The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-08-18
rhs English Railway Clearing House.

Situated near Euston Square in LON
don Is o vast establishment concerning
which there has hitherto been much ig-
norance even in England itself. 1t is
the Railway Clearing House, and its
purpose is the settlement of the innum-
erable and complicated cross accounts
between the railroads. Several hum
dred clerks are engaged in this work,
which manifestly is very laborious one,
but the routine of the establishments has
never been explained until lately. Mr..
Hugh Carlisle, an Englishman resident
at Riga, has, however, been able to PEN
citrate the mysteries of the Clearing
House, and has given an account of its
operation in pamphlet printed in Ger
man. His object Is to urge the adop-
ton of a similar system for the Russian
railroads.
1t seems that the Railway Clearing
House was established as long ago as
1912, when railroads were in their in
fancy, and began with four clerks, who
took charge of the accounts of two COM
panies, that from London to Darlington,
and that from Manchester to Hull. In
1876 the total number of officials was
300, and it had become q great CEN
trail organization for all the railroads of
the kingdom, of which there are now
about hundred. 1t Is presided over by
committee, selected from the directors
of the various companies, which meets
four times year; and, besides, more or
less frequent meetings are held of gen.
eral managers, of goods managers, or
freight agents, as we should call them,
and Of various other subordinate rail-
road officials The Clearing House deals
not only with the accounts of the COM
h,.k al all - .aI
may arise between them; and therefore
represented in it.
There are departments for goods
traffic or freight, for passenger traffic,
for running of passenger and freight
cars, for lost articles, and for measuring
and recording distances. The total
sums brought into account in 1876 were
about S82, ,5O0, 900, and the cash balances
actually handed over were SIC, 200, ,000.
The settlement forms made out in the
freight department contained about
five and half million items, and in the
passenger department three and half
million. The number Of passenger and
freight car miles for which charges had
TO be computed was about ASS, ,0O0, 900,
and the lost baggage department in
quired concerning $4,000 missing arti-
cles. s.-
Every station sends each month to the 1
freight department of the Clearing
House q report of the goods despatched
from it and those received by it. Their
weight is given, together with the num-
bers of the cars in which they are load
ed, and the freight charges, in which
charges for loading are included. The
department then compares the reports
of goods despatched with those of goods
received, and If ID finds any difference
an ''inaccuracy statement" is sent to
each station with margins left for reply.
If the difficulty is not thus cleared up
the original entries, which are held as
binding, are consulted. When the re-
ports have been verified the freight re-
ceipts are divided between the railways
concerned. Terminal charges are rated
at so much per ton on the gross traffic.
Each company receives monthly state
ment in which its proportion of the
freight charges is accurately determined
and clearly set forth.
In the passenger department a similar
division is made of fares. The tickets
are assorted according to the despatch
ing station, and they are then compared
with the station report. The business is
somewhat complicated by the fact that
every companyis bound to issue q ticket
from any of its stations to any other sta
ton in the kingdom. There are, of
course, many stations between which a
ticket is not applied for once year.
The clerk fills out a card in such case,
and these imprinted tickets require spe-
cial looking after by the Clearing House,
because they are not stamped with con-
securfve numbers like those ordinarily
used. This department also takes
charge of the traffic in parcels, horses,
dogs, carriages, etc., which are usually
carried in passenger trains.
The wagon or car department takes
note of all movements of rolling stock
belonging to one company over the lines
of another, and distributes the charges
arising therefrom. Five hundred
special officials of the Clearing House
are stationed at the important functions,
and elsewhere along the lines, to watch
the movements of cars and make a
record of the character of their contents
As every train passes they note the
number and description of the cars, and
the mature Of trade" under which
term are comprised the kind of goods,
the date, the names of the sending and
receiving station, and the particulars of
the route, all of which information Is
same time the station at which any
strange car arrives sends in similar
report, specifying the nature of the
load, the station whence the car comes,
and how and when 1t Is further disposed
of. The department compares these re-
ports, and thus Is able to give its owners
q correct account of the course of every
one of its cars from the time it leaves its
own line until it returns to it. The ac-
counts arising from this use of cars are
adjusted quarterly.
In the lost luggage department daily
reports are received from each station,
with an accurate description of the stray
articles. If the baggage found is seen
to be identical with that described as
lost, it is at once returned to its owner.
Otherwise particular description of it
is sent to all stations where similar arti-
cles have been found. As soon as q
stray article is claimed the Clearing
House Is notified of the fact; and all
claims for lost luggage are settled by it.
This Is the system Mr.. Carlisle ad-
vises the Russian railroads to adopt. In
his opinion 1t secures the objects the ad-
vocates of State control are desirous of
attaining, and avoids the dangers which
arc sure to follow such transfer of
power, He enumerates three things
which are requisite in railway manage
ment: The roads must provide for
through travel without change of car
and without long halts; shippers must
be able to pay all freight charges in a
lump sum, no matter what the distance
or the number of different lines used;
and the finding of missing articles and
the settlement for lost or damaged arti-
cles must be made as easy as possible.
These essentials, he argues, are salts
factorily secured by the English Clear
ing House plan, and its success shows
that railway companies can, by an or
ganization among themselves, compass
all the desirable ends it is proposed to
attain by turning them over to the Gov
ernmanf - Mem York Sfln