This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920 Excerpt: ...and suspicions that have existed between companies from the earliest times, it was recognized many years ago that there was an obvious need for a central body to deal with the proportions accruing to specific companies on traffic routed over two or more lines. Even before the first British railroad was built, in the ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920 Excerpt: ...and suspicions that have existed between companies from the earliest times, it was recognized many years ago that there was an obvious need for a central body to deal with the proportions accruing to specific companies on traffic routed over two or more lines. Even before the first British railroad was built, in the old coaching days, there was a clearing house of the proprietors of stage coaches which had its headquarters at Golden Cross, Charing Cross, and arranged between various stage coach proprietors the amounts respectively due from passengers or parcels booked for a journey by way of state coaches owned by perhaps half a dozen concerns.1 The British Railway Clearing House was established in January, 1842. Each company joining in the clearing house agreement is represented by its chairman or by one of the directors, who forms part of a committee which meets from time to time to provide the necessary laws and regulations governing the conduct of the business, and to supervise through a subcommittee the work which the clearing house is doing. The secretary of the clearing house reports to this subcommittee once a month, while a general body, composed of the general managers of the railroads joining in the clearing house, meets quarterly to discuss matters bearing directly or indirectly on through rates and their apportionment. Parliament stands behind the clearing house by an important act which provides that whatever is declared to be due by the clearing house shall be legally due and must be paid, and from the decisions of the clearing house in this respect there is no appeal. In 1904, according to Mr. McDermott, the Railway Clearing House was responsible for almost 700,000 goods wagons, whenever these wagons were traveling off their own lines. As ha...
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