Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Midland Valley Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 141

Location and General Description of Property
The railroad of the Midland Valley Railroad Company, herein called the carrier, is a single-track, standard-gauge, steam railroad, located in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The owned mileage consists of a main line extending northwesterly from Rock Island, Okla., to Silverdale, Kans., via Muskogee and Tulsa, Okla., with branches extending from Rock Island, Okla., to Greenwood, Ark., from Excelsior to Hartford, Ark., and from Jenks to Kiefer, Okla., aggregating 290.574 miles of main track. The carrier also owns terminal facilities at Fort Smith, Ark., and Arkansas City, Kans., both of which points are reached by means of trackage rights.

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The carrier wholly owns and uses 370.171 miles of all tracks and wholly uses but does not own 55.594 miles of all tracks. These tracks are classified in the trackage table in Appendix 1. The carrier also jointly owns and uses with another carrier 0.257 undivided mile of yard tracks and sidings, as shown in the trackage table in Appendix 1.

Introductory
The carrier is a corporation of the State of Arkansas, having its principal office at Muskogee, Okla. It is controlled by Edward T. Stotesburg, Sidney F. Tyler, Lloyd W. Smith, and Francis I. Gowan, trustees, who hold the entire capital stock of the carrier under a voting-trust agreement established February 1, 1913, under the terms of the plan of readjustment, as explained more fully in the chapter on history of corporate financing. On the other hand, the records do not indicate that this carrier controls any common-carrier corporation. The property was operated by the carrier's own organization from the dates it was placed in operation to December 31, 1917. From January 1, 1918, to date of valuation it has been operated by the United States Railroad Administration.

Corporate History
The carrier was incorporated June 4, 1903, under the general laws of Arkansas for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad from Fort Smith, Ark., to connections with the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad near Hartford, Ark., and the Fort Smith and Western Railroad at Bokoshe, Okla., and various branch lines within Arkansas, together with power to acquire any railroad already constructed within or without Arkansas, and to extend its lines as the board of directors might determine.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
The owned mileage of the carrier, 290.574 miles, was acquired by it under a construction contract from the Cherokee Construction Company or through construction by its own forces. The years when the various portions of the road were constructed are indicated in the following table. In addition, the carrier owns 1.95 miles of terminal tracks at Fort Smith, Ark. reached by trackage rights over the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. These terminal tracks were constructed during 1904 for the carrier.

The carrier acquired its entire original main line, its branch line to Glenpool, Okla., and its original equipment, under a construction contract with the Cherokee Construction Company, an affiliated company. Of this property, 38.81 miles of road extending from milepost 59.15 to Muskogee, Okla., had been constructed by the Kenefick Construction Company for the Muskogee Southern Railroad, but the Cherokee Construction Company, under an agreement with the Kenefick Construction Company, acquired such mileage for the carrier.

Leased Railway Property
The carrier used on December 31, 1917, property owned by other companies and other companies used property owned by the carrier 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 or credited to income for the year ended December 31, 1917, were as follows:

Lessor Company

 * Wichita and Midland Valley