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International Railway Congress (IRC)

This oldpway article explains the International Railway Congress (IRC) and the International Railway Congress Association (IRCA), including what they did, their publications and how they relate to old permanent way.

The International Railway Congress Association (IRCA) was formed in 1885. Its purpose was to facilitate the exchange of information about railway construction, equipment and operation between railway companies throughout the world, and to develop best practices by sharing knowledge.

The IRCA fulfilled its purpose by
(1) publishing monthly bulletins which reported all the latest railway developments
and (2) by holding regular international conferences (called congresses).

The first congress was held in Brussels in 1885. It was attended by the delegates of 19 governments and 131 railway administrations representing 31,500 miles. The 1937 congress was held in Paris. By then the IRCA had a membership of about 126 European railways, 28 in Asia and Australasia, 24 in Africa, and 25 in the Americas, and the railway administrations controlled the operation of nearly 319,000 miles of railway.

At each congress a set of questions to be discussed were agreed in advance. The questions came under five sections:
(1) way and works,
(2) locomotives and rolling-stock,
(3) working,
(4) general,
(5) light railways.

For each question one or more "reporters" were appointed. It was their responsibility to circulate questionnaires to all railways prior to the congress and to compile a report containing the answers, together with a summary and comments. These reports therefore provide detailed contemporary records of railway design and practice, including of permanent way design when the question dealt with that. These reports were published in the IRCA bulletins ahead of the congress and then were presented and discussed at length at the congress. The discussion at the congress led to recommendations for best practice, which enabled railways to develop in the best way. The congress proceedings were published in full and bulletins after the congress also reported the discussions and recommendations.

The IRC reports included information from railways in Britain, Europe, India, Australia and America, so they recorded design used throughout the world.

The congresses were initially held every 3 years, but then became 5 yearly and eventually about 4 yearly. The congresses held from 1885 to 2001 were as follows.

CongressDateLocation
1st8-15 August 1885Brussels, Belgium
2nd17-24 September 1887Milan, Italy
3rd14-23 September 1889Paris, France
4thAugust-September 1892St.Petersburg, Russia
5thJune-July 1895London, Great Britain
6thSeptember-October 1900Paris, France
7th3-14 May 1905Washington, USA
8thJuly 1910Bern, Switzerland
9thApril 1922Rome, Italy
10thJune 1925London, Great Britain
11thMay 1930Madrid, Spain
12thJanuary 1933Cairo, Egypt
13th31 May - 11 June 1937Paris, France
14th27-28 June 1947Lucerne, Switzerland
15th25 September - 4 October 1950Rome, Italy
16th26-29 May 1954London, Great Britain
17th29 September - 7 October 1958Madrid, Spain
18th(22?) June 1962Munich, Germany
19th(11?) June 1966Paris, France
20th17-22 May 1971London, Great Britain (IRCA/UIC Congress)
21st(15?) September 1975Bologna, Italy (IRCA/UIC Congress)
22nd7-12 May 1979Stockholm, Sweden (IRCA/UIC Congress)
23rd27 September - 1 October 1982Malaga, Spain (IRCA/UIC Congress)
24th6-10 May 1985Brussels, Belgium (IRCA/UIC Congress)
25th22-26 May 1989Moscow, Russia (IRCA/UIC Congress)
26th6-10 September 1993Lisbon, Portugal (IRCA/UIC World Railway Congress)
27th6-10 October 1997Marrakech, Morocco (IRCA/UIC World Railway Congress)
28th25-28 September 2001Vienna, Austria (IRCA-UIC-ECMT World Railway Congress)

It was decided in 1968 that, because most members of the IRCA were also members of the UIC (International Union of Railways, which had been founded in 1922), the congress would henceforth be organised jointly by the IRCA and the UIC. The 20th (1971) and following congresses were therefore named "IRCA/UIC Congress". From the 26th (1993) congress they were named "IRCA/UIC World Railway Congress". The 28th (2001) World Railway Congress was held jointly with the ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of Transport). The ECMT had been established in 1953 as a result of work by the OEEC (Organisation for European Economic Co-operation) which implemented the Marshall plan by which the USA gave aid to European countries following the end of the second world war.

