Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Chicago Great Western Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 35

Location and General Description of Property
The railroad of Chicago Great Western Railroad Company, hereinafter called the carrier, is a standard-gage, steam railroad, situated principally in the States of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri, and to some extent in Kansas and Nebraska. The owned mileage extends from Forest Park, Chicago, Ill., westerly to Galena Junction, Ill., from Dubuque, Iowa, to St. Paul, Minn., from Oelwein, Iowa, to St. Joseph, Mo., and from Bee Creek to Beverly, Mo., an aggregate distance of 714.074 miles. Branch lines, aggregating 42.048 miles, extend from Sycamore to De Kalb, Ill., Sumner to Waverly, Iowa, Cedar Falls Junction to Cedar Falls, Iowa, and from Eden to Mantorville, Minn.

The carrier also solely uses under lease terminal property in Chicago, Ill., Des Moines, Iowa, and Dubuque, Iowa.

The railroad of Mason City & Fort Dodge Railroad Company, hereinafter called the Mason City & Fort Dodge, which is leased to and operated by the carrier, is a single-track, standard-gage line extending from a connection with the main line of the carrier at Hayfield, Minn., southwesterly to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and from Clarion, Iowa, easterly to a connection with the carrier at Oelwein, Iowa. A branch extends from Fort Dodge to Lehigh, Iowa. The Mason City & Fort Dodge owns 373.878 miles of road, and also yard and sidetracks as shown in the trackage table in Appendix 1.

The railroad of Wisconsin, Minnesota, & Pacific Railroad Company, hereinafter called the Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific, which also is leased to and operated by the carrier, is a single-track, standard-gage line extending easterly from Mankato to Red Wing, Minn., thence southerly through Simpson, Minn., to Osage, Iowa. Branch lines extend from Simpson to Winona, Minn., and from Goodhue to Bellechester, Minn. The Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific owns 272.125 miles of road, and also yard and sidetracks as shown in the trackage table in Appendix 1.

The carrier wholly owns and uses 1,159.757 miles and jointly owns and uses 6.166 miles of all tracks, owns but does not use 2.643 miles of all tracks, and uses but does not own 816.551 miles of all tracks. It also jointly uses 3.977 miles of all tracks owned by its lessors jointly with other carriers, and wholly uses 3.524 miles of all tracks which it itself owns jointly with one of its lessors.

Entrance into Chicago, Ill., Dubuque, Iowa, Minneapolis, Minn., Kansas City, Kans., Kansas City, Mo., and Omaha, Nebr., is by means of trackage rights over the tracks of other carriers.

Introductory
The carrier is a corporation of the State of Illinois, having its principal office at Chicago, Ill.

Control of the carrier for a period of five years ended September 1, 1914, was vested in voting trustees under a voting-trust agreement with J. P. Morgan & Company, reorganization managers. The carrier had 890,784 shares of common stock outstanding in the names of 8,073 stockholders on April 5, 1916, the last date on which its stock books were closed prior to date of valuation. The voting powers as of that date with respect to 204,828 shares of stock were represented by voting-trust certificates not then exchanged for common and preferred stock, and about 100,000 shares were held by 18 of the next largest stockholders, about one-third of which were held in England. A considerable part of the smaller holdings was also owned in England and on the Continent.

On the other hand, the carrier controls, through ownership of their entire capital stock, the Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific and the Mason City & Fort Dodge, whose common-carrier properties it operates.

It controls, further, through ownership of its entire capital stock, The Leavenworth Terminal Railway and Bridge Company, and jointly with other carriers, The Minnesota Transfer Railway Company, The St. Paul Union Depot Company, the Saint Joseph Union Depot Company, the Iowa Transfer Railway Company, and the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company, whose several properties it does not operate.

The property of the carrier has been operated by its own organization during its entire life.

Corporate History
The carrier was incorporated on August 19, 1909, under the general laws of the State of Illinois, for a term of 50 years, for the purpose of acquiring and operating the property of the Chicago Great Western Railway Company, with all its rights and franchises, as sold and transferred under the decree of sale made in the United States Circuit Court. The carrier acquired this property on September 1, 1909.

