Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Cincinnati Southern Railway

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 37

Introductory
Cincinnati Southern Railway is the unincorporated name given by the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, to a line of railway that the city owns and manages through a board of trustees known as the Cincinnati Southern Railway trustees, hereinafter referred to as the trustees. The investments, security issues, income and other transactions of the city with respect to this property are hereinafter referred to in the name of the Cincinnati Southern Railway. The trustees handle all transactions relating to the awarding of construction contracts, expending of construction funds, the issuance of bonds to provide funds for railway construction, and the matters pertaining to the leasing of the property. No other departments of the city are served by the trustees.

Other matters relating to the railway property, such as the receipt of rentals and the payment of funded-debt interest, are handled through the general fund of the city. The refunding and retiring of railway bond issues are handled by the city's sinking-fund trustees. These transactions are not detailed in the records of the trustees. The sinking-fund trustees do not maintain separate accounting for the purpose of distinguishing between transactions relating to the railway and those relating to the other departments of the city.

No income and profit and loss accounts are maintained by the trustees. Except for amounts set aside to provide for the maintenance of the trustees' organization, all income is paid over to the city of Cincinnati and merged into its general fund, and out of that fund its income expenditures, principally payment of bond interest, are paid.

For the foregoing reason only partial information can be given from the accounts in connection with the financial dealings and no information can be given from the accounts pertaining to the results from operations. However, certain information indicated hereinafter pertaining to the income from lease of road has been taken from the accounting records of the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific.

The property of the Cincinnati Southern Railway has been operated by other companies from the date it acquired its original property, December 11, 1873, to December 31, 1917, as follows:

The property of the Cincinnati Southern Railway was taken over for operation by the United States Railroad Administration on January 1, 1918, as the system of the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific and it was so operated on date of valuation.

Corporate History
The Cincinnati Southern Railway is not a corporation. Authority for the construction of the railroad by the city of Cincinnati was granted by special act of the State of Ohio, approved May 4, 1869, operative upon, first, the passage by the city council of a formal resolution declaring the construction of the railway necessary and designating the terminal points, and, secondly, upon the subsequent ratification of the resolution by popular vote.

On June 4, 1869, a resolution was passed declaring that it was essential to the interests of the city of Cincinnati that a line of railway, to be known as the Cincinnati Southern Railway, should be provided between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Chattanooga, Tenn.

A special election, held on June 26, 1869, was favorable to the resolution, and on June 30, 1869, the superior court of Cincinnati, upon petition of the city solicitor, appointed a board of trustees to act in behalf of the city in matters pertaining to the construction and operation of the property.

Authority to build a bridge across the Ohio River and to construct the railway within the States of Kentucky and Tennessee was granted by the following acts:
 * Act of Tennessee Jan. 20, 1870
 * Act of Kentucky Feb. 13, 1872
 * Act of Congress Dec. 17, 1872
 * Act of Congress Feb. 14, 1883

The Cincinnati Southern Railway acquired by purchase the property, rights, and franchises of the Cincinnati, Lexington and East Tennessee Railroad Company. The Cincinnati Southern Railway, and its two predecessors, one of which underwent a change of name, comprise the line of corporate succession culminating in the Cincinnati Southern Railway as at present constituted.

The following chart shows the names of the corporation and the respective dates of incorporation, and for each predecessor the date of succession, the immediately succeeding corporation, and the manner 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 owned mileage of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, amounting to 341.277 miles, was acquired partly by construction and partly by purchase. Of the two corporations that comprise the line of succession culminating in the Cincinnati Southern Railway as at present constituted, one corporation, the Cincinnati, Lexington and East Tennessee Railroad Company, did not construct any road or other common-carrier property. The property constructed by the Cincinnati Southern Railway and the remaining corporation, the years when the various portions of the line were constructed, and the manner in which the Cincinnati Southern Railway acquired the property are indicated 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 the construction of the road built for the Cincinnati Southern Railway numerous contractors were employed and the construction work was performed under the supervision of the Cincinnati Southern Railway’s engineers.

Leased Railway Property
The entire property of the Cincinnati Southern Railway is leased to the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific for a term of 85 years from October 12, 1881.

It was operated by the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific from October 12, 1881, to December 31, 1917, under lease agreement. From January 1, 1918, to date of valuation the common-carrier property of the Cincinnati Southern Railway has been operated by the United States Railroad Administration as the system of the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific. Details with respect to the operation of this property are given in the chapter on leased railway property in the report on the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific.

Cincinnati, Lexington and East Tennessee Railroad Company – Formerly Named the Lexington and Southern Kentucky Railroad Company
No accounting records of the Cincinnati, Lexington and East Tennessee Railroad Company were obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. The records reviewed do not indicate that the company was controlled by any individual or corporation on December 11, 1873, the date of sale, nor, on the other hand, whether it controlled any other common-carrier corporations. The property of the company was operated by the Kentucky Central Railroad Company under lease agreement from the date the company acquired possession of its property, March 20, 1860, to the date of sale. The railroad owned by the company consisted of 13 miles of single-track, steam railroad, extending from Short Street in Lexington to the south suburbs of Nicholasville, all in the State of Kentucky, all of which, had been acquired by purchase after foreclosure from the Lexington and Danville Railroad Company.

Lexington and Danville Railroad Company
No accounting records of the Lexington and Danville Railroad Company were obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. The records reviewed do not indicate that the company was controlled by any individual or corporation on November 18, 1858, the date of sale, nor, on the other hand, whether it controlled any other common-carrier corporations. The property of the company was operated by the Kentucky Central Railroad Company under lease agreement from the date of completion in 1856 to the date of sale. The railroad owned by the Lexington and Danville Railroad Company consisted of 13 miles of single-track, steam railroad, extending from Short Street in Lexington to the south suburbs of Nicholasville, all in the State of Kentucky, all of which had been acquired by construction. The records reviewed do not indicate whether the road was constructed under contract or by company forces. Further details with respect to the construction of this property are given in the chapter on development of fixed physical property in the report on the Cincinnati Southern Railway.