Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 26

Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway Company, herein called the Missabe, is a standard-gage steam railroad, nearly one-half of which is double track, located in the northeastern part of Minnesota. The owned mileage consists of one main line extending northwesterly from Missabe Junction in Duluth, to Mountain Iron, a distance of about 72 miles, and numerous branches from the main line, of which the longest extends northwesterly from Coleraine Junction to Coleraine, a distance of about 63 miles. Most of the branches are located near the northerly part of the main line, many of them extending short distances to mines and industries. The lines used under lease extend from Adolph, Minn., to South Itasca, Wis., both of which points are in the vicinity of Duluth, Minn. The Missabe owns 261.596 miles of road, all of which it uses. It also wholly uses 24.959 miles of road owned by its lessors and described in the paragraphs below.

The railroad of Spirit Lake Transfer Railway Company, herein called the Spirit Lake, which is leased to and operated by the Missabe, is a single-track line in Minnesota, extending southerly from Adolph, near Duluth, Minn., to the St. Louis River Bridge, a distance of 14.675 miles.

The railroad of Interstate Transfer Railway Company, herein called the Interstate, likewise leased to and operated by the Missabe, is a single-track line in Wisconsin, extending easterly from the St. Louis River Bridge to South Itasca, Wis., a distance of 10.284 miles.

The Missabe wholly owns and uses 645.350 miles of all tracks, and wholly uses but does not own 41.570 miles of all tracks. These tracks, consisting of first main track, other main tracks, and yard tracks and sidings, are classified in the trackage table in Appendix 1.

Introductory

The Missabe is a corporation of the State of Minnesota, having its principal office at Duluth, Minn. It is controlled by the United States Steel Corporation through ownership of the entire capital stock. On the other hand, the Missabe does not control any common-carrier corporation. The property of this company has been operated by its own organization from the respective dates that sections of its road were acquired, until December 31, 1917. On January 1, 1918, its common-carrier property was taken over for operation by the United States Railroad Administration, which operates it on date of valuation.

Corporate History

The Missabe was incorporated June 12, 1891, under the general laws of the State of Minnesota, for the purpose of owning and operating a railroad to extend from Lake Superior, St. Louis Bay, or St. Louis River, or from a connection with a railroad touching these waters, to a point on the northern boundary of Minnesota, with branches.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The owned mileage of the Missabe, amounting to 261.596 miles, was all acquired by construction, as follows:

	Mileage
Stony Brook to Mountain Iron, 1891-1892.	48
Wolf to Virginia, 1892.	6
Iron Junction to Biwabik, 1892-1893.	15
Missabe Junction (Duluth) to Culvert, 1893.	31
Wolf to Hibbing, 1893.	17
Spruce to Eveleth, 1894.	3
Wilpen to Chisholm, 1902-1903.	5
Keenan to Sherwood, 1905.	8
Alborn to Coleraine, 1905-1906.	54
Sherwood to Sharon, 1910-1911.	4
Hull Junction to Hull Rust Yard (near Hibbing), 1911.	18
Branches and spurs to mines.	51
Total recorded mileage.	260
Difference between total recorded mileage and mileage inventoried as of date of valuation.	1.596
Mileage inventoried as of date of valuation.	261.596

Contracts were made with Donald Grant, an independent contractor, for the construction of the 48 miles of road extending from Stony Brook to Mountain Iron and the 15 miles extending from Iron Junction to Biwabik. Grant sublet the contracts to a copartnership, in which he held a one-fifth interest, and the copartnership performed the construction work. The 6 miles of road extending from Wolf to Virginia was constructed under contract by John Grant, an independent contractor, and 53 miles of road extending from Alborn to Bovey was constructed under contract by the Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines, an affiliated company which then controlled the Missabe. The remainder of the road mileage was constructed by the Missabe's own forces or under its supervision.

Lessors

• Interstate
• Spirit Lake

Leased Railway Property

The Missabe had, on December 31, 1917, certain arrangements with other companies, covering the sole or joint use by either of road or other facilities of the other. The description of the property, the period and terms of use, and the rentals accrued under these arrangements and charged or credited to income for the year ended December 31, 1917, are as follows:

	Rentals
Solely owned, but jointly used, used with—
Duluth & Iron Range Rail Road Company—
Tracks, 10.06 miles, at Eveleth, Minn.; agreement not written; annual rental equals 6 per cent on agreed valuation, and the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad Company maintains the tracks during the ore season.	$9,147.70
Tracks, 6.51 miles, at Biwabik, Minn.; agreement not written; same terms as for 10.06 miles at Eveleth.	5,001.71
Tracks and depot at Sparta, Minn.; terms of joint use not ascertained.	161.00
Minnesota Steel Company—
Tracks at Stulton, Minn.; terms of joint use not ascertained.	1,710.00
Solely used, but not owned, leased from—
Spirit Lake—
Entire property; leased for 99 years from Aug. 1, 1915; annual rental to equal 5 per cent of valuation reduced by $500,000, plus 7 per cent on lessor's outstanding capital stock of $500,000 par value, plus $1,000 for maintenance of lessor's investment organization. The lessee also agreed to pay the taxes.	94,011.71
Interstate—
Entire property; leased for 99 years from Aug. 1, 1915; same rental as for property leased from the Spirit Lake Transfer Railway Company.	86,568.60
Jointly used, but not owned, owned by—
Northern Pacific Railway Company—
Tracks, 5.83 miles, in Duluth, Minn.; 15 years from Jan. 20, 1913; annual rental amounts to $12,250, plus 3½ per cent on value of additions and betterments.	14,653.82
Freight depot at Duluth, Minn.; three months' notice after Sept. 1, 1909; rental on basis of use.	13,002.72
Tracks, 1.60 miles, from Missabe Junction to union depot, Duluth, Minn.; 99 years from Oct. 2, 1894; rental amounts to 1 per cent on $120,000 for one passenger train each day each way, or 2 per cent for more than one passenger train each way each day.	2,694.07
Tracks in Duluth, Minn.; monthly rental and maintenance amounts to $100.	200.04
Roundhouse at Duluth, Minn.	337.03
The Duluth Union Depot and Transfer Company—
Union depot and 0.30 of a mile of tracks at Duluth, Minn.; 99 years from July 15, 1893; annual rental amounts to a proportion, based on cars in and out, of 5 per cent on $600,000, plus same proportion of maintenance and operating expenses.	7,043.17
Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company—
Freight depot, Duluth, Minn.; 5 years from Apr. 15, 1916; annual rental equal to 3 per cent on valuation.	1,028.76
Duluth & Iron Range Rail Road Company—
Depot at Petit, Minn.	60.00