The following chart shows the names of the corporations comprised in the corporate history of the carrier, their respective dates of incorporation, and manner and date of succession. Reference to each of these corporations is made in the last column by its respective number shown in the first column.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
The railroad owned by the carrier on date of valuation was acquired principally by purchase. In the following table are shown the years in which and the companies by which the several parts of this property were constructed and the manner in which they were acquired by the carrier. In addition, the carrier acquired by purchase on November 28, 1909, the terminal property of the Wisconsin Central Railway Company at St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn. This property consisted of about 10 miles of yard tracks, modern fireproof freight stations at both St. Paul and Minneapolis, and of a roundhouse and facilities at Minneapolis.

The only property constructed by the carrier consisted of about 17 miles of second main track and certain yard tracks, sidings, and industrial spurs. In 1910, the carrier constructed about 6.24 miles of track at Bellechester, Minn., serving the Red Wing Sewer Pipe Company, which it sold to the Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific on December 6, 1910.

Leased Railway Property
The carrier uses on date of valuation facilities owned by other companies and other companies use facilities owned or leased by the carrier to the extent indicated in the statement below. The description of the property, the period and terms of use, and the rentals payable or receivable for the year ended on date of valuation, are as follows:

DeKalb and Great Western Railway
Introductory

DeKalb and Great Western Railway Company, a corporation of the State of Illinois, was controlled by the carrier.

It owned on December 21, 1911, the date of the sale of its property, a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, extending from Sycamore to DeKalb, Ill., a distance of about 5.81 miles. This road was operated by the Chicago Great Western Railway Company and its receivers from September 1, 1895, to September 1, 1909, but no lease was recorded for its use. The carrier operated the property from September 1, 1909, to September 26, 1910, during which time it paid nothing for its use. On the latter date the DeKalb and Great Western Railway Company executed a formal lease in favor of the carrier, naming a nominal consideration of $1 per annum for the lease of the property.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The property of the DeKalb and Great Western Railway Company was constructed during the summer and fall of 1895, by Foley Brothers & Guthrie, contractors. Under an agreement dated March 7, 1895, it was stipulated that the contractors were to construct the road at agreed rates for labor and material and provide right of way at a cost not exceeding $15,000, and be allowed 10 per cent on deferred payments upon completion of the work.

Chicago Great Western Railway
Introductory

Chicago Great Western Railway Company, a corporation of the State of Illinois, was incorporated for the immediate object of effecting a financial reorganization of and a consolidation of the ownership of the properties owned and leased by the Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company, preliminary to which a 99-year lease for sole operation of those properties was executed and became operative on July 1, 1892.

Chicago Great Western Railway Company owned and operated on September 1, 1909, the date its property was sold to the carrier, 750.203 miles of single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, situated in the States of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. Its main lines extended from Forest Home (Chicago), Ill., to Galena Junction, Ill.; from Dubuque, Iowa, to St. Paul, Minn.; from Oelwein, Iowa, to St. Joseph, Mo.; and from Bee Creek, Mo., to Beverly, Mo. It also owned 0.50 mile of track at Kansas City, Mo., and 0.40 mile at Kansas City, Kans. Its branch lines extended from Eden, Minn., to Mantorville, Minn.; from Sumner to Waverly, Iowa; and from Wilson Junction to Cedar Falls, Iowa.

In addition to its owned road, the Chicago Great Western Railway Company solely operated 273.271 miles of road of the Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific, extending from Mankato, Minn., to Osage, Iowa, and from Rochester to Winona, Minn.; 373.484 miles of road of the Mason City & Fort Dodge, extending from Hayfield, Minn., to Council Bluffs, Iowa; from Fort Dodge to Lehigh, Iowa; and from Oelwein to Clarion, Iowa; and 5.81 miles of road of the DeKalb and Great Western Railway Company, extending from Sycamore to DeKalb, Ill. The properties of the first two of these companies were operated under a 100-year lease, but no formal lease was executed covering the property of the DeKalb and Great Western Railway Company. All three companies were controlled by the Chicago Great Western Railway Company.

Chicago Great Western Railway Company, further, had trackage rights over 109.63 miles of road of other carriers, so that with its owned and leased road it operated 1,512.398 miles of road.

