The regulation of railways by the government in Great Britain: The work of the board of trade and the railway commissioners, 1840-1867.

The Regulation of Railways by the Government in Great Britain: the work of the Board of Trade the Railway Commissioners. 1840-1867. Chapter I. The background of the problem. The trend of opinion on regulation of economic activity by the government. Parallel developments in other branches of public administration in the eighteen-thirties. Some international comparisons. The Board of Trade in l840. Parliament and the railways before l840. Chapter II. The Railway Regulation Act of l840. The setting-up of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade; recruitment, division of labour among officers, and decision-making. Administrative practice l840-l844; case-studies illustrative of the relationship between the Department and the companies. The Department and railway legislation. Chapter III. The rise and fall of the Railway Board, l844-l845. The Board's reports on railway schemes, 1845, their influence on companies and on Parliament. The aftermath of the Railway Board, 1845-1846. Administrative practice, l844-l846; inspection of new lines, accident enquiries, and the introduction of the Parliamentary train. The Department and legislation. Chapter IV. The Commissioners of Railways, l846-l851. The Commissioners and their officers; modes of decision-making. Administrative practice; attitudes to invention and research. The Commissioners and legislation. Chapter V. The Railway Department, l852-l867. The structure and working of the Department. Three levels of decision-making: Department, Joint Secretary, President or Vice-President. Relations with other departments. Administrative practice; the rarity of prosecutions and some reasons for it. The Department and legis- lation. Chapter VI. Railways and the Board of Trade. Relations with individual companies. The case of the Oxford, Worcester Wolverhampton Railway. The Board's advocacy of specific safety devices; continuous brakes; communication between passengers, guards and drivers; block telegraph working; and interlocking signals. The Requirements for new lines.