Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 25

Location and General Description of Property
The railroad of The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad Company, hereinafter called the carrier, is a single-track, standard-gauge, steam railroad, situated in Michigan and Ohio, extending from Manhattan Junction, within the city of Toledo, Ohio, to River Rouge Bridge, near Delray, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, Mich., a distance of 47.012 miles. Of this line 19.262 miles is double track. The road is operated exclusively for freight traffic. In addition to its own road, the carrier uses, at its two termini, 33.20 miles of road of other carriers under trackage rights, and freight facilities of the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway Company at West Detroit, Mich. The carrier wholly owns and uses 110.986 miles of all tracks, which are shown in the trackage table in Appendix 1.

Introductory
The carrier is a corporation of the State of Michigan, having its principal office at Detroit, Mich. It was incorporated originally as The Pleasant Bay Railway Company, which was changed to The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad Company. The records of the carrier were found to be incomplete from the date of its incorporation to September 8, 1903, the date the property was placed in operation. No report was filed by the carrier upon its corporate history. The information given in this report pertaining to the period prior to September 8, 1903, has been obtained from vouchers, court records, and minutes of the meetings of stockholders and directors. A receiver was in charge of the property and affairs of the carrier from January 8, 1902, to July 6, 1903. The carrier is controlled by the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad Company, and the Grand Trunk Western Railway Company, through ownership by each of 50 per cent of the outstanding capital stock. The property of the company has been operated by its own organization since September 8, 1903, the date the road was placed in operation.

Corporate History
The carrier was incorporated March 29, 1898, for a period of 999 years under the general railroad laws of the State of Michigan as The Pleasant Bay Railway Company. On April 14, 1899, the name was changed to The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad Company. The purpose for which the carrier was incorporated was to construct and operate a standard-gauge railroad, by steam, electricity, or other motive power, and for the purpose of purchasing, leasing, and operating any other line of railroad in the State of Michigan or any adjoining State, which it may lawfully do under the Michigan laws. The termini in Michigan were a point on the south line of the State of Michigan in Erie, Monroe County, and a point at or near the mouth of Otter Creek in La Salle, Monroe County, a distance of about 10 miles. Organization of the carrier was perfected on April 1, 1898.

The carrier acquired the property, rights, and franchises of The Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway Company, which was incorporated January 24, 1898, under the laws of the State of Ohio. The property was conveyed on March 15, 1899.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
The owned mileage of the carrier, amounting to 47.012 miles, was acquired as follows: A line under construction between Toledo, Ohio, and Trenton was acquired March 15, 1899, from The Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway Company, which line was completed and extended to River Rouge Bridge, Mich., by the carrier. The completed line was placed in operation September 8, 1903. The road owned by the carrier was built by contractors. Wm. B. Strang, jr., the Erie Construction Company, and C. N. Haskell each constructed some part of the property, including the work done on the property of The Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway Company, at different times. Owing to incomplete records the affiliation or nonaffiliation of the contractors with the carrier or its officials has not been definitely established.

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

The 13.20 miles of tracks owned by the Toledo Terminal Railroad Company are used under agreements with the carrier by The Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway Company, The Hocking Valley Railway Company, The Toledo & Ohio Central Railway Company, the Pere Marquette Railway Company, and the Grand Trunk Railway Company, which companies perform all of the service, including that for the carrier, incident to the interchange of cars between the carrier and their respective companies. Payments of rentals are made to the Toledo Terminal Railroad Company by the user companies direct and bills rendered monthly to the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line for its portion of the expenses.

In addition, the carrier uses jointly with The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada freight facilities at West Detroit, Mich., owned by that company.

The Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway Company
No accounting records of The Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway Company were obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. However, certain data indicated below were obtained from its minute books. The records reviewed do not indicate whether the company was controlled by any individual or corporation on March 15, 1899, the date its property was sold, nor, on the other hand, whether it controlled any common-carrier corporation.

The Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway Company owned on the date its property was sold a partially constructed railroad which extended from Toledo, Ohio, to Trenton, Mich.