On January 8, 1908, the affairs of the Chicago Great Western Railway Company were placed in the hands of receivers, who operated the property until August 21, 1909; when it was sold to F. W. Stevens and George A. Gardiner. On September 1, 1909, Stevens and Gardiner conveyed the property, rights, and franchises to the carrier.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

Of the road owned on the date of sale, 838.61 miles had been acquired by purchase and 6.46 miles by construction, less 94.867 miles sold, abandoned, or retired. Details with respect to the construction of this property are given in the chapter on development of fixed physical property of the carrier.

City Terminal Railway
City Terminal Railway Company, a corporation of the State of Missouri, was incorporated in the interest of, and its officers and stockholders were nominees of, the Chicago Great Western Railway Company. No books of account were kept by this company. The funds required by it in the acquisition of lands were procured by drafts drawn on the Chicago Great Western Railway Company, for which purpose that company advanced $134,642.04. Improvements costing $172,777.13 and consisting of 9.90 miles of yard tracks, a freight station, and other terminal facilities at Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kans., were made on the City Terminal Railway Company's land by the Chicago Great Western Railway Company on its own behalf prior to June 30, 1902. All of the authorized capital stock, $50,000 par value, was subscribed for by its incorporators, but nothing was paid in. Certificates were issued to subscribers for the $50,000 subscribed and were duly indorsed in blank and surrendered to the Chicago Great Western Railway Company, and were held in possession of the carrier, uncanceled, on date of valuation. The property of the City Terminal Railway Company was conveyed to the Chicago Great Western Railway Company in part by deed of July 1, 1902, and in part by deed of January 2, 1905.

Mantorville Railway & Transfer Company
No accounting records of this company are obtainable. Certain data obtainable from records now in the possession of the carrier indicate that this company acquired certain right of way lying between a connection with the Chicago Great Western Railway Company in Dodge County, Minn., and Mantorville, Minn., 3.56 miles, on which the grading and bridging were done under contract. The citizens at Mantorville donated labor and material and constructed a depot at that point. This property was sold to the Chicago Great Western Railway Company on September 29, 1896, under the terms of a contract dated May 4, 1896. The consideration for the transfer was that the Chicago Great Western Railway Company furnish all labor and material and complete and operate the road.

Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad (Illinois)
Introductory

Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company (Illinois), the second corporation of that name identified with the creation of the physical property that ultimately became a part of the property of the carrier, was incorporated by nominees of the Minnesota Loan & Debenture Company, a syndicate organized by A. B. Stickney and associates, which at that time controlled the affairs of the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company.

On June 28, 1886, the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company (Illinois) executed a contract with the Minnesota Loan & Debenture Company for constructing its property, the terms of which were identical with those in the agreement between the latter company and the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company. Under this contract, the Minnesota Loan & Debenture Company constructed, in the years 1886–1887, 146.73 miles of main and 19.71 miles of other tracks. The main line extended from a connection with the Wisconsin Central Railway at Forest Home, Ill., westerly to a connection with the Chicago, Burlington & Northern Railroad Company at Aiken, Ill.

The property of this company was leased for sole operation to the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company for 999 years for a consideration of $1 per annum and the payment for the cost of construction.

No books of account were established by or for the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company (Illinois). The information included herein was obtained from the accounts of the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company, which financed the construction of the property and acquired the income therefrom under the terms of lease of December 27, 1886.

Leavenworth & St. Joseph Railway
Introductory

Leavenworth & St. Joseph Railway Company was incorporated by nominees, who were also officials of the Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company. On July 2, 1892, the date of the sale of its property, it owned 23 miles of main-line railroad, which extended from a connection with the St. Joseph, St. Louis and Santa Fe Railway about 7.5 miles south of St. Joseph, Mo., in a southerly direction to a connection with The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway at Beverly Junction, Mo. This road was operated by the Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company from date of completion to June 30, 1892. The books of account, if any were kept, could not be found, and the facts herein given were obtained from sundry records of this company, of the Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company, and of the Chicago Great Western Railway Company.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The road of the Leavenworth & St. Joseph Railway Company was constructed under a contract, dated September 3, 1890, with the Interstate Investment Trust, Limited. It was placed in operation on February 1, 1891.

Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway
Introductory

Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company, a corporation of the State of Iowa, was controlled by the Chicago Great Western Railway Company on September 7, 1893, the date of the sale of its property, through ownership of a majority of the outstanding capital stock. Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company owned and operated on the date of sale about 668.88 miles of single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, situated in the States of Minnesota and Iowa. Its principal main line extended from St. Paul, Minn., to Dubuque, Iowa, and from Oelwein, Iowa, to St. Joseph, Mo.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

Of the road owned on the date of sale 363.42 miles had been acquired on December 8, 1887, by the merger of the property of the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company, 114.92 miles on June 3, 1886, by purchase from the Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska Railway Company, and 190.54 miles by construction. Details with respect to the construction of this property are given in the chapter on development of fixed physical property of the carrier.

Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska Railway
Introductory

No accounting records of this company could be found. The accounting data contained herein were taken from reports rendered to the Railroad Commission of the State of Iowa and from statements furnished by county treasurers and others.

Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska Railway Company was controlled through stock ownership by R. T. Wilson & Company of New York, with whom the original promotors, after negotiating some subsidies, arranged for financing the project.

On June 3, 1886, the date of the sale of its property, the Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska Railway Company owned about 114.92 miles of main-line railroad, extending from a connection with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad at East Des Moines, Iowa, to Waterloo, Iowa, 104.23 miles, with branches from Cedar Falls Junction to Cedar Falls, Iowa, 7.49 miles, and what was known as the Valeria Branch, 3.20 miles.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The road owned on the date of sale had been acquired by construction. Details with respect to the construction of the property are given in the chapter on development of fixed physical property of the carrier.

Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad
Introductory

Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company, a corporation of the State of Minnesota, was controlled by A. B. Stickney and associates of St. Paul, Minn., and London, England, on December 8, 1887, the date of its merger with the Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company, through ownership of a majority of the outstanding capital stock.

Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company owned and operated on the date of merger 367.82 miles of single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, situated in the States of Minnesota and Iowa. Its main line extended from St. Paul, Minn., to Dubuque, Iowa, and branch lines extended from Hayfield, Minn., to Manly Junction, Iowa, and from Sumner, to Hampton, Iowa. At the time of the merger a part of the branch line from Hayfield, Minn., to Manly Junction, Iowa, 20.20 miles, was leased for sole operation to the Central Iowa Railway.

In addition to its owned road the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company operated 97.08 miles of road of the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company, extending from Dunbar Junction, Ill., to Forest Home, Ill., under a 999-year lease agreement, and 141.41 miles of road owned by the Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company, extending from Oelwein to Des Moines, Iowa, were operated under a traffic agreement.

Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company also had trackage rights over 85.18 miles of road between Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., Dubuque, Iowa, and Dunbar Junction, Ill., and between Forest Home and Chicago, Ill.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

Of the road owned on the date of merger, 63 miles, extending from Sumner to Hampton, Iowa, had been acquired on January 19, 1887, from the Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road Company. Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company also had acquired about 49.72 miles of partially constructed railroad extending from Thorpe, Iowa, to Dubuque, Iowa, by merger on November 13, 1886, of the property of The Dubuque & Northwestern Railway Company. Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company constructed about 250.70 miles of railroad, in addition to completing the construction of the aforementioned 49.72 miles. Details with respect to the construction of the property owned by this company are given in the chapter on development of fixed physical property of the carrier.

The Dubuque & Northwestern Railway–Predecessor of Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad
The accounts maintained by this company record but part of its financial transactions and were not closed. Subscribers to its capital stock paid in $27,295.35 cash, which was refunded to them by the Minnesota Loan & Debenture Company. The Dubuque & Northwestern Railway Company also received $129,728.88 in cash from proceeds of a 5 per cent tax levied in Julien Township, Dubuque County, Iowa. The tax receipts were redeemable at par for the stock of this company, but no exchange was recorded in the accounts. To May 5, 1885, The Dubuque & Northwestern Railway Company had surveyed its proposed line of railroad extending from Dubuque, Iowa, in a general western and northwestern direction into and through the State of Minnesota and the territory of Dakota, to a connection with the Northern Pacific Railway, and had purchased some, and contracted for other right of way and terminal grounds at Dubuque, Iowa.

