Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Westfield Railroad

here's a portion of a more detailed history:

Submitted June 24, 1932. Decided January 3, 1933

Public convenience and necessity not shown to require the acquisition or operation by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company of the railroad properties of the Kansas & Sidell Railroad Company, the Casey & Kansas (Westfield) Railroad Company, and the Yale Short Line Company. Previous report, 175 I. C. C. 301.

57.8 miles in length, extending in a general north-and-south direction in the eastern part of Illinois, far removed from the Alton's territory. Unless otherwise designated, all points mentioned in this report are in Illinois. The Kansas & Sidell extends from Kansas northerly to Sidell, 26.2 miles, in Edgar and Vermilion Counties. The Casey & Kansas extends from Kansas southerly to a point about 4,000 feet south of Casey, 19.5 miles, in Edgar, Coles, and Clark Counties. The name Westfield Railroad Company is still used in accounting, and in reports to this commission, although the ownership of the property now lies in the Casey & Kansas Railroad Company. The Yale Short Line extends from a point about 4,000 feet south of Casey southerly to Yale, 12.3 miles, in Clark, Cumberland, and Jasper Counties.

These three lines have directors and general officers in common. Their stock is held by I. N. Coolley and his family, and W. C. Price and his wife. As will be explained, these parties acquired the properties in 1919. All operation is conducted by the Kansas & Sidell, but the several companies keep their accounts and report to us separately. Interchange statistics are shown for each of the three roads, but with respect to the connecting trunk lines the three are considered as one. Generally crossing the short lines in an east-and-west direction, the trunk lines include the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad, hereinafter referred to as the C. & E. I., at Sidell, the Baltimore & Ohio, at Hume, the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, hereinafter called the Nickel Plate, at Brocton, the Pennsylvania Railroad, Peoria division, at Borton, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway, hereinafter called the Big Four, Kansas, and the Pennsylvania Railroad, St. Louis division, at Casey. A line of the Illinois Central Railroad passes 7.5 miles west of Yale.

Most of the freight handled by the short lines is interchanged with the trunk lines, each of them furnishing a substantial proportion of the traffic in 1930. More business is handled on the Kansas & Sidell than on the other lines. There are no large grain elevators south of Kansas. Small gasoline-motor cars furnish both passenger and freight service, and steam operation is conducted according to the demands of the freight traffic. The equipment owned by the Kansas & Sidell consists of two consolidation locomotives, having a light weight of 72 tons each and built in 1905, one 10-wheeler, having a light weight of 62 tons and built in 1891, three motor cars, nine box cars, two flat cars, and two cabooses. The rail on the three lines is generally from 40 to 50 years old. In weight, it ranges from 56 to 66 pounds per yard, the major part being 60 pound. For much of the distance the grades are light, but in the vicinity of Westfield the line has grades exceeding 1.5 per cent in each direction.

Of the 25 stations on these lines, 16 have less than 100 inhabitants in tributary territory. All the larger places have rail service in addition to that of the Kansas & Sidell, except Westfield, which has a population of 646. This point is 6.8 miles from Ashmore station on the Big Four. In 1930 it originated 118 carloads of freight and received 735 carloads, the latter including 625 carloads of road-building material. Other stations exclusively served and at which a material tonnage is handled are from 2 to 7.5 miles by highway from trunk-line stations. The district as a whole is unusually well supplied with rail facilities. Common points are Sidell, population 655, 53 carloads of freight forwarded and received in 1930; Hume, population 585, 678 carloads in 1930; Brocton, population 429, 798 carloads in 1930; Borton, population 123, 57 carloads in 1930; Kansas, population 900, 253 carloads in 1930; and Casey, population 2200, 123 carloads in 1930. No county seats are served by these short lines.

The rail has been in service for a long time, and much of it is bent and kinked. The tie renewals have been insufficient to keep the track in proper condition, and the gravel and cinder ballast applied during the present ownership has largely disappeared. The timber bridges are in need of repairs or rebuilding. Trainloads and speeds which were safe in the period 1906-1918 are not safe now. Only one of the steam locomotives is in service, and practically all the equipment owned is in need of extensive repairs. In view of the facts disclosed by the evidence, the physical properties as a whole must be recognized as being in very poor condition. The outlay necessary to bring these lines up to Baltimore & Ohio branchline standard was estimated by the interveners at $46,437, later at $154,321, and by the Baltimore & Ohio at $681,800. While the question is largely one of judgment and policy, we think the data of record warrant the conclusion that an expenditure of approximately $400,000 would be sufficient to put the three lines in condition for safe and economical operation.

The original railroad represented by the present ownership was chartered in 1869 and was completed between Sidell and Olney, about 85 miles, in 1883. Following a receiver's sale in 1886, the property was purchased by the Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railroad Company, and in 1889 it passed from that ownership to the Indiana, Decatur & Western Railway Company. In 1902, the latter was consolidated with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis Railroad Company in the formation of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western Railway Company. The bonds of the subsidiaries had been guaranteed by the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway Company, and the stock of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis was owned by the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton. That carrier accordingly conducted operation of the lines. They subsequently passed into receivership, and a new corporation, the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western Railroad Company, took them over in 1915. The Sidell & Olney Railroad Company was incorporated as a separate entity at this time, but its operation was carried on by the Chicago[sic], Indianapolis & Western until 1917. Between West Liberty and Olney, about 8 miles, the operation was under trackage rights over the Illinois Central. A receiver was appointed for the Sidell & Olney in 1918, and parts of it were operated by the Director General of Railroads until March 15, 1919, when it was released to the receiver. Operating losses seem to have been the rule up to that time. Efforts had been made to sell the property, and in April, 1918, a contract of sale for salvage had been executed for $200,000. The Illinois Commerce Commission, however, failed to approve the sale. Engineers of the Railroad Administration had estimated that it would cost $125,000 to rehabilitate the road. The track between Yale and West Liberty, 19 miles, was taken up in 1919. Negotiations were had with local persons, a decree was finally agreed upon, and the property was sold in April, 1919, for the sum of $200,001. The terms of sale carried the obligation to operate the line north of Casey. It was understood that the purchasing committee would divide the property.

The portion of line between Kansas and Sidell was conveyed to I. N. Coolley and E. McClain, that between Casey and Kansas was conveyed to the Westfield Railroad Company, and that between Casey and Yale was sold for scrap. The first-named portion, covering 26.2 miles, was acquired by the Kansas & Sidell Railroad Company on August 15, 1919, I. N. Coolley and W. C. Price acquiring $100,000 of bonds in the transaction. These are first-mortgage 5 per cent bonds, maturing in 1939. The second portion, covering 19.5 miles, was sold on April 24, 1924, to Coolley and Price, under execution of judgments aggregating $20,912.23 and costs. These parties organized the Casey & Kansas Railroad Company in 1926 for the purpose of taking over the property. In Acquisition of Control by Kansas & Sidell R. Co., 154 I. C. C. 657, decided August 20, 1929, we authorized the acquisition and operation by the Casey & Kansas of the line of railroad formerly owned by the Westfield, and also authorized the acquisition of control by the Kansas & Sidell of the railroad of the Casey & Kansas by lease. Subsequently, we authorized the Casey & Kansas to issue not exceeding $91,100 of capital stock, to be delivered to Coolley and Price. Casey & K. R. Co. Stock, 170 I. C. C. 29, decided December 19, 1930. In the report in the latter proceeding it was shown that the capitalizable cost of the property to the individuals mentioned consisted of the judgments which have been stated, advances for operating expenses, taxes paid, mortgage obligations and claims against the Westfield, organization expenses, and advances for working capital, the total aggregating $91,192.19. An item of $33,566 for material and supplies was not considered to be supported by the showing made. The stock was issued and delivered to the Coolley and Price interests on December 11, 1931. In the annual report of the Westfield for 1930, mortgage notes and interest amounting to $16,200 are shown as outstanding, but the interveners' testimony is that all such obligations have been eliminated.

Of the remaining portion of the property, i.e., that extending southerly from a point approximately 4,000 feet south of Casey, about 13 miles were conveyed through a dealer in scrap to a trustee. The Yale Short Line Railroad Company, incorporated in July, 1919, took over the ownership of this line, but operation was conducted under the jurisdiction of an operating agent until March 19, 1929. On that date, the Kansas & Sidell assumed supervision and operation, and on November 26, 1929, we authorized its control by lease. Kansas & Sidell R. Co. Acquisition, 158 I. C. C. 270. Of $44,000 of capital stock of the Yale Short Line, 97 per cent belonged to the owners of the Kansas & Sidell, for which portion they apparently paid $7,500. Copies of the deeds, leases, etc., involved with all these lines were introduced as exhibits. There is some confusion and uncertainty in the accounts of the individual carriers, the settlements of old claims and judgments, and related matters, but the questions at issue are not materially affected thereby.

The general character of the freight business handled by