Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Columbus, Hope and Greensburg Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 28

The Columbus, Hope and Greensburg Railroad
The railroad of The Columbus, Hope and Greensburg Railroad Company, herein called the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg, is a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, located in the southeastern part of Indiana. The owned mileage extends westerly from Greensburg to Columbus, a distance of 24.313 miles. The Columbus, Hope and Greensburg also owns yard and side tracks totaling 4.226 miles. Its road thus embraces 28.539 miles of all tracks owned. All of its property is leased to and operated by the Big Four.

Introductory
The Hope and Greensburg Railroad Company was the predecessor of the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg and the two companies are herein treated together and collectively referred to as the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg.

No accounting records of the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg are obtainable. All of the information contained in this report was taken from the records of the Big Four and the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway Company; the returns and the minute book of the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg; and certain annual reports of the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg to us for the years ended June 30, 1888, 1889, and 1891.

Corporate History
The Columbus, Hope and Greensburg was originally incorporated on January 29, 1880, under the general laws of Indiana as The Hope and Greensburg Railroad Company for the purpose of constructing a railroad from Hope, Ind., in an easterly direction to Greensburg, Ind. Extension of the railroad in a westerly direction from Hope, to Columbus, Ind., was authorized by action of the stockholders and directors on January 17, 1881, and new articles of incorporation changing the name of the company to The Columbus, Hope and Greensburg Railroad Company were filed with the secretary of state of Indiana March 21, 1882. The two companies are herein collectively referred to as the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg. The principal office is at Greensburg, Ind.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
The road owned by the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg was constructed by it and put in operation in May, 1884, and it has been solely operated by the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway Company and the Big Four from that date to date of valuation.

On October 19, 1892, the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg acquired by deed from M. E. Ingalls, a partly graded roadbed extending westwardly from Greensburg, Ind., a distance of about 10 miles. This property represents a portion of that formerly owned by Cincinnati and Terre Haute Railway Company, the property of which was sold under foreclosure proceedings and conveyed to William B. Tuell by a commissioner's deed dated May 29, 1878. No other portion of the property nor any portion of the franchises, rights, etc., of Cincinnati and Terre Haute Railway Company was acquired by the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg.

Leased Railway Property
The property of the Columbus, Hope and Greensburg was operated and maintained by the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway Company from May, 1884, the date it was put in operation, until June 30, 1889, the date of the demise of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway Company. No form of agreement was found of record to cover these operations.

At the demise of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway Company on July 1, 1889, the carrier its successor began the operation of the property under an agreement dated October 17, 1891, which provides that the Big Four shall receive all the revenues derived from the operation of the property and furnish the necessary equipment, pay all operating expenses, taxes, and interest on the Columbus, Hope and Greenburg's outstanding bonds, and keep the road in good repair.