Because the British Parliament had to pass legislation approving each new railway scheme, the railway bills passed by Parliament provide an amusing analogy to the IPOs of the dot-com period. Forty-eight railway acts were passed by Parliament in 1844, and 120 in 1845. At the height of the mania, the capital required to fund these schemes came to £100 million, and by 1847, investment in the railways represented 6.7% of all national income.76
