Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Bergen County Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 33

The Bergen County Railroad

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of The Bergen County Railroad Company, herein called the Bergen County Railroad, is a branch line, located entirely within the State of New Jersey and extends from Rutherford Junction to Ridgewood Junction, 9.99 miles, of which 9.942 miles is double-tracked.

Introductory

The Bergen County Railroad is a corporation of the State of New Jersey, having its principal office at Jersey City, N. J. No general accounting records of the company were obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. However, certain data indicated hereinafter were obtained from a balance sheet statement as of date of valuation, certified by the comptroller of the company, filed with us, and from other sources.

The Bergen County Railroad is controlled by the Erie through ownership of the entire outstanding capital stock. The records reviewed do not indicate that this company controls any common-carrier corporation. The property of the Bergen County Railroad was operated by the New York, Lake Erie and Western and its receivers, from the date it was placed in operation, about October 1, 1881, to December 1, 1895. From the latter date to December 31, 1917, it was operated by the Erie. The common-carrier property of the company was taken over for operation by the United States Railroad Administration on January 1, 1918, as part of the system of the Erie, and it is so operated on date of valuation.

Corporate History

The Bergen County Railroad was incorporated September 9, 1880, under the general laws of New Jersey, for a period of 500 years, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad that would form a connection between certain lines operated by the New York, Lake Erie and Western. The date of its organization was September 10, 1880.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The owned mileage of the Bergen County Railroad, 9.990 miles, was constructed by the New York, Lake Erie and Western for the Bergen County Railroad, during the period from the latter part of 1880, to about October 1, 1881. There is a difference of 0.193 mile between the mileage recorded by this company, 9.797 miles, and the mileage, 9.990 miles, inventoried as of date of valuation.

The records reviewed indicate that a portion of the railroad inventoried to the Bergen and Dundee, was originally constructed for and owned by the Bergen County Railroad, but it has never been formally conveyed to the Bergen and Dundee. Title to the right of way on which the railroad of the latter company was constructed is held by the Bergen County Railroad.

Leased Railway Property

The common-carrier property of the Bergen County Railroad is operated on date of valuation by the United States Railroad Administration as part of the system of the Erie. Details with respect to the operation of this property are given in the chapter on leased railway property in the report on the Erie.