Its board of directors included ten members led by Sir Alfred Dent G A Ollard, of Smiles and Co Solicitors, was Manager in London, T E Webb was Secretary, with Clinton Dawkins and William Davies (nephew of W.R. Grace and of Grace Brothers - Callao) as the first representatives in Peru.
The company was formed with the purpose of canceling Peru's external debt and to release its government from loans it had taken out through bondholders at three times (in 1869, 1870, 1872), in order to finance the construction of railways.
In London a group formed the Peruvian Corporation to try to resolve the issues and recoup invested money.
Moves to address the Peruvian financial crisis included the Elias-Castellon and Irigoyen-Delgado-Donoughmore protocols, that were formalized by 1890.
Consequently, the diplomatic representatives of these countries in Peru sought proper interest in the welfare of their nationals, the bondholders.
Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles del Peru (ENAFER) was formed in 1972, and was taken over by the Government at the end of that year.