Railways were called 'Common Carriers' meaning that they  moved almost every type of freight, from heavy loads to fragile goods.

This is an example of a wagon label issued by the LNER for the movement of a consignment of dangerous goods. This one would have been used for chemicals. The label would have been affixed to the wagon sides. A vast quantity of freght was moved by rail, all of which required administration both of the consignment and of the movement of wagons - especially where these were moved  across different railway company networks.