The IRCA monthly bulletins were discontinued at the end of 1969. They were replaced by “Rail International – Schienen der Welt”, published jointly by the IRCA and UIC, which merged (1) the IRCA monthly bulletin, (2) the IRCA monthly bulletin "Cybernetics and electronics on the railways", (3) the International Union of Railways bulletin, and (4) the International Union of Railways Office for Research and Experiments bulletin.

For information about old permanent way, the publications that are useful are the monthly bulletins of the IRCA and the International Railway Congress Proceedings (which were published in summary form and as full proceedings). There are also separate printings of some individual papers.

All IRCA publications were published by "P.Weissenbruch" in Brussels. Initially the monthly bulletins and conference proceedings were only published in French. The bulletins were published in both French and English editions from 1896 onwards. The conference proceedings were published in both French and English editions from the fifth congress (in 1895) onwards. The conference proceedings were normally published in the year following the congress. For example, the sixth congress was held in 1900 and the proceedings were published in 1901. Note that these publications are many hundreds of pages long, and some are a few thousand pages spread over a number of volumes.

The items which are of most interest relating to old permanent way design, in the years 1885 to 1910, are as follows. More details of these items will be put on the oldpway guide page (when time permits). These qustions are all in section 1, way and works, unless otherwise stated. Note that all IRC work for the 1885 to 1892 congresses was done in French and only published in French (but English translations of the titles are given here).

  • Question I at 1st 1885 congress, "Types of iron permanent way" (metal sleepers).
  • Question I at 2nd 1887 congress, "Metal sleepers".
  • Question VI at 2nd 1887 congress, "Heavily used permanent way".
  • Question I-A at 3rd 1889 congress, "Metal properties for rails and fittings".
  • Question I-B at 3rd 1889 congress, "Wear of steel rails".
  • Question II-A at 3rd 1889 congress, "Comparison of chaired (double-headed) rail to flat-bottom (Vignoles) rail".
  • Question II-B at 3rd 1889 congress, "Attachment of Vignoles (flat-bottom) rail to wooden sleepers".
  • Question II-C at 3rd 1889 congress, "Fishplating".
  • Question II-D at 3rd 1889 congress, "Permanent way for fast trains".
  • Question III at 3rd 1889 congress, "Permanent way on metal bridges".
  • Question IV at 3rd 1889 congress, "Operation of points at a distance".
  • Question V at 3rd 1889 congress, "Exchange of carriages between two parallel tracks".
  • Question III at 4th 1892 congress, "Permanent way maintenance".
  • Question IV at 4th 1892 congress, "Levelling and lining of track".
  • Question V-A at 4th 1892 congress, "Interaction of permanent way and rolling stock". Annexe 9 (page V-A/258+) has historical rail sections and note 1 (page V-A/267+) has fishplate and fixing drawings, for some European railways.
  • Question VI at 4th 1892 congress, "Permanent way for fast trains". In English, report by Sir George Findlay, London and North Western Railway.
  • Question VIII-A at 4th 1892 congress, "Rail material and wear".
  • Question VIII-B at 4th 1892 congress, "Comparison of metal and wooden sleepers".
  • Question VIII-C at 4th 1892 congress, "Preservation of wooden sleepers".
  • Question I at 5th 1895 congress, "Strengthening of permanent way in view of increased speed of trains". The report on British, Colonial and USA railways for this is by William Hunt and includes drawings and details of permanent way (including rails, joints and sleeper spacings) used by many British railways. See Hunt_1895 and Hunt_1895_drawings.
  • Question II at 5th 1895 congress, "Place in permanent way requiring special attention".
  • Question III at 5th 1895 congress, "Junctions".
  • Question I at 6th 1900 congress, "Nature of the metal for rails".
  • Question II at 6th 1900 congress, "Rail joints".
  • Question III at 6th 1900 congress, "Points and crossings". See Worthington_1900 and Worthington_1900_drawings.
  • Question IV at 6th 1900 congress, "Maintenance of way on lines with heavy traffic".
  • Question VII at 6th 1900 congress, "Transition from a rising to a falling gradient".
  • Question VIII at 6th 1900 congress, "Preservation of timber".
  • Question IX at 6th 1900 congress, "Ballast".
  • Question X at 6th 1900 congress, "Creeping of rails".
  • Question I at 7th 1905 congress, "Wooden sleepers or crossties".
  • Question II at 7th 1905 congress, "Rails for lines with fast trains".
  • Question III at 7th 1905 congress, "Improved rail crossings (frogs)".
  • Question I at 8th 1910 congress, "Rail joints".
  • Question II at 8th 1910 congress, "Strengthening the track and the bridges with a view to increasing the weight of locomotives and the speed of trains".
  • Question III at 8th 1910 congress, "Junctions and swing bridges. Elimination of slacking".
  • Question IV at 8th 1910 congress, "Long railway tunnels. Construction, ventilation and operation".
  • Question X (in section 3, working) at 8th 1910 congress, "Operation of switches and signals".

