Stokers and pokers : $b or, The London and North-Western Railway, the electric telegraph, and the railway clearing-houseHead, Francis Bond, Sir
History
Stokers and pokers : $b or, The London and North-Western Railway, the electric telegraph, and the railway clearing-house
Head, Francis Bond, Sir
London and North-Western Railway; Railway Clearing House (London, England); Telegraph -- Great Britain
At every junction of railways there are stationed men in the
pay of the London Clearing-House, to take the number of all
passenger-carriages and goods-waggons, as also of all tarpaulins
or sheets covering waggons. These men make to the clearing-office
_daily_ a detailed statement of the same.
Returns are also sent _daily_ from all the clearing-house stations
on all the lines of railway, by the servants of the respective
companies, of all foreign carriages arriving and departing from each
of the said stations. From these returns the London Clearing-House is
enabled to trace the course of all waggons and passenger-carriages
travelling on what are termed “foreign” lines, and to debit and
credit every company with the sums it has respectively incurred for
mileage, as also what is due from and to the respective companies for
demurrage per day of waggons or of passenger-carriages.
These accounts are transmitted to each company monthly.
Sheets covering waggons are in like manner all checked at the
junctions by the men placed there by the London Clearing-House, as
also by returns forwarded to the office from the various stations at
which the waggon stops to be loaded or unloaded; and thus the charge
of one-tenth of a penny per mile for the use of each of these tarred
coverings is divided according to its proper proportion among the
respective companies over whose lines it has travelled! For a waggon
or carriage from Edinburgh to London, mileage and also demurrage
accounts are sent to four companies, and from Arbroath to London to
seven companies.
Fourteen clerks are required to keep the mileage and demurrage
accounts of carriages and waggons, and eight clerks to keep those of
the tarpaulins or sheets,
THE ACCOUNTANT.--Lastly, in the corner of the London office, in
a small elevated compartment, about four feet square, sits “the
Accountant,” who keeps--
1. An account for each separate company (forty-seven in number),
showing briefly the sums at their debits and credits, and the balance
due to or by each.
2. An interest ledger, showing the amount of interest accruing on
balances in arrear, which interest is received by the clearing-house
from the Dr. company, and paid to the Cr. company.
3. By the Act of Parliament, every railway company is bound to pay to
Government a duty on all sums received by it from passengers, whether
on its own account or for other companies. The consequence of this
is, that one company is continually obliged to pay duty for another,
thus creating a debtor and creditor account for duties, which account
the Clearing-House also settles monthly.
LOST LUGGAGE.--The Clearing-House, from its connexion with almost
every railway in the kingdom, undertakes the duty of corresponding
with all the clearing-house stations from which it receives _daily_
returns respecting any unclaimed luggage left on the rails.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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