Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 31

Location and General Description of Property
The railroad of Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company, herein called the carrier, is a standard-gage, steam railroad, located in Illinois and Indiana. Its lines appear on the map like an inverted “Y” with the base of the letter at Dolton, Ill., near Chicago, to which the carrier has access through trackage rights. The stem and one prong lie entirely within Illinois, extending from Dolton through Momence, Woodland, Tuscola, Findlay, Salem, and Marion to Thebes, above Cairo on the Mississippi River, a total distance of 361 miles. The other prong branches off at Woodland, Ill., extends southward through Danville, whence it cuts over into Indiana and then extends southward through Terre Haute and Vincennes to Evansville, a distance of 205 miles from Woodland. A considerable branch extends from Brazil, Ind., where it connects with the Indiana prong at Otter Creek Junction, just north of Terre Haute, northward through Weedersburg, Attica, Percy Junction, and Fair Oaks to LaCrosse, Ind., with a cross line from Percy Junction connecting it with the stem of the system at Momence, Ill. Lateral branches connect these lines with adjacent points and a cross line between Danville and Villa Grove, both in Illinois, connects the two prongs.

The main-line road mileage of the carrier aggregates 736.71 miles and the branch-line road mileage aggregates 276.16 miles, making a total road mileage of 1,012.87 miles. In addition to this there are 192.01 miles of second main-line track and 20.21 miles of third main-line track, making altogether 212.22 miles of additional main-line track. Yard tracks and sidings amount to 632.50 miles. The total owned mileage, including all tracks, thus amounts to 1,857.59 miles.

The carrier uses exclusively under lease certain terminal property, but not including any road mileage, of the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad Company, located in Chicago. It leases to the Vandalia Railroad Company for exclusive use that part of the line in Indiana between Otter Creek Junction and Rockville, about 17 miles.

By means of trackage rights, the carrier operates from Dolton to Chicago, from Thebes, Ill., to Chaffee, Mo., and from Pana, Ill., to St. Louis, Mo.

The carrier also operates, as agent for the owner, the property of Evansville and Indianapolis Railroad Company from Terre Haute to Straight Line Junction, near Evansville, Ind. In this operation the carrier uses its own locomotives.

Corporate History
The present corporation was chartered under the general laws of Illinois in 1894 and of Indiana in 1899, being the last of four successive corporations of the same name. The first three corporations named Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company consolidated, in 1881, 1887, and 1894, respectively, with certain other corporations to form the carrier. Also, the third of the corporations referred to and the carrier, especially the latter, have absorbed by purchase or other form of merger other corporations that contributed franchises and property to the growth, jurisdiction, and holdings of this principal line of corporations. On date of valuation the carrier represented the cumulative development under 37 different corporations. Of these, however, 3 each underwent a change of corporate name without recharter, so that in all 40 different corporate names appear in the history of the corporated development of the carrier.

In 1902 the carrier came under the control of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company, through an exchange of capital stock of the carrier for stock trust certificates of the former, the carrier's stock being deposited in trust to secure the payment of interest on the trust certificates. This control continued until 1913, when, on the failure of the Frisco to pay the interest on its stock-trust certificates, it forfeited the carrier's capital stock. The corporate control then passed to the trustee, the Equitable Trust Company of New York, which holds the carrier's capital stock in trust for the former stockholders of the carrier.

On May 27, 1913, the carrier was placed in receivership on petition of the creditor to anticipate expected receivership as a result of the insolvency of the Frisco. The original receivers were William J. Jackson and Edwin W. Winter. By the resignation of Winter on February 10, 1915, Jackson became, and on date of valuation still is, the sole receiver administering the affairs of the carrier.

As previously stated, the carrier is the last of four successive corporations of the same name. The first of these was incorporated under the general laws of Illinois and Indiana on August 28, 1877, to take over certain railroad property that had been developed by an earlier series of four corporations, each bearing the name of Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad Company. The first of this earlier series was incorporated by special charter in Illinois on February 16, 1865. For data relating to predecessors of the carrier reference is made to the report of the accounting section.

There follows a statement of the dates of incorporation and demise, the immediate succeeding corporation, and the manner of succession for each of the 37 corporations which comprise the line of succession culminating in the carrier as at present constituted. 1Name changed on Oct. 31, 1885, from Lake Michigan & Ohio River Railway Company.

2Name changed on July 14, 1881, from Indiana & Chicago Railway Company.

3Name changed on Mar. 5, 1877, from Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad Company.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
Of the 1,013 miles of road owned by the carrier, 428 miles was acquired, when the carrier was formed, by the consolidation of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company (3) and the Chicago & Indiana Coal Railway (2) on June 6, 1894; 524 miles was acquired by purchase from predecessor companies, and 61 miles was constructed by the carrier.

Of the 37 corporations which comprise the line of succession culminating in the carrier as at present constituted, 12 corporations constructed no property. They were the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company (1), the State Line and Covington Railroad Company, the Chicago and Nashville Railroad Company, the Attica and Terre Haute Railroad Company, the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad Company (2), the Western Indiana Railroad Company, the Rossville and Indiana Railroad Company, The Indiana Railway Company, the Chicago & Great Southern Railway Company (2), the Evansville, Terre Haute and Chicago Railway Company (2), and the Wabash Railroad Company. The property constructed by the remaining corporations, the years when various portions of the line were opened for operations, and the manner in which the carrier acquired the property are set forth in the following table, wherein to facilitate comparison with the table showing the corporate succession, previously given, the same order of corporations is maintained: In addition, 10 miles of roadbed was graded by the Attica and Terre Haute Railroad Company and 20 miles by the Indiana North and South Railway Company. Both pieces were located in Indiana. Neither of them is included in the property now owned by the carrier. The 10 miles was sold by the Chicago and Eastern Railroad Company (2) to the Lake Michigan & Ohio River Railway Company and the 20 miles was abandoned by the Chicago & Great Southern Railway Company (2).

Leased Railway Property
The carrier uses on date of valuation property owned by other companies and other companies use property owned by the carrier to the extent indicated in the following statement. The description of the property, the periods and terms of use, and the rentals accrued and charged or credited to income for the year ending on date of valuation are as follows: