Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Clearfield and Mahoning Railway

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 31

Clearfield and Mahoning Railway

The railroad of the Clearfield and Mahoning Railway Company, herein called the Clearfield and Mahoning, extending from a connection with the carrier [Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway] at Clearfield and Mahoning Junction to Clearfield, Pa., 25.724 miles.

Introductory

The Clearfield and Mahoning is a corporation of the State of Pennsylvania, having its principal office at Ridgway, Pa. It is controlled by A. Iselin & Company through ownership of a majority of its outstanding capital stock. The records do not indicate that the Clearfield and Mahoning controls any carrier corporation. The property of the Clearfield and Mahoning has been operated by the carrier from the date it was placed in operation.

Corporate History

The Clearfield and Mahoning was incorporated on May 28, 1892, under the general laws of the State of Pennsylvania and by letters patent of the Governor of Pennsylvania on the same date. The purpose for which the Clearfield and Mahoning was incorporated was to construct, operate, and maintain a railroad from a point of connection, near Jefferson Line, Pa., with the railroad of the carrier, to a connection with the railroad of the Beach[sic] Creek Railroad Company, near Clearfield, Pa.

On February 11, 1913, the Clearfield and Mahoning acquired by purchase the property, rights, and franchises of the Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company [organized November 17, 1896], except the right of that company to be a corporation.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The road owned by the Clearfield and Mahoning on date of valuation had been acquired by construction, commenced in July, 1892, and completed on June 30, 1893.

Leased Railway Property

The property of the Clearfield and Mahoning has been operated by the carrier since the date it was placed in operation, under a lease dated January 3, 1893. The lease is in perpetuity, and provides a rental equal to a dividend of 6 per cent on the capital stock and the interest on the funded debt.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the equipment owned by the Clearfield and Mahoning is used by the carrier. The lease stipulates that at its expiration the equipment in good order, or its equivalent in value, shall be returned.

Predecessor Company

Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company

Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company, a corporation of the State of Pennsylvania, was controlled by the Harbison-Walker Refractories Company through ownership of the entire outstanding capital stock.

Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company owned on the date of its demise a right of way from a connection with the property of the Clearfield and Mahoning at Bridgeport to the works of the Harbison-Walker Refractories Company at Grampian, Pa., a distance of about 2.594 miles. This right of way had been graded and some bridges, trestles, and culverts had been constructed when the property of the Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company was leased to the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh for five years from January 1, 1897, under a lease agreement of that date. The carrier furnished the materials and completed the road during the year 1897, and charged the Clearfield and Mahoning with the expenses so incurred.

No accounting records of the Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company are obtainable.

Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company was incorporated November 20, 1896, under the general laws of the State of Pennsylvania and under letters patent of the Governor of Pennsylvania of the same date, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad from a connection with the property of the Clearfield and Mahoning at Bridgeport to the works of Harbison-Walker Refractories Company at Grampian, Pa.

Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company disposed of its property, rights, and franchises, except the right to be a corporation, by sale to the Clearfield and Mahoning on February 11, 1913, and was dissolved on May 31, 1913, by a decree of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pa.

The articles of association of the Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company indicate that it was authorized to issue $25,000 par value of capital stock, but the records that are obtainable do not indicate the amount of stock actually issued and outstanding on the date of demise or the considerations received there for.

The results of corporate operations and the investment in road and equipment are not ascertainable.

The property of the Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company was operated by the carrier from the date it was opened for operation in 1897 to date of demise. The available records indicate that the Bridgeport & Widemire Railway Company received no rental for the use of its property until August 22, 1904; from the latter date to August 7, 1906, the carrier paid as rental 35 cents a ton on all freight moved over the road.