[HN Gopher] The Railway Clearing House (1936)
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       The Railway Clearing House (1936)
        
       Author : jpkoning
       Score  : 26 points
       Date   : 2020-12-28 17:05 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com)
        
       | capnahab wrote:
       | Very interesting, I always wondered how that worked. Also the
       | huge loss of track, - 23000 miles in 1936, 10000 today.
        
       | Reason077 wrote:
       | Modern equivalent: Rail Settlement Plan
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_Settlement_Plan
        
       | Doctor_Fegg wrote:
       | The Railway Clearing House's Junction Diagrams are on Wikimedia
       | Commons, and truly beautiful cartography:
       | 
       | https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Railways_Junct...
        
       | pm90 wrote:
       | Always enjoy reading how these complex systems "emerge". I found
       | this part interesting:
       | 
       | > The railways included in the RCH system had increased by 1845
       | to sixteen, with 656 route-miles of track. The difficulties of
       | obtaining cash settlement between the railway companies and the
       | clearing house, led in 1850 to the passing of an Act of
       | Parliament conferring on the RCH the right to sue in the courts.
       | This ended the trouble and the companies subsequently settled all
       | payments promptly.
       | 
       | It seems like just the right amount of regulatory power to get
       | everyone on the same page and ensure the system works.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2020-12-29 23:01 UTC)