Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 141

Location and General Description of Property
The railroad of the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad Company, herein called the carrier, is a single-track, standard-gauge, steam railroad, extending in a nearly straight line from Toledo, Ohio, diagonally across the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to East St. Louis. The following statement shows the mileage by States:

Characteristics of Country
The parts of Ohio and Indiana crossed by this road are generally flat or gently rolling, but are rough and broken for a few miles on each side of the Wabash River. Through Illinois wide stretches of prairie land prevail. These are cut by streams flowing in a southerly direction, with comparatively narrow valleys 50 to 75 feet in depth. The soil, in general, is good farming land underlaid with clay.

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Corn, oats, and wheat are the principal farm products, and considerable attention is given to stock raising and dairying in Illinois. Manufacturing is of considerable importance in the larger cities and towns on the carrier's line. A coal mine of large output is operated at Panama, Ill.

Road
Steel bridges span the principal rivers, and there are many timber trestles. Ties in the main line average about 3,100 to the mile, principally zinc treated, with some creosoted and untreated white-oak and cedar ties. The main tracks are laid with 75 and 80 pound rail. The tracks are chiefly ballasted with gravel from the carrier's pit at Silverwood, Ind. Telegraph property, as herein reported, is in accordance with agreed ownership at time of field inventory. The principal shops are at Frankfort, Ind.

Corporate History
The carrier was incorporated by representatives of the security holders of the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad Company, on July 9, 1900, "to purchase and construct connecting and branch roads, and to operate and maintain them." Its principal corporate office is at Frankfort, Ind. The detailed facts as to the development of fixed physical property are given in Appendix 2.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
The property owned by the carrier on June 30, 1916, was acquired through a foreclosure sale of the property of the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad Company. The property was sold March 27, 1900, and the carrier took possession of it August 1, 1900. The property in Ohio and Indiana was conveyed to the carrier directly by the master in chancery on July 26, 1900. The property in Illinois was conveyed indirectly through the Toledo and East St. Louis Railroad Company, a corporation organized for the purpose of making the conveyance, July 30, 1900.

The records of the companies which constructed the property are not now obtainable, but from other sources, principally court and State records, it appears that the construction history is about as follows:

The main track as originally acquired was shortened 0.07 mile in 1912 through a change of alignment. It appears that about 72.188 miles of sidetracks were constructed by the carrier.

Leased Railway Property
In addition to the foregoing, the carrier jointly uses 0.58 mile of main track owned by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company that serves the union passenger station at Toledo. For the year ended June 30, 1916, the charge for use of this track was $6,841.41. The carrier also uses jointly 3.88 miles of main track, extending from Bridge Junction, Ill., over the Eads Bridge (spanning the Mississippi River) into the union station at St. Louis. The track, bridge, and station are controlled by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. For the year ended June 30, 1916, the charge for trackage rights amounted to $17,706.75 and for the upkeep and operation of the union station, $19,585.41 additional. The carrier also uses Cupples freight station and Eleventh Street warehouse at St. Louis, owned and operated by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. The carrier's proportion of the charge for the use of this property during the year ended June 30, 1916, was $2,084.28. The carrier also uses Broadway freight station at St. Louis, owned by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company. The annual rental is $15,000. The charge for rental and expenses for the use of this property during the year ended June 30, 1916, amounted to $51,424.57. The carrier jointly uses minor facilities owned by other companies, the charges for which, including rent, maintenance, and operation during the year ended June 30, 1916, amounted to $5,815.59.

Property owned by the carrier is jointly used by others as follows: Main track, 5.5 miles, extending from Erie Street in Toledo to Copeland, together with 17.9 miles of appurtenant yard and side tracks; freight station and office at Toledo are jointly used by the affiliated Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad Company. No rent is charged, but the operating and the maintenance expenses are divided according to the number of cars handled. The charge to the Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad Company for the use of this property during the year ended June 30, 1916, was $20,446.14. The same 5.5 miles of main track, above described, the freight house, and 2.8 miles of serving track are jointly used by the carrier and The Hocking Valley Railway Company. The annual rental is $15,521.05. The charge for the use of this property to The Hocking Valley Railway Company, including maintenance and operating expenses for the year ended June 30, 1916, was $29,741.03. Other minor facilities of the carrier, consisting of connecting tracks, station buildings, and interlocking plants, are used jointly by other companies. The charge for their use during the year ended June 30, 1916, was $4,475.52.

Toledo and East St. Louis Railroad
This company was incorporated in Illinois on July 12, 1900, for the purpose of taking title to that part of the property of the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad Company situated in Illinois and of passing the title to the carrier, thus observing the existing laws of Illinois respecting the rights and privileges of domestic and foreign corporations. It received a master's deed to the property on July 26, 1900, and on July 30, 1900, conveyed the property by warranty deed to the carrier. The company kept no books.

Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad
This company was formed on June 12, 1886, by the consolidation of The Toledo, Dupont and Western Railway Company, The Bluffton, Kokomo and Southwestern Railroad Company, and the Toledo, Charleston and St. Louis Railroad Company, which were incorporated in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, respectively. The articles of consolidation were filed in Ohio on June 14, 1886, and in Indiana and Illinois on June 15, 1886.

As a result of the consolidation, the Toledo, St. Louis, and Kansas City became possessed of a line of single-track, narrow-gauge railroad (with an unknown quantity of rolling stock), extending from Toledo, Ohio, to East St. Louis, Ill., and estimated to be 450.72 miles in length.

