A History of Inland Transport and Communication in England

by Edwin A. Pratt

The full board of the London and North-Western Railway meets twice a month; but much work is also done by committees which, as in the case of a county council or other important public body, exercise supervision over certain departments, or groups of departments, presenting minutes of their proceedings to the board for confirmation. The principal committees are the Finance Committee, the Permanent Way Committee, the Locomotive Committee, the Passenger Traffic Committee, the Goods Traffic Committee and the Debts and Goods Claim Committee. There are, in addition, various smaller committees which deal with questions arising in connection with legal business, stores, hotels, refreshment rooms, etc.

The heads of the different departments concerned attend, either regularly or as desired, the meetings of these various committees, whose members are thus kept thoroughly in touch with everything going on in regard to matters under their special cognisance.

On the subject of finance, Sir George Findlay says (and the position is still as here stated, except that certain members of the Finance Committee now meet weekly to pass current accounts for payment):—

"The system of control over the expenditure of the Company's money is a very complete one. The general theory is that no expenditure is incurred without the direct sanction of the directors, expressed by a minute of some committee approved by the board. The district officers are, indeed, allowed to make small necessary payments, but for these vouchers are submitted monthly and, after being carefully examined, are passed by the Finance Committee. No work is done by any of the engineering departments, except ordinary maintenance and repairs, without a minute of the directors to sanction it, and, in like manner, no claim is paid, except those of trifling amount, without the authority of the 'Goods Claims Committee.'"

The executive management is carried out by the general manager, the chief goods manager, and the superintendent of the line, the heads of the various other departments—and, also, the district officers—reporting to, and being under the direction of, one or other of these three officers, or, in the case of the chief goods manager and the superintendent of the line, of their assistants.

The general manager naturally exercises general control. He is accountable to the chairman and directors for the good working of all departments, and when one takes into account the magnitude of the financial interests at stake; the extreme complexity of the movements and details involved in the operation of so many miles of railway transporting so huge a volume of traffic; the responsibilities of the company towards the multitudes of travellers who depend for life or limb on the perfection of the arrangements made for their safety; the enormous value of the goods of which temporary charge is undertaken; the questions of principle or precedent that arise in connection with a whole army of workers, no less than the matters of policy as regards development of the line or the relations with other companies, involving, it may be, introduction of or opposition to Railway Bills; the preparation of evidence to be given before one or other of those oft-recurring Parliamentary or Departmental Committees; together with the ever-present need of reconciling, as far as possible, the conflicting interests of public, of staff and of shareholders—when one tries to realise the full extent of all these duties, obligations and responsibilities devolving upon the general manager of a great English railway company, the holder of such a post would seem to occupy a position more onerous than that, probably, of any other British subject, even if he should not deserve to rank as a ruler of what, in the variety and extent of the interests concerned—interests greater far than those of many a Continental State—is itself the equivalent of a small kingdom.

In the chief goods manager's department there are, besides himself, an assistant goods manager, two outdoor goods managers, a mineral traffic manager and a large staff of clerks. The chief goods manager and his assistants take charge of all matters connected with merchandise and mineral traffic, apart from the actual running of the trains. They arrange the rates and conditions of carriage; control the handling, the warehousing, and the collection and delivery of the goods; deal with all questions of goods accommodation and goods rolling stock; negotiate the arrangements in regard to private sidings for traders, and discharge a great number of other duties besides.

The main function of the superintendent of the line, in whose department there is, also, an assistant superintendent of the line and several assistants, is to deal with all passenger, horse, carriage and parcels traffic, and, also, the running of all trains, whether passenger, merchandise, live-stock or mineral. All questions relating to the actual working of the line, passenger stations, signals, etc., are referred to him, and the issue of all time-tables is also under his control.

The other heads of departments include: Secretary; solicitor (with assistant solicitor); chief accountant; locomotive accountant; cashier; chief of expenditure department; chief of audit department; registrar; estate agent; rating agent; chief engineer (with a chief clerk and two assistant engineers, one for new works and one for permanent way); chief mechanical engineer (with a chief indoor assistant in locomotive department, general assistant and two outdoor assistants); signal superintendent; electrical engineer; rolling-stock superintendent; carriage superintendent; waggon superintendent; stores superintendent; horse superintendent; police superintendent; marine superintendent; hotel manager; and chief medical officer. The total number of persons engaged in these various departments, as carried on in the general offices at Euston station, without reckoning those employed elsewhere, is about 1500.

For administrative purposes the entire system, with its close on 2000 miles of railway, is divided into a number of districts, each of which is in charge of a district superintendent who is responsible for the working of the trains and the control of the staff in his district. Each district superintendent has an assistant and several travelling inspectors working under his direction, their duty being to visit regularly every station and signal box, and deal with any matters requiring attention.