The Railway Benefit Fund

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The railway charity was formed as the Railway Benevolent Institution in 1858 to provide support to railway staff (active and retired) and their dependents when they needed help through illness, injury, bereavement, or adversity. It also ran two orphanages for children of railway families.

The RBF offers financial help in the following ways:

Helping disabled people with the costs of powered vehicles and making life easier for them by providing mobility aids.

Providing grants to staff who are suffering long term sickness or who have had to retire early through ill health and also to retired staff or their dependents.

Helping with the cost of a convalescent or respite break following an operation or period of illness.

Help with the cost of household repairs or maintenance, especially where there is a shortfall in any grant funding to be found.

Covering the shortfalls in funeral expenses.

Child Care grants to help with the costs of higher education, equipment, school clothing etc. for parents with financial problems.

Annuities where there is a low income.

Over the years the needs of the industry have changed, and to reflect this, from February 2006 the charity was known as The Railway Benefit Fund. In 2014 the charity modernised once again with a shorter name RBF and a new strapline supporting railway people. At the same time, the charity went through a full rebrand.

The charity’s grants and support amounted to almost £325,000 in 2010, and supported over 560 people. Grants range in value from hundreds of pounds to quite small amounts – RBF is a charity where even small amounts of money can make an enormous difference to the lives of people for whom events have taken a difficult turn.

The National Archives

Administrative/biographical background (The National Archives Catalogue for RAIL 1166)

The Institution was founded in May 1858, as a result of a resolution put to a meeting of railway clerks on 5 March 1858 at Camden Town, Middlesex, held for the purpose of establishing a fund for the support of widows and orphans of railway salaried officers. The provisional committee, appointed at this meeting, formulated a set of rules which confined benefits to destitute orphans and to the children of needy railway officers, and to money grants made to the widows of qualified members of salaried officers employed on the railways, these being secretaries, managers, superintendents, engineers, accountants, clerks, etc., those in other posts such as porter, guard and engine driver being included later. A board of management was also later elected on 8 May 1858. Although railway employees paid a subscription to belong to the Institution, it relied very heavily upon public support.

In 1880 the Special Benevolent Fund was raised to relieve cases of distress amongst officers and servants, whether members of the Institution or not, and the widows and orphans of those killed in the performance of their duties.

The Institution is now a registered charity and was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1949.