Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 97

Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of the Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad Company, herein, called the carrier, extends from Manistique in a northerly direction to Doty, Mich., and with branches is complete within the State of Michigan. At its terminal at Manistique it makes direct connection with the car-ferry slip of the Ann Arbor Railroad Company. It is a standard-gauge single-track railroad of 38.324 miles of first main track, 21.745 miles of branch track, 17.656 miles of sidings, giving 60.069 miles of road and 77.725 miles of all tracks.

Jointly Used Property

The carrier neither owns jointly nor uses jointly property with another carrier. The car-ferry slip at Manistique is owned and used by The Ann Arbor Railroad Company.

Economic Conditions Relating to Traffic

This road was originally built for the purpose of handling the lumber product of the Chicago Lumbering Company. It serves the traversed territory and is also a connecting link between The Ann Arbor Railroad Company and other carriers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Corporate History

The carrier was incorporated July 23, 1909, in Michigan to acquire and operate the railway then owned by the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company. On August 7, 1909, the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company conveyed its property, rights, and franchises to the carrier.

The carrier is the successor of the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company, incorporated January 17, 1908, and sold to the carrier on August 7, 1909; the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company, incorporated April 1, 1902, and conveyed to the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company on March 7, 1908; and the Manistique and Northwestern Railway Company, incorporated May 4, 1891, and sold on May 2, 1902, to the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company.

The carrier was organized by representatives of H. B. Hollins and Company, a private banking house of New York City, which company, together with Eugene Zimmerman et al., also controlled the Ann Arbor Railroad Company. The carrier's capital stock was under agreement dated July 31, 1909, deposited in a voting trust with the Windsor Trust Company, trustee. That company exercised the voting powers, under directions from H. B. Hollins and Company. On November 20, 1911, this agreement was canceled, the capital stock having been transferred to the Ann Arbor Railroad Company. That company controls the carrier through ownership of its capital stock.

Physical Characteristics of Road

The grading is very light. The principal bridges are a truss bridge over the Manistique River and a plate-girder bridge over the Indian River. Ties average about 2,800 per mile and are all softwood. Rail in main track is 60 pound. Ballast is sand and gravel. A small repair shop is located at Manistique.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

Of the mileage operated by the carrier, 54 miles were constructed by the Manistique and Northwestern Railway Company and 6 miles by the carrier.

Predecessor Companies

Manistique and Northern Railroad Company

Corporate History

The Manistique and Northern Railroad Company was incorporated January 17, 1908, in Michigan for the purpose of acquiring and operating the railway formerly owned by the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company.

The Manistique and Northern Railroad Company was organized and controlled by the first-mortgage bondholders of the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company, the previous owner of the property, acting through the Union Trust Company of Detroit, Mich., trustee. The stockholders of the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company deposited their stock, with the exception of the directors' qualifying shares, with the Union Trust Company of Detroit and the Detroit Savings Bank as voting trustees for a period of six years, and thereafter control was exercised by these institutions.

The Manistique and Northern Railroad Company acquired this property on March 7, 1908, from the trustee, but it did not take possession and commence operating the line until July 1, 1908. On August 7, 1909, the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company conveyed its property, rights, and franchises to the carrier, which took over the operations on such date. The current assets and liabilities were not transferred to it until June 30, 1910. The property was subsequently sold by the auditor general of the State of Michigan, in satisfaction of claims for delinquent taxes due the State, and purchased by the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company in order to perfect the title it had previously conveyed to the carrier, again conveyed its interest in the property to that company. The corporation of the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company has been dissolved, notice of dissolution having been filed September 1, 1914.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The owned mileage of the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company, 39 miles of single main track with branches from Scotts and Hiawatha of 11 and 4 miles, respectively, were completed when it was acquired from the trustee. No additional mileage was constructed up to the date the property passed to the carrier.

Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company

Corporate History

The Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company was incorporated April 1, 1902, in Michigan, for the purpose of acquiring and operating the railway of the Manistique and Northwestern Railway Company. Having previously acquired the stock of that company, D. W. Kaufman and Richard R. Matheany controlled the organization of the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company. Matheany was an officer of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway Company, which company exercised control of the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company through ownership of the capital stock. This property was acquired on May 2, 1902. Default in payment of the interest on the first-mortgage bonds resulted in the sale of the property at foreclosure on September 21, 1905, to the Union Trust Company of Detroit, Mich., in the interest of the bondholders. The trustee did not take possession of the property until March 21, 1906. Between that date and June 30, 1908, it operated the property in the interest of the bondholders. On March 7, 1908, the trustee conveyed the property to the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company, a company organized for the purpose of acquiring and operating the line. The purchaser did not take over the operation of the property until July 1, 1908. Trustee transactions and reports follow herein immediately those of the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

All of the owned mileage of the Manistique, Marquette and Northern Railroad Company was completed when it was acquired from the Manistique and Northwestern Railway Company and no additional lines were constructed up to the date the property was conveyed to the Manistique and Northern Railroad Company.

The Manistique and Northwestern Railway Company

Corporate History

The Manistique and Northwestern Railway Company was incorporated May 4, 1891, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad to extend from Manistique in a northwesterly direction to Negaunee and to Ishpeming, Mich., about 80 miles. It was organized in the interest of the Chicago Lumbering Company to handle its products, and that company controlled through stock ownership its construction and operation. The records of this company prior to December 31, 1897, were not located.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The Manistique and Northwestern Railway Company constructed all of the mileage owned by it. It owned and operated about 54 miles of single-track standard-gauge railway, the main line, approximately 39 miles in length, extending from South Manistique in a northerly direction to Shingleton, Mich., with branches in a westerly direction from Scotts and in a northeasterly direction from Hiawatha, about 11 and 4 miles, respectively. The reports of the Commissioner of Railroads of the State of Michigan state that surveys were made in 1892 and 1893, and that about 21 miles of line were graded, and 11 miles of track laid in 1895 and 1896. The main line was completed and opened for operation in August, 1897.