The purpose of this company, as stated in the articles of consolidation, was to unite the lines of railway of the three consolidating companies and to merge and consolidate their capital stock, property, and franchises, in conformity with the general laws of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The constituent companies had been authorized by their respective State charters to locate, purchase, construct, maintain, and operate lines of railway, and did in fact acquire each for itself a portion of the property of a predecessor company, but immediately conveyed it to the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City.

When this company acquired the properties they were of narrow gauge (3-foot). The work of widening the gauge to standard was immediately undertaken and was completed some time before June, 1889. This work was done by one Sylvester H. Kneeland, under a contract made at the time the reorganization of the predecessor of the three constituent companies named above was arranged for. The contract provided that the consolidated company should issue its capital stock at the rate of $25,000 and first-lien bonds at the rate of $20,000 per road-mile, and out of the issues Kneeland should receive $2,500,000 of stock and $2,000,000 of bonds, and thereafter, as he completed the reconstruction of the road into a first-class, standard-gauge line and furnished the necessary rolling stock and motive power, additional shares of stock and bonds should be delivered to him equivalent to the value of the work done and materials furnished. The face value of the securities delivered for reconstruction is not known.

From May 18, 1893, to August 1, 1900, the property was in the hands of receivers. On March 27, 1900, it was sold under foreclosure to the stock and bond holders for $12,200,000 to satisfy the first-mortgage lien of $12,028,000. These interests proceeded to reorganize the company's finances and caused the carrier to be formed. Title to the property in Ohio and Indiana was passed to the carrier by master's deed dated July 26, 1900. Title to the section of line in Illinois was conveyed by master's deed of same date to an intermediary company, the Toledo and East St. Louis Railroad Company, which executed a warranty deed on July 30, 1900, conveying it to the carrier. The activities of the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City did not affect the main-track mileage of the property, which is shown as 450.72 miles at the date of sale.

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No accounting records were obtainable for the following predecessor companies. The information herein related has been secured from reports to State commissions and from Federal court records at Toledo. Many of these companies have retained the original name through several corporate changes. In order to preserve the corporate distinctions in the following pages, some companies have been designated by an added number. The three companies that consolidated to form the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City were: The Toledo, Dupont and Western Railway Company; The Bluffton, Kokomo and Southwestern Railroad Company; and The Toledo, Charleston and St. Louis Railroad Company.

When Sylvester H. Kneeland, on behalf of the bondholders, purchased the property of The Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad Company (No. 7) on December 30, 1885, he had contracted to convey the property, which consisted of about 450 miles of narrow-gauge railroad in two sections, forming a continuous line between Toledo and East St. Louis, to three new corporations, to be formed for the purpose of taking title in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, respectively. It was also provided that the three corporations thus created should later be consolidated into one corporation, which would thus restore the original integrity of the line. These companies were incorporated by Kneeland and his associates pursuant to this plan, as follows:

The Toledo, Dupont and Western was incorporated in Ohio on February 10, 1886, and received title to the line between Toledo and the Ohio-Indiana State line, 100.03 miles, by deed from Kneeland dated June 12, 1886, the consideration being 34,994 shares of its $3,500,000 capital stock.

The Bluffton, Kokomo and Southwestern was incorporated in Indiana on March 3, 1886, and in exchange for 42,562 shares of its $4,277,500 of capital stock received title to 171.2 miles of line in Indiana by deed dated June 12, 1886.

The Toledo, Charleston and St. Louis was incorporated in Illinois on March 30, 1886, and in consideration of 44,715 shares of its $4,472,500 of capital stock received title to 179.49 miles of line in Illinois by deed dated June 12, 1886.

On the same day that these companies received title to the properties, namely, June 12, 1886, they executed articles of consolidation to form a new corporation known as the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad Company, hereinbefore discussed, which took over the several sections of line and issued its capital stock, share for share, in lieu of the stock of the consolidated companies.

The Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad (No. 7)
This company was formed as the result of the consolidation of The Spring Grove, Avondale and Cincinnati Railway Company; The Cincinnati Northern Railway Company; and The Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad Company (No. 6). The articles of consolidation were dated May 5, 1883, and filed in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois on May 8, 1883.

As a result of the consolidation, this company became possessed of about 780 miles of narrow-gauge railroad, all of which was owned, save about 67 miles between Frankfort, Ind., and the Indiana-Illinois State line, which had been established by the Frankfort and State Line Railroad Company, the ownership of which was in litigation. On November 12, 1885, the United States circuit court of Indianapolis, Ind., decreed this 67 miles to be the property of this company, by virtue of its payment of obligations on behalf of the Frankfort and State Line Railroad, which is referred to as follows:

The 780 miles of narrow-gauge railroad thus acquired consisted of the following lines:
 * Toledo to East St. Louis, 111., comprising the present-owned line of the carrier. Approximate mileage 450
 * Lines in Ohio subsequently separated from the system:
 * Delphos to Dayton. 98
 * Mercer to Shanesville. 4
 * Dayton to Wellston. 160
 * Wellston to Ironton, with branches. 18
 * Shakerstown to Dodds, Cincinnati to Waynesville, Cincinnati to Venice, mileage not definitely stated, but apparently aggregating about. 50
 * 330
 * Total main-track mileage owned. 780