The railway leadership can be unpacked into an array of things, though: being a Person of Some Importance, having your own Laboratory at the University, former incarceration at New Newgate... Although there are admittedly fewer certainties than I'd initially assumed. I don't recall off the top of my head just how many trips to the Laboratory are required across the Railway story, but if it's three or less you might be able to completely skip everything related to A Name in Seven Secret Alphabets (e.g. the Forgotten Quarter's expeditions), courtesy of the Once-Dashing Smuggler.