Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Colorado and Wyoming Railway

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 130

Colorado & Wyoming Railway

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of The Colorado & Wyoming Railway Company, hereinafter called the carrier, consists of several disconnected sections of single-track, standard-gauge, steam railroad, located in southern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming. The property in Colorado consists of a main line extending southwesterly from Jansen to Tercio, a distance of 31.093 miles; branch lines from Primero Junction to Primero and from Sopris to Piedmont Mine, and a large yard and terminal facilities at Minnequa. The property in Wyoming consists of a main line extending northeasterly from Hartville Junction to Sunrise, a distance of 14.391 miles. The total owned and used road aggregates 49.356 miles. The carrier has trackage rights over about 4.23 miles of road of other carriers in Colorado, part of which affords access to Trinidad, Colo.

In addition to the foregoing mileage, the carrier owns but does not use 1.699 miles of road between Hezron Junction and Hezron, Colo., that is leased to The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company. It also owns but does not use certain standard-gauge yard tracks at Tobasco, Colo., which it leases to The Colorado and Southern Railway Company; and certain narrow-gauge yard tracks, with a third rail to permit the operation of standard-gauge equipment, at Minnequa, Colo., which it leases to The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, a noncarrier. The carrier owns and uses 163.608 miles of all tracks which are standard gauge; and owns but does not use 12.141 miles of all tracks, of which 5.409 miles is standard gauge and 6.732 miles is narrow gauge. These tracks, consisting of first main tracks and yard tracks and sidings, are classified in the trackage table in Appendix 1.

The carrier is an industrial railroad. About 90 per cent of its revenue tonnage consists of coal, coke, and ores, and the principal industry served is The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, which controls the railroad.

Introductory

The carrier is a corporation of the State of Colorado, having its principal office at Denver, Colo. It is controlled by The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company through ownership of the entire capital stock. On the other hand, the records reviewed do not indicate that the carrier itself controls any common-carrier corporation. The property of the carrier has been operated by its own organization during its entire life.

Corporate History

The carrier was incorporated May 9, 1899, under the general laws of the State of Colorado for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad extending from Pueblo, Colo., to Hartville, Wyo. By an amendment to its articles of incorporation, dated October 5, 1899, its purpose of incorporation was amended to include the right to extend from Hartville, Wyo., to Sunrise, Colo., and from Pueblo, Colo., southerly to a point near the source of the Las Animas or Purgatory River in the State of Colorado. The date of its organization was May 10, 1899.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The owned main-line mileage of the carrier, amounting to 51.055 miles, was acquired partly by purchase and partly by construction as indicated in the statement following.

		Recorded mileage
Acquired by construction:
Hartville Junction to Sunrise, Wyo., 1899-1900	14.393
Primero Junction to Primero, Colo., 1901-2	3.048
Piedmont branch, 1902	0.824
Hezron branch, 1903	1.699
Tercio to Cuarto, Colo., 1903	2.980
		22.944
Acquired by purchase from The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, 1903, over tracks at Sopris, Colo.	[.054]
Acquired partly by purchase and partly by construction, Jansen to Tercio, Colo., constructed 1900-2; part of line was destroyed in 1902, and about 3,100 feet of railroad purchased in 1901 from The Colorado and Southern Railway Company was partly rebuilt and used to replace line destroyed		29.306
Total of above		52.304
Abandoned Cuarto, Colo., to end of track near Tercio, Colo., 1903		1.260
Total recorded mileage		51.044
Difference between total recorded mileage and mileage inventoried as of date of valuation		0.011
Mileage inventoried as of date of valuation		51.055

