History
The body originated in 1840, as a result of the Railway Regulation Act 1840, when Inspecting Officers of Railways were first appointed by the Board of Trade (BoT). Britain's railways at that time were large monopolistic private companies, so the BoT was concerned with competition and the safety of the public. The Railway Inspectorate was formed to investigate accidents reported by the companies to the Board of Trade, and report their findings to Parliament. They were also tasked with inspecting new lines, and commenting on their suitability for carrying passenger traffic. Their reports were published and so made available to everyone. Their first investigation concerned the derailment of a train caused by the fall of a large casting from a wagon on a passenger train. The Howden rail crash on 7 August 1840 killed four passengers. Other important investigations included the public inquiries into the Shipton-on-Cherwell train crash in 1874, and the Tay rail bridge disaster of 1879. The then Chief Inspector, William Yolland chaired the first, and was a member of the board in the second.
The Chief Inspecting Officer from 1916 to 1929 was Colonel John Wallace Pringle, responsible for investigating many accidents. It was during his tenure, in 1919, that the office became part of the newly created Ministry of Transport. Until the late 1960s HMRI's Inspecting Officers were all recruited from the Corps of Royal Engineers; as the Corps ran the UK's military railway system and they would be very familiar with the Railway Rule Book. The last Chief Inspecting Officer with a Royal Engineers background, Major Rose, retired in 1988 and he was replaced by an appointee from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Since then, Inspecting Officers have been recruited from the HSE or as mid-career railway employees from the former British Rail.
Read more about this topic: Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate
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