Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Monroe Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 114

Monroe Railroad

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of Monroe Railroad Company, hereinafter called the carrier, is a single-track standard-gauge steam railroad, located in the north-central part of Georgia. The owned mileage extends northerly from Social Circle to Monroe, Ga., a distance of 10.162 miles. The carrier also owns yard and side tracks totaling 2.468 miles. Its road thus embraces 12.630 miles of all tracks owned.

Corporate History

The carrier was incorporated July 23, 1904, under the general laws of the State of Georgia, for the purpose of acquiring and operating a portion of the railroad formerly owned by Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company, extending from Social Circle to Monroe. The organization of the carrier was perfected August 2, 1904. The carrier is controlled by Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company and Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company, through equal ownership of its outstanding capital stock. Its principal office is located at Augusta. The detail[sic] facts as to the development of the fixed physical property are given in Appendix 2.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The property of the Gainesville, Jefferson, and Southern Railroad Company was sold at foreclosure on July 5, 1904, and, by deed dated the same day, that portion extending from Social Circle to Monroe was conveyed to Jacob Phinizy, who on August 8, 1904, reconveyed the same property to the carrier. The railroad acquired represented the road owned by the carrier on date of valuation. This road was of narrow gauge when acquired, but shortly thereafter the gauge was widened by the Georgia Railroad for account of the carrier. The Georgia Railroad also performed some reconstruction work for the carrier on the road purchased.

Leased Railway Property

The carrier uses in its operations the station and yard facilities of the Georgia Railroad at Social Circle, under an agreement dated July 1, 1915. The accrued rental for the year ending on date of valuation amounted to $2,299.34, of which $279.15 was charged to income and $2,020.19 to operating expenses.

Predecessor Companies

Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company, predecessor of the Carrier

The Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company was incorporated by a special act of the legislature of the State of Georgia on August 23, 1872, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad to be located wholly within the State of Georgia, and to extend from Gainesville, via Jefferson, to a point of connection with the tracks of Georgia Railroad and Banking Company.

The Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company constructed a total of 54.22 miles of railroad. A portion of this road extended from Gainesville to Jefferson, a distance of about 20 miles, and was opened for operation June 1, 1883; the remainder extended from Belmont to Monroe, a distance of 34.22 miles, and was opened for operation March 11, 1884.

The act of incorporation of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company, was amended August 3 and 4, 1881, which gave it the authority to consolidate its property, rights, and franchises with those of connecting lines, and on March 11, 1884, the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company acquired the property, rights, and franchises of the Walton Railroad Company, extending from Social Circle to Monroe, a distance of about 10 miles, in consideration of the exchange at par of the outstanding common stock of the latter, amounting to $18,000, for preferred capital stock of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company and the assumption of the outstanding first-mortgage 6 per cent 30-year bonds of the Walton Railroad Company, maturing January 1, 1910, in the amount of $40,000.

On March 4, 1897, the property of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company was placed in the hands of a receiver, and on July 5, 1904, was sold at foreclosure and was conveyed in two parts, as follows: That portion of the Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company acquired from the Walton Railroad Company was conveyed by deed dated July 5, 1904, to Jacob Phinizy, who, on August 8, 1904, reconveyed the same property to the carrier. That portion of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company which had been constructed by it, extending from Gainesville to Jefferson and from Belmont to Monroe, was conveyed to Messrs. Baldwin and Mackall, by deed dated July 5, 1904, and those parties, on August 1, 1904, reconveyed the same property to the Gainesville Midland Railway.

Owing to the incomplete conditions of the corporate records of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company, and the absence of the accounting records of the receiver, it is impossible to obtain any information from the records of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company, regarding expenditures made for additions and betterments to the property of the Walton Railroad Company while it was owned by the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company.

Walton Railroad Company, predecessor of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company

The Walton Railroad Company was incorporated by a special act of the legislature of the State of Georgia, approved August 27, 1872, amended February 21, 1873, and September 28, 1881, for the purpose of constructing a line of railroad from Social Circle to Monroe, Ga. The road was constructed as a narrow-gauge railroad and extended from Social Circle to Monroe, a distance of about 10 miles. It was opened for operation on September 1, 1880, from which date to its demise it was operated by its own organization.

On March 11, 1884, the property, rights, and franchises of the Walton Railroad Company were conveyed by deed to the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company in consideration of the exchange at par of the outstanding common capital stock of the Walton Railroad Company, amounting to $18,000, for preferred capital stock of the Gainesville, Jefferson,[sic] and Southern Railroad Company and the assumption by the latter of the outstanding first-mortgage 6 per cent 30-year bonds of the Walton Railroad Company, due January 1, 1910, in the amount of $40,000 par value.

On July 5, 1904, that part of the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad Company represented by the Walton Railroad Company was sold at foreclosure and was subsequently reorganized as the carrier. The accounting records of the Walton Railroad Company were not obtainable and it is therefore impossible to state its financial transactions, the result of operations, or the investment and original cost of road and equipment. From the obtainable records of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company and the Georgia Railroad it was ascertained that they advanced $42,675.58 in cash to the Walton Railroad Company for the purpose of constructing its property, but it could not be determined whether or not the Walton Railroad Company used this money for the construction of its road.