In addition to the above main-line mileage and the yard and side tracks appurtenant thereto, the carrier owns certain yard and side tracks at Tobasco and Minnequa, Colo., which were acquired by purchase about 1902 from The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company. In the construction of the line from Hartville Junction to Sunrise, Wyo., the clearing, grading, masonry, bridging, tracklaying, and surfacing were all performed under contract by J. R. DeRemer. In the construction of the original line from Jansen to Tercio, Colo., the clearing and grading were performed under contract by Orman & Crock. Tracklaying and surfacing were performed by the carrier's own forces. On the portion of this line which was replaced, the grading was performed under contract by Clough and Anderson, the bridge abutments and piers were built under contract by E. K. Gaynor, and the bridge spans were erected by the American Bridge Company. In the construction of the Piedmont branch, the grading was performed under contract by W. C. Whitescarver and the other construction work was performed by the company's own forces. In the construction of the Hezron branch, the grading was performed under contract by Bell & Levy and the other construction work was performed by the carrier's own forces. In the construction of the line from Tercio to Cuarto, Colo., the clearing and grading was performed under contract by DeRemer & Olsen.

Leased Railway Property

The carrier uses on date of valuation facilities owned by other companies and other companies use facilities owned by the carrier to the extent indicated in the statement below. The rentals accrued and charged or credited to income, for each of the facilities, for the year ending on date of valuation has not been ascertained. The description of the property and the period and terms of use follow.

• Solely owned but exclusively used by others:
  • Used by—
    • The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company, tracks, 1.699 miles, Hezron to Hezron Junction, Colo.; period of use not ascertained; use granted in consideration of maintenance.
    • The Colorado and Southern Railway Company, yard tracks and sidings at Tobasco, Colo.; verbal agreement, The Colorado and Southern Railway Company maintains; no rental charged.
    • The Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, yard tracks at Minnequa, Colo.; period and terms of use not ascertained.
• Solely owned but jointly used:
  • Used with—
    • The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company—
      • Tracks, 4.30 miles, from Jansen to Longs Junction, Colo.; indefinite period from Oct. 1, 1906; rental $ 0.50 per engine or train-mile.
      • Station facilities at Longsdale, Colo.; period of use not ascertained, The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company pays one half station agent's salary.
    • The Colorado and Southern Railway Company—
      • Tracks, 0.36 mile, Longs Junction to Longsdale, Colo.; indefinite period from Apr. 17, 1911, use granted in exchange for use of 2.11 miles of track, Longs Junction to Sopris, Colo., and use of station facilities at Sopris, Colo.
      • Tracks at Sopris, Colo.; period of use not ascertained; The Colorado and Southern Railway Company maintains; no rental charged.
    • The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, yard tracks at Jansen, Colo.; indefinite period from May 1, 1904; annual rental 1⅔ per cent on an agreed valuation of $51,991.41, plus ⅓ of taxes and a proportion of operating expenses based on wheelage.
• Jointly used, but not owned:
  • Owned by—
    • The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company—
      • Tracks, 2.12 miles from Jansen to Trinidad, Colo.; indefinite period from May 1, 1902; rental $0.50 per engine or train-mile and 25 per cent of revenue received from local traffic.
      • Station facilities at Jansen, Colo.; period of use not ascertained; annual rental 1⅔ per cent of an agreed valuation, not ascertained, and one-third operating expenses and taxes.
      • Station facilities at Trinidad, Colo.; indefinite period from May 1, 1904; annual rental 5 per cent of one-third of an agreed valuation of $4,968.27.
    • The Colorado and Southern Railway Company, tracks 2.11 miles, Sopris to Longs Junction, Colo., and station facilities at Sopris, Colo.; indefinite period from April 17, 1911; use granted in exchange for use of tracks Longs Junction to Longsdale, Colo., owned by the Colorado & Wyoming Railway.
    • Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, yard tracks and station facilities at Guernsey, Wyo.; indefinite period from Dec. 1, 1900; annual rental $1,000.

In addition to the above-mentioned facilities the carrier uses on date of valuation equipment owned by another company and other companies use its equipment to the extent indicated in the paragraph devoted to cost of machinery and equipment in the section on original cost to date. The terms of such use and the amounts charged or credited to income account for the year ending on date of valuation has not been ascertained.