When the railways started, the initial rules and laws of passage were based on those commonly used on the roads.   The railway companies provided the track and locomotives, the transporter of the bulk goods provided both the goods and the carrying vehicle.  The result was a large variety of private owner wagons.  With few rules on design except that demanded by the railway gauge and couplings, wagons were mostly specified by agreement between the wagon manufacturer and the transporting customer. Wagons were originally based on an iron or steel frame, with the main bodywork made of wood. These original wagons had no driver operated train brakes and were equipped with independent hand-operated brakes, which could be pinned on steep hills.

The railway companies had no control over the maintenance or design of private owner wagons and many were poorly maintained and crude in construction.  The trucks were expensive to build and many of the wagons were leased from the wagon builder, adding further complexity to maintenance.  This led to frequent delays and breakdowns.

To try to resolve these problems the Railway Clearing House (RCH) introduced minimum standards for private owner wagons in 1887.  Companies that were signed up to the RCH refused to allow wagons that did not meet these standards in their trains.  New and stricter standards were introduced by the RCH in 1909 which required hydraulic buffers and oil-lubricated bearings as well as numerous other details in the construction of the frame, brakes, axles, and suspension that made the RCH's design the basis for virtually every British mineral and goods wagon for the next 30 years. Wagons that complied with the standards carried a plate saying 'RCH'.

The result was a cheap sturdy wagon which when damaged was easily repaired but had a limited life span.  In the 1930’s the change was made to all steel bodies.  In total it has been estimated that over 300,000 of these wagons were built.