    • The IRCA publications (and related material) of which oldpway currently has copies are as follows. When possible all permanent way information from these publications will be put on oldpway.info.

  • Full IRC proceedings, in French, (Compte Rendu General), for:
    1st 1885 congress (2 vols), 2nd 1887 congress (3 vols), 3rd 1889 congress (3 vols), 4th 1892 congress (3 vols), 5th 1895 congress (vol 1 only, dealing with questions I to IV, in section 1, way and works), 6th 1900 congress (3 vols).
  • Summary IRC proceedings, in French, (Compte Rendu Sommaire), for:
    7th 1905 congress (1 vol).
  • Full IRC proceedings, in English, for:
    5th 1895 congress (4 vols), 7th 1905 congress (vol 2 only, dealing with questions V to VIII in section 2, locomotives and rolling stock, and questions IX to XII in section 3, working), 8th 1910 congress (vol 2 only, dealing with questions V to VIII in section 2, locomotives and rolling stock).
  • Separate printing, in English, but without drawings, of report by William Hunt on "Strengthening of Permanent Way in View of Increased Speed of Trains" for question I of section 1 (way and works) of 5th 1895 congress.
  • Report to Australian government on the IRC held in London in 1895.
  • Monthly IRCA bulletins, in French:
    Vol XXVI, 1912, Jan to Dec and bibliography of railways;
  • Monthly IRCA bulletins, in English:
    Vol XIII, 1899, Jan to Dec and bibliography of railways; Vol XIV, 1900, Jan to Jun; Vol XVI, 1902, Jan to Dec; Vol XVII, 1903, Jan to Dec; Vol XVIII, 1904, Jan to Dec; Vol XIX, 1905, Jan to Dec; Vol XX, 1906, Jan to Dec; Vol XXI, 1907, Jan to Dec; Vol XXV, 1911, Jan to Dec; Vol XXVI, 1912, Jan to Dec; Vol XXVII, 1913, Jan to Dec; Vol XXVIII, 1914, Jan to Jul.

    • Some convenient library holdings of IRCA publications are as follows.

    National Railway Museum (Search Engine library), holds at least:

  • Full IRC proceedings, in French, (Compte Rendu General), for:
    3rd 1889 congress (3 vols, record 21221618500001381), 4th 1892 congress (4 vols, record 21221618410001381).
  • Full IRC proceedings, in English, for:
    5th 1895 congress (4 vols, record 21221616820001381), 6th 1900 congress (6 vols, record 21221615970001381), 8th 1910 congress (3 vols, record 21221615710001381), 9th 1922 congress (1 vol, record 21221615270001381),
  • Monthly IRCA bulletins, in English:
    All years from 1900 to 1912, 1919 to 1940, 1946 to 1969 (record 21192802220001381).