The investment of The Dubuque & Northwestern Railway Company in right of way and engineering, on date of sale of its property, was stated in its books as $91,356.98, of which $69,024.98 represents recorded money outlay and $22,332 represents par value of short-term notes issued.

On May 5, 1885, a contract was executed with the Minnesota Loan & Debenture Company, which was then engaged in constructing the property of the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company, for the construction of 50 miles of road, for which the debenture company was to receive $250,000 in cash, $1,000,000 par value of capital stock, and $800,000 par value of first-mortgage 5 per cent bonds. The cash payment of $250,000 was to be made from proceeds of the tax aid referred to above.

Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road–Predecessor of Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad
Introductory

The incorporators of this company were officials of the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad Company, and they were also owners of record, at that time, of about 94 miles of partially constructed property of the defunct Iowa Pacific Rail Road Company. This property was conveyed to the Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road Company on April 30, 1879. Control of the Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road Company was held by the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad Company through ownership of a majority of its stock.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road Company purchased from its incorporators, on April 30, 1879, about 94 miles of partially constructed road, on which track had been installed between Tripoli and Waverly, Iowa, a distance of 13.75 miles. Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road Company, on March 1, 1882, lost title to 22 miles of road, between Hampton and Belmond, through condemnation, to the Iowa Central and Northwestern Railway Company, by reason of the fact that no work had been done thereon for a period of five years. Nine miles of the road purchased, from Sumner to Fayette Junction, were abandoned, 13.75 miles were rehabilitated, and 49.25 miles of main line and 3.50 miles of sidetracks were constructed. Details with respect to the construction of this property are given in the chapter on development of fixed physical property of the carrier.

Iowa Pacific Railroad–Predecessor of Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road and The Mason City & Fort Dodge
Corporate History

No accounting records of this company could be found. The following facts were obtained from the records of the Chicago, Dubuque & Minnesota Railroad Company, an affiliated company.

Following the failure of the Chicago, Dubuque & Minnesota Railroad Company, or the Iowa Pacific Railroad Company, to provide the funds to pay the sub-contractors who were constructing the latter's property, described below, suits were instituted and judgments obtained to recover on mechanics’ liens. This action resulted in levies on the property and its sale to the plaintiffs, or their assignees, as highest bidders, by the sheriffs of the several counties through which the property extended, by which means sundry corporations and individuals acquired, at that time, or later held, title to all of the Iowa Pacific Railroad Company’s property and franchises pertaining thereto, until they were finally acquired by other carriers as follows: Dubuque & Dakota Rail Road Company, April 30, 1879, about 94 miles; The Mason City & Fort Dodge, August 3, 1881, about 38 miles.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

Such data as are obtainable indicate that in the construction of a line of railroad between Belmond and Fort Dodge, Iowa, the Iowa & Minnesota Railroad Company, an Iowa corporation, organized by J. F. Duncombe and associates of Fort Dodge, Iowa, had previously negotiated with the Iowa Pacific Railroad Company, and had consummated an arrangement with it for participation in the ownership, construction, and subsequent maintenance and operation of the property, and that the Iowa & Minnesota Railroad Company joined in the condemnation of certain portions and separately acquired other portion of the right of way between the points named. Through its agency, the Fort Dodge Railroad Construction Company, it also contributed in the work of grading and bridging the property. The particulars of the agreement are, however, unknown.

Between the date of its incorporation, October 25, 1870, and January, 1875, the Iowa Pacific Railroad Company procured the right of way for a line of railway from a point in Fayette County, Iowa, called Fayette Junction, connecting with the grade of the Chicago, Dubuque & Minnesota Railroad Company, and extending westerly to Belmond, in Wright County, Iowa, thence southwesterly to Fort Dodge in Webster County, Iowa, 132 miles in all. At the time work on the project was suspended, in the spring of 1875, the records that are obtainable indicate that the work of grading and installation of timber bridges for the whole line was practically, if not wholly, completed, and that track was laid from the Cedar Falls & Minnesota Railroad crossing at Waverly, Iowa, to a point 13.75 miles west, but the road was not placed in operation.