester being thus isolated from the system saw no need to join.
Owing to expansion the RCH moved to larger purpose-built premises in Seymour Street (called Eversholt Street since 1938) in early 1849, which remained its headquarters for the duration of its existence. By the end of 1850 a further 21 companies had joined, including several of the leading Scottish companies, bringing the total of British railway mileage in the scheme to over half (55.8%). However it still lacked the Great Western Railway
and the companies south of London.
It was soon realised that the RCH provided a neutral meeting point where different railways could discuss points of disagreement and make suggestions which could benefit other railways. Besides meeting rooms, the RCH provided secretarial facilities for these discussions. Conferences between railway managers were arranged, as were conferences between the different railways' departmental heads. In this way, railways moved towards many common practices, without the need for legislation. Unfortunately, the system had a weakness, in that a unanimous vote was required for a recommendation to become compulsory.
In due course the RCH was given legal status by The Railway Clearing Act of 25 June 1850. Though initiated by the members companies themselves, the Bill in fact reduced the scope of the RCH, while making it easier to enforce debt collection among members (hitherto not formally regulated). A later attempt via Parliament to re-extend the powers and potential membership of the RCH foundered on conflicting interests in 1859.
A separate organisation, the United Railway Companies' Committee, was formed in 1858, but folded in 1861. It was re-established in June 1867, and became the Railway Companies' Association
(RCA) in 1869. There was a certain degree of overlap between the RCA and the RCH, and it was later agreed that the RCA should represent the railways in Parliament, whilst the RCH concentrated on organising the business of railway traffic.
In 1897, the RCH was established as a body corporate. During both World Wars, the railways were placed under government control, and the receipts were pooled and then apportioned in fixed proportions according to pre-war receipts. During these periods, the duties of the RCH were very much reduced, but they continued to provide their secretarial functions.
As railway companies amalgamated, so the number of members reduced; until it had just one member, the British Transport Commission
(BTC). As part of the Transport Act 1947, the Acts of Incorporation were repealed.
Most of the remaining powers, property, rights and liabilities were transferred to the BTC on 24 May 1954, and the RCH was dissolved as a corporate body on 8 April 1955. The BTC then continued the remaining functions of the RCH, still under the name Railway Clearing House. These included the provision of secretarial services and rooms for railway meetings, and meetings between road and rail companies; classification of goods for the setting of rates; the examination and certification of new packaging materials; the registration of rolling stock; the issue of maps and other publications including scales of charges; and the spot-check of wagons and consignments in transit.
be adopted as the standard time for all railways in the United Kingdom
.
The Railway Clearing House also went on to set technical standards for various items, such as goods wagons, to promote standardisation across the rail network. If a wagon was described as an RCH wagon, this meant it had been built to comply with RCH standards.
The RCH also set technical standards for cable connections between coaches for the remote operation of systems; they were initially used only for control of train lighting. These cables were known as RCH jumpers, and in the 1970s a system for push-pull train
s was developed which used the RCH cable, eliminating the need for a separate control cable to be fitted to intermediate coaches.
The RCH also produced Railway Junction Diagrams (RJDs), which show the junctions where two or more railway companies met, and the distances between these junctions and nearby stations and junctions, in order to aid the calculation of mileage-based rates. Starting in 1871 it also issued what has been described as the "most superb series of railway maps ever produced in the United Kingdom."
The RCH had some similarities to the modern Association of Train Operating Companies
.
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
railway companies. These companies all operated their own railway lines, but gained revenue from fares charged for passengers and goods travelling over the lines of more than one company.
