Many documents relating to railways can be found in the Baring Archive and can be accessed via our Digitised Collections.
Prospectuses
Prospectuses relating to railway issues can be accessed via the Baring Archive’s prospectus database. A search for “rail” retrieves prospectuses for issues of securities for railways in the UK, USA, Canada, France, India, Argentina, Georgia and Russia dating from 1868 to 1939.
Many of the prospectuses contain maps such as that for the 1881 issue by the Bengal Central Railway. The Bengal Central Railway prospectus also sought to highlight some of the potential benefits of the new line including the opening up of numerous important trade centres that up until then had been difficult to reach.
Another interesting map can be found in the prospectus for the 1930 issue for the London Electric Railway Company Ltd. The funds were to be used to extend the Piccadilly Line and carry out several other improvements to stations and interchanges and the prospectus map shows the proposed changes extending the Piccadilly Line northwards from Finsbury Park to Cockfosters, and westwards from Hammersmith to Northfields.
Maps and Plans
Many of the railway maps and plans in other parts of the archive have been digitised and are accessible via our Digitised Collections.
One example is a plan of the Southern Mahratta Railway relating to an issue made in 1886. Barings participated in this issue of 1.2 million 4% bonds guaranteed by the Secretary of State for India.
Also digitised is a map of the Seoul-Pusan Railway printed in around 1900. At this time the Seoul-Pusan Railway was reviewing its financial situation and the map was produced for the information of potential financial partners. Barings gathered a range of information via their agent Colonel Sir William Bisset as they considered the proposals.
Barings were also closely involved in the financial affairs of the Iron Mountain Railroad, which ran south from St Louis in Missouri. The maps shows a stop called Baring Cross, which can be found just north of Little Rock.
Security certificates
Banks often held share certificates for safe keeping on behalf of clients. An example of a certificate relating to railways is this 1894 certificate for 960 shares in the Ecuador National Railway. This railway was begun in 1861 and was devised to connect the Andean highlands of Ecuador with its Pacific coast.
Also in the archive are many examples of bonds issued for railway companies such as the bond for the PLM Railway Company issued in 1922.
Correspondence
Of course these issues for railway companies generated a lot of correspondence. Detailed descriptions of these letters can be found in the archive’s House Correspondence and outgoing correspondence can be found in the Letterbook series. The Archive’s correspondence relating to Latin America has been digitised and is available online and we are currently working to make our North American papers accessible online.