Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Fitchburg Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 30

Location and General Description of Property
The railroad of Fitchburg Rail-road Company, herein referred to as the Fitchburg Railroad, is a standard-gage, steam railroad, situated in the States of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. It consists of 3 main lines, aggregating 248.403 miles, and 10 branches, aggregating 145.830 miles, a total of 394.233 miles of road. The principal main line extends from Boston, Mass., northwesterly to Fitchburg, Mass., thence in a generally westerly direction over the line of the Vermont and Massachusetts to Greenfield, Mass., and thence northwesterly over the Fitchburg Railroad's own road, through the Hoosac Tunnel, across the southwestern corner of Vermont to Rotterdam Junction, N. Y., where it connects with the New York Central Lines. Operation through the Hoosac Tunnel is by means of electric locomotives. A second main line extends southwesterly from Johnsonville, N. Y., to Troy, N. Y., where it connects with The Troy Union Rail Road Company. The third main line extends northwesterly from South Ashburnham, Mass., across the Massachusetts-New Hampshire State line near Winchendon, Mass., to Bellows Falls, Vt., where it connects with The Sullivan County Railroad.

Sections of the main line and branches are double-tracked and there are stretches of third and fourth main tracks and extensive yard, terminal, and wharf properties.

All of the foregoing property is operated by the carrier, as lessee.

The carrier, as lessee of the Fitchburg, operates the properties of the Troy and Bennington and the Vermont and Massachusetts, which were leased by the Fitchburg Railroad at the time of the leasing of its own property to the carrier. The carrier also operates the property of the Proprietors of Connecticut River Bridge, controlled through stock ownership by the Vermont and Massachusetts.

Corporate History
The Fitchburg Railroad was incorporated under a special act of Massachusetts of March 3, 1842, for the purpose of constructing a railroad from a point on the Charlestown Branch Railroad at or near Block Island in West Cambridge, Mass., to Fitchburg, Mass. The Fitchburg Railroad has acquired the properties and franchises of 16 other companies, as well as property from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Fitchburg Railroad's principal office is at Boston, Mass. Control of the Fitchburg Railroad is vested in the preferred stockholders. The outstanding common stock is owned by the carrier and was acquired for the most part from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in exchange for the carrier's bonds. This stock can not be voted at stockholders' meetings during the continuance of the carrier's lease of the Fitchburg Railroad's property.

The Fitchburg Railroad owns 59.2 per cent of the capital stock and all of the funded debt of the Conway Electric Street Railway Company, which operates an electric railway between Conway and Deerfield, Mass. The Fitchburg Railroad also owns a 25 per cent stock control of The Troy Union Rail Road Company. The securities of these companies are assigned, with reversionary rights, to the carrier under the latter's lease of the Fitchburg Railroad's property.

The following table shows the companies whose properties, rights, and franchises were acquired by the Fitchburg Railroad:

1 The companies shown in this summary were, as a rule, incorporated under special acts of the dates mentioned. Exceptions are all companies incorporated in the State of New York, one of which, The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway Company, was also incorporated under special act of Apr. 4, 1848, The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway Company, incorporated under the general laws of Vermont, and the Brookline & Pepperell Railroad Company, incorporated under the public statutes of Massachusetts.

2 Authorized by special act of Mar. 17, 1841, to extend road.

3 Title transferred to the Fitchburg Railroad by the Peterborough and Shirley Rail-road Company, by whom its capital securities were owned. To validate transfer of title a new company, the Peterborough and Shirley Railroad Company, was organized by officers of the Fitchburg Railroad under authority of a special act of New Hampshire of June 24, 1858. The transfer was formally accomplished on Aug. 14, 1861, under authority of special act of New Hampshire of July 3, 1861, authorizing the union of the two companies.

4 Authority to extend line granted by special acts of Feb. 24, 1872, and Feb. 6, 1873; several extensions of time for completion of its road also granted.

5 Time for completion of road extended by special acts of Nov. 13, 1849, Nov. 12, 1850, and Nov. 13, 1854.

6 Life extended in 1875 from 50 to 1,500 years.

7 Revived by special act of July 6, 1866.

In addition to the foregoing the Fitchburg Railroad and the carrier acquired certain railroad property formerly owned by the Lancaster Railroad Company. The Lancaster Railroad Company had been incorporated by special act of Massachusetts of April 30, 1870, and had constructed some property. This was sold on or about November 1, 1883, at the request of a majority of the bondholders, to R. Codman, who evidently acted in behalf of the Fitchburg Railroad and the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, the latter a predecessor of the carrier. The road was abandoned and the rails and ties were removed. Such property as the Lancaster Railroad Company had passed to the Fitchburg Railroad and the earlier, through their ownership, nearly one-half each, of the Lancaster Railroad Company's bonds.

The Fitchburg Railroad also acquired certain dock properties from the Hoosac Tunnel Dock and Elevator Company.

Information as to the predecessors of the Fitchburg Railroad, in addition to that given in the present report, is given in the respective reports on them which appear as a part of the accounting report on the Fitchburg Railroad.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
The property of the Fitchburg Railroad on date of valuation consisted of approximately 394.233 miles of road, as follows:

In addition, the Fitchburg Railroad acquired certain railroad property from the Lancaster Railroad Company, as explained in the preceding chapter, and certain dock properties from the Hoosac Tunnel Dock and Elevator Company.

Leased Railway Property
The entire property of the Fitchburg Railroad was leased to the carrier on June 30, 1900, for a period of 99 years from July 1, 1900. All leases held or acquired by the Fitchburg Railroad were also assumed by the carrier. The annual rental is 5 per cent on the Fitchburg Railroad's preferred stock and 1 per cent on its common stock held by the public, interest on the funded debt, and organization expenses. Under the terms of the lease the carrier obligated itself to acquire $5,000,000 par value of the Fitchburg Railroad's common stock from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the additional outstanding common stock of the Fitchburg Railroad amounting to about $500,000. The lease agreement also provides that permanent improvements to the Fitchburg Railroad's property made by the lessee are to be paid for through issuance of capital securities by the Fitchburg Railroad. The rental accrued for the use of the Fitchburg Railroad's property during the year ended at date of valuation is recorded as $2,025,777.22.

The carrier operates as lessee through the Fitchburg Railroad the properties of the Troy and Bennington and the Vermont and Massachusetts, and, through the latter's control, the property of the Proprietors of Connecticut River Bridge. The terms under which these properties are used are set forth in the chapter on leased railway property in the report on the carrier and in the subsequent reports on the respective lessor companies.

Two steam locomotives and two passenger-train cars owned by the Fitchburg Railroad are used by The St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad Company.

Jointly owned property. The only property, aside from minor facilities, owned by the Fitchburg Railroad with others is 0.761 mile of other than main track owned jointly and equally with two industrial establishments along its line of road.