Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Western and Atlantic Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 31

Introductory
The Western & Atlantic Railroad is not a corporation. It is the name by which the railroad owned by the State of Georgia is commonly known. The Western & Atlantic Railroad Company was a corporation created to operate, under lease, the railroad owned by the State of Georgia during the period from December 27, 1870, to December 27, 1890. Its corporate existence terminated with the expiration of the lease.

Location and General Description of Property
The railroad of Western & Atlantic Railroad, herein called the Western & Atlantic, is a standard-gage steam railroad located in the States of Georgia and Tennessee, and extends from Atlanta, Ga., to Chattanooga, Tenn. It owns 136.818 miles of first main track, 6.930 miles of other main tracks, and 67.503 miles of yard tracks and sidings—a total of 211.251 miles of all tracks—all of which are leased to the carrier.

Corporate History
On December 21, 1836, the General Assembly of the State of Georgia approved an act providing for the construction of a railroad to extend from the Georgia-Tennessee State line, near the Tennessee River, to a point on the southeast bank of the Chattahoochee River; thence to Athens, Madison, Milledgeville, Forsyth, and Columbus, Ga. By a special act of the General Assembly of Tennessee approved February 3, 1848, the Western & Atlantic was granted the right to extend its road into Tennessee from the Tennessee-Georgia State line to the Tennessee River.

The Western & Atlantic is controlled by the State of Georgia, through ownership of the entire property.

Development of Fixed Physical Property
The mileage owned by Western & Atlantic on date of valuation, has been acquired by it by construction, as follows: In the construction of the road all branches of the work were done by its own forces. The Western & Atlantic Railroad Company built no road.

Leased Railway Property
Prior to December 27, 1870, the Western & Atlantic operated its own property, except for a period during the Civil War, when its property was in the hands of the Federal military forces.

From December 27, 1870, to December 27, 1890, the property of the Western & Atlantic was operated by the Western & Atlantic Railroad Company under the provisions of a lease approved by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia on October 24, 1870. The rental paid was $300,000 per annum. All additions and betterments made by the Western & Atlantic Railroad Company during the period of the lease became the property of the Western & Atlantic at the termination of the lease.

On December 27, 1890, the entire property of the Western & Atlantic was leased to the carrier for a term of 29 years from the date, under the provisions of a lease approved November 12, 1889, by a general assembly of the State of Georgia. The terms of the lease and the rental accrued for the year ending on date of valuation are given in chapter on leased railway property of the report on the carrier.