Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2022 April 28

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April 28

Railroad commissioner link needed

I would like to use this for a reference. What article would be the most appropriate of a "Railroad Commissioner" for the time period around 1879? Thanks for help on this.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 13:25, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

We have an article, Office of the Commissioner of Railroads, but it is specific to the State of Wisconsin - this needs sorting out by somebody who understands the subject. We also have Railroad Commission of Texas, which curiously seems to have nothing to do with railroads. Alansplodge (talk) 17:35, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

Well, the issue is that we have a concept that is easy to understand just by understanding the meaning of the two words that make it up. A railroad is a transport system made up of vehicles that roll along metal rails. A commissioner is a senior official in charge of something. So a "railroad commissioner" is a senior official in charge of the railroads. It appears that some polities have commissioners of railroads (like Wisconsin) or where such a "commission" (which is a group of people acting as commissioner; i.e. a group of senior officials) used to exist (the Railroad Commission of Texas used to do what the name on the label states; they only evolved over time to not deal with railroads, but kept the name). Wikipedia does not have an article about railroad commissioner in general; perhaps because that office is not in enough of a widespread use to have a dedicated article under that name; broadly speaking railroads would fall under the remit of transport ministers (or the equivalent title) within any given government. --Jayron32 17:51, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

Hmm... these commissions do seem to be a peculiarly American thing. State Railroad Commissions and How They May be Made Effective has more detail on the subject than you can shake a stick at. A Federal Commissioner of Railroads was appointed in 1881.

In the UK, where railways were invented, they were regulated directly by the Westminster parliament by means of the Railway Acts, there being no Secretary of State for Transport until 1919, when the technology almost a century old. Alansplodge (talk) 18:34, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

According to Railway Regulation Act 1840, the equivalent body would have initially been the "Railways Department of the Board of Trade", which was followed on by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate, which AFAICT, is the essential equivalent of various "Railroad Commissions" or "Office of the Railroad Commissioner" or things like that. --Jayron32 18:53, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

I stand corrected. Thanks. Alansplodge (talk) 20:30, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

The “United States railroad regulation” category [1] might also suggest candidates. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 18:56, 28 April 2022 (UTC)