History
When passengers travelled between two stations on the same railway, using trains provided by the same company, that company was entitled to the whole of the fare. Similarly, when goods were consigned between two stations on the same railway, using wagons provided by the same company, that company was entitled to the whole of the fee. However, when coaches or wagons owned by a different company were used, that company would be entitled to a proportion of the fare or fee. If the commencement and terminus of the journey were on different railways, a more complicated situation arose: if the two companies involved did not provide through-ticketing, the passenger or goods would need to be re-booked at a junction station; but if through-booking was provided, the receipts collected by the first company would need to be divided between them, usually on a mileage basis. The Railway Clearing House was founded as a means by which these receipts could be apportioned fairly.The Railway Clearing House commenced operations on 2 January 1842, in small offices at 111 Drummond Street opposite Euston Station
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. These were premises owned by the London and Birmingham Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
, which also provided the initial costs of setting up the organisation.
The founding members, whose first meeting was on 26 April 1842, were:
- London and Birmingham Railway
- the companies which would form the Midland RailwayMidland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
in 1844- Midland Counties RailwayMidland Counties RailwayThe Midland Counties Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, to London. The MCR system connected with the North Midland Railway and the...
- Birmingham and Derby Junction RailwayBirmingham and Derby Junction RailwayThe Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
- North Midland RailwayNorth Midland RailwayThe North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
- Midland Counties Railway
- Manchester and Leeds RailwayManchester and Leeds RailwayThe Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
- the companies which would form the North Eastern RailwayNorth Eastern Railway (UK)The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
in 1854- Leeds and Selby RailwayLeeds and Selby RailwayThe Leeds and Selby Railway was an early British railway company and first mainline railway in Yorkshire. It was opened in 1834.The company was absorbed by the York and North Midland Railway and the line remained in use through the subsequent NER, LNER, BR and post-privatisation periods.As of 2010...
- Hull and Selby RailwayHull and Selby RailwayThe Hull and Selby Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1840, connecting Hull with the Leeds and Selby Railway-Origins:...
- York and North Midland RailwayYork and North Midland RailwayThe York and North Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting York, with the Leeds and Selby Railway and in 1840 with the North Midland Railway at Normanton near Leeds.-Origins:...
- Great North of England RailwayGreat North of England RailwayThe Great North of England Railway was an early British railway company. Its main line, opened in 1841 was between York and Darlington, and originally it was planned to extend to Newcastle. In 1850 it was absorbed by the North Eastern Railway ....
- Leeds and Selby Railway
This first meeting agreed the principles by which the ongoing activities of the RCH were to be funded. This involved a fixed payment per station served (£5, reduced in 1844 to £2 for stations which were not termini) plus an apportionment of the balance of costs according to the total share of receipts afforded to each participating company.
The first manager was Kenneth Morrison, auditor of the London and Birmingham Railway.
By the end of December 1845, the following companies had joined:
- Birmingham and Gloucester RailwayBirmingham and Gloucester RailwayThe Birmingham and Gloucester Railway is a railway route linking Birmingham to Gloucester in England.It is one of the world's oldest main line railways and includes the famous Lickey Incline, a dead-straight stretch of track running up the 1-in-37 gradient of the Lickey Ridge...
- Chester and Birmingham Railway
- Grand Junction RailwayGrand Junction RailwayThe Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
and its allies- North Union RailwayNorth Union RailwayThe North Union Railway was an early British railway company, formed in 1834.-Origins:The North Union Railway resulted from the first railway amalgamation in British history. The two companies were the Wigan Branch Railway and the Wigan and Preston Junction Railway...
- Liverpool and Manchester RailwayLiverpool and Manchester RailwayThe Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
- North Union Railway
- Lancaster and Preston Railway (a bitter rival of the North Union)
- Manchester and Birmingham RailwayManchester and Birmingham RailwayThe Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway...
- Newcastle and Carlisle RailwayNewcastle and Carlisle RailwayThe Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, occasionally referred to as the Tyne Valley Line, is a railway line in northern England. The line was built in the 1830s, and links the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear with in Cumbria. Formal opening took place on 18 June 1838.The line follows the...
The Grand Junction initially refused because of the £300 pa. cost of using the Edmondson tickets
Edmondson railway ticket
The Edmondson railway ticket was a system for validating the payment of railway fares, and accounting for the revenue raised, introduced in the 1840s. It is named after its inventor, Thomas Edmondson, a trained cabinet maker, who became a station master on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway in...
and the Liverpool and Manchester being thus isolated from the system saw no need to join.