    • British Library, holds at least:

  • Full IRC proceedings, in French, (Compte Rendu General), for:
    1st 1885 congress, 2nd 1887 congress, 3rd 1889 congress, 4th 1892 congress, 6th 1900 congress.
  • Full IRC proceedings, in English, for:
    5th 1895 congress, 7th 1905 congress, 8th 1910 congress.
  • Monthly IRCA bulletins, in English:
    Years 1896, 1910 to 1914, 1919 to 1940, 1946 to 1969.

    • National Archives, holds at least:

  • Full IRC proceedings, in French, (Compte Rendu General), for:
    4th 1892 congress, vol 3 only, RAIL 1023/2.
  • Full IRC proceedings, in English, for:
    5th 1895 congress (4 vols, RAIL 1023/5 to 1023/8), 6th 1900 congress (7 vols, RAIL 1023/12 to 1023/18), 7th 1905 congress (3 vols, RAIL 1023/20 to 1023/22), 8th 1910 congress (3 vols, RAIL 1023/24 to 1023/26), 9th 1922 congress (2 vols, RAIL 1023/27 to 1023/28).
  • Monthly IRCA bulletins, in English:
    Years 1896 to 1914, 1920 to 1940, 1946 to 1966, RAIL 1024/1 to 1024/69.

    • Cambridge University Library, holds:

  • Monthly IRCA bulletins, in English:
    Years 1896 to 1969 (probably all published bulletins), URL link, on UL open shelves South Front floor 6, classmark P426.c.11, 72 items.

    • National Library of Scotland, holds:

  • Monthly IRCA bulletins, in English:
    March 1896 to Dec 1905, titled as "Bulletin of the International Railway Congress", BRN 2744603, shelfmark Q.77 PER.
    Jan 1906 to July 1914, titled as "Bulletin of the International Railway Congress Association", BRN 2744609, shelfmark Q.77 PER.
    Jan 1921 to July 1922, indexed as "Bulletin of the International Railway Association", BRN 2744611, shelfmark Q.77 PER.
    Aug 1922 to Dec 1929, titled as "Bulletin of the International Railway Congress Association", BRN 2744612, shelfmark Q.77 PER.
    Jan 1930 to Dec 1969 (June 1940 to April 1946 were not published), indexed as "Monthly bulletin of the International Railway Congress Association", BRN 2744613, shelfmark Q.77 PER.

    • Some volumes of some IRCA publications can be read on-line on www.archive.org, including at the following links:

  • Full IRC proceedings, in French, (Compte Rendu General), for:
    1st 1885 congress Vol.1, 2nd 1887 congress Vol.1 Vol.2 Vol.3 (vol.1 is wrongly indexed as 1906!), 3rd 1889 congress Vol.1 Vol.3, 4th 1892 congress Vol.1, 5th 1895 congress Vol.1, Vol.2 Vol.3.
  • Full IRC proceedings, in English, for:
    5th 1895 congress Vol.1.

    • For another list of publications by the IRCA, and where they are held, see WorldCat IRCA publications list. But this webpage does not include the conference proceedings, presumably as these are listed as not having IRCA as the author. More recent IRC proceedings were published by the "Railway Gazette".

    For more information about the IRCA, it may be useful to look at the 1935 book "The Centenary of the European railways and fifty years activity of the International Railway Congress Association: notes and remembrances" as listed on the WorldCat link above.

    In 1980, the IRCA membership included 85 railways, 30 governments and 16 organisations, and the mission statement of the IRCA was as follows:

    The IRCA aims to encourage the development of railway transport by intensifying exchanges of experience between its members through all necessary means, notably:

  • By holding regular congresses and other meetings with more restricted participation, either of a general or a specialised nature;
  • By communicating information on particular problems to its members;
  • By publishing technical reviews.

    • These activities are conducted in closest possible cooperation with other international railway organisations.

    The IRCA is open to railways more than 100km in length, to countries and to various railway authorities. It is based in Brussels in Belgium.

    The essential activity of the IRCA is the organisation, in principle every four years, of a congress to review the situation in the different fields of railway activity. The congresses have an informative capacity.

    The official publications are now the review “Rail International – Schienen der Welt” and the “Summary of International Railway Documentation”, and both of these are now published jointly by the IRCA and UIC.