Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Stony Brook Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 30

Stony Brook Rail-road

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of Stony Brook Rail-road Corporation, herein referred to as the Stony Brook Railroad, is a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, lying wholly within the State of Massachusetts and extending from North Chelmsford to Ayer (formerly Groton Junction), 13.254 miles. The Stony Brook Railroad also owns 8.269 miles of yard tracks and sidings, a total of 21.523 miles of all tracks. This property is operated by the carrier as lessee through the Boston and Lowell.

Corporate History

The Stony Brook Railroad was incorporated under a special act of Massachusetts of March 26, 1845, for the purpose of constructing a railroad from North Chelmsford to a point on the Fitchburg in Groton, Mass. Its principal office is at Lowell, Mass.

The road was constructed under contract and completed and opened for operation, under lease to the Nashua and Lowell, on July 6, 1848.

No general books of account for the period prior to October, 1863, are obtainable. The information herein given for that period has been taken principally from auxiliary records.

Leased Railway Property

The Stony Brook Railroad's property is operated by the carrier as lessee through the Boston and Lowell. The lease, which runs for a period of 99 years from January 1, 1890, provides for an annual rental of 7 per cent on the outstanding capital stock and $500 for organization expenses. Improvements made by the carrier are to be settled for at the termination of the lease. Certain expenditures for increases in weight of track material have been made by the carrier and accounted for as additional rental. The rental accrued for the year ended December 31, 1913, is recorded as $23,091.06, of which $1,591.06 represents additional rental.