Owing to expansion the RCH moved to larger purpose-built premises in Seymour Street (called Eversholt Street since 1938) in early 1849, which remained its headquarters for the duration of its existence. By the end of 1850 a further 21 companies had joined, including several of the leading Scottish companies, bringing the total of British railway mileage in the scheme to over half (55.8%). However it still lacked the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and the companies south of London.
It was soon realised that the RCH provided a neutral meeting point where different railways could discuss points of disagreement and make suggestions which could benefit other railways. Besides meeting rooms, the RCH provided secretarial facilities for these discussions. Conferences between railway managers were arranged, as were conferences between the different railways' departmental heads. In this way, railways moved towards many common practices, without the need for legislation. Unfortunately, the system had a weakness, in that a unanimous vote was required for a recommendation to become compulsory.
In due course the RCH was given legal status by The Railway Clearing Act of 25 June 1850. Though initiated by the members companies themselves, the Bill in fact reduced the scope of the RCH, while making it easier to enforce debt collection among members (hitherto not formally regulated). A later attempt via Parliament to re-extend the powers and potential membership of the RCH foundered on conflicting interests in 1859.
A separate organisation, the United Railway Companies' Committee, was formed in 1858, but folded in 1861. It was re-established in June 1867, and became the Railway Companies' Association
Railway Companies' Association
The Railway Companies' Association was a co-ordinating body for British railway companies from 1867 until nationalization in 1948. Its purpose was to protect the interests of the companies and their shareholders, chiefly against parliamentary interference...
(RCA) in 1869. There was a certain degree of overlap between the RCA and the RCH, and it was later agreed that the RCA should represent the railways in Parliament, whilst the RCH concentrated on organising the business of railway traffic.
In 1897, the RCH was established as a body corporate. During both World Wars, the railways were placed under government control, and the receipts were pooled and then apportioned in fixed proportions according to pre-war receipts. During these periods, the duties of the RCH were very much reduced, but they continued to provide their secretarial functions.
As railway companies amalgamated, so the number of members reduced; until it had just one member, the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
(BTC). As part of the Transport Act 1947, the Acts of Incorporation were repealed.
Most of the remaining powers, property, rights and liabilities were transferred to the BTC on 24 May 1954, and the RCH was dissolved as a corporate body on 8 April 1955. The BTC then continued the remaining functions of the RCH, still under the name Railway Clearing House. These included the provision of secretarial services and rooms for railway meetings, and meetings between road and rail companies; classification of goods for the setting of rates; the examination and certification of new packaging materials; the registration of rolling stock; the issue of maps and other publications including scales of charges; and the spot-check of wagons and consignments in transit.
Standards
On 22 September 1847, the Railway Clearing House recommended that Greenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
be adopted as the standard time for all railways in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The Railway Clearing House also went on to set technical standards for various items, such as goods wagons, to promote standardisation across the rail network. If a wagon was described as an RCH wagon, this meant it had been built to comply with RCH standards.
The RCH also set technical standards for cable connections between coaches for the remote operation of systems; they were initially used only for control of train lighting. These cables were known as RCH jumpers, and in the 1970s a system for push-pull train
Push-pull train
Push–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...
s was developed which used the RCH cable, eliminating the need for a separate control cable to be fitted to intermediate coaches.
The RCH also produced Railway Junction Diagrams (RJDs), which show the junctions where two or more railway companies met, and the distances between these junctions and nearby stations and junctions, in order to aid the calculation of mileage-based rates. Starting in 1871 it also issued what has been described as the "most superb series of railway maps ever produced in the United Kingdom."
The RCH had some similarities to the modern Association of Train Operating Companies
Association of Train Operating Companies
The Association of Train Operating Companies is a body which represents 24 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway system. It owns the National Rail brand. The Association is an unincorporated association owned by its members...
.