Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway
Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States, Valuation Reports, Volume 32
The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway Company
editLocation and General Description of Property
editThe railroad of The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway Company, herein called the Gettysburg and Harrisburg, is a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, located in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania. The owned mileage extends in a southerly direction from Gettysburg Junction to Gettysburg, with branches extending from Gettysburg to Round Top and from Hunters Run to Pine Grove Furnace, a total of 41.611 miles. The Gettysburg and Harrisburg also owns and uses 15.864 miles of yard tracks and sidings. Its road thus embraces 57.475 miles of all tracks.
Economic Conditions Relating to Traffic
editThe principal products of the region are those of farm and forest.
Physical Characteristics of Road
editThe grading averages 13,508 cubic yards per mile of road, 10 per cent of which is loose rock and 27 per cent solid rock. The main track is laid entirely with 70-pound to 90-pound relay rail. The yard tracks and sidings are laid with 68-pound to 90-pound relay rail. The main line is ballasted with cinders and crushed rock.
Introductory
editThe Gettysburg and Harrisburg is a corporation of the State of Pennsylvania, having its principal office at Philadelphia, Pa. The Gettysburg and Harrisburg is controlled by the Reading Company through ownership of a majority of the outstanding capital stock. On date of valuation the Gettysburg and Harrisburg operated as a part of the Philadelphia and Beading Railway System, and used in common with the other roads of that system equipment owned by the Reading Company.
Corporate History
editThe Gettysburg and Harrisburg was incorporated July 30, 1891, under the general laws of Pennsylvania for the purpose of consolidating the properties, etc., of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company and The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company. The accounting records of the Consolidated company were opened as of July 16, 1891. The following chart shows the names of the corporations, the respective dates of incorporation, and for each predecessor the date of succession, the immediately succeeding corporation, and the manner of succession. Reference to each of these corporations is made in the last column by its respective number shown in the first column.
| No. | Name | Incorporation | Succession |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gettysburg and Harrisburg. | Under general laws of Pennsylvania, July 30, 1891. | |
| 2 | Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company. | Under general laws of Pennsylvania, Sept. 27, 1882. | Consolidated July 30, 1891, with 3 to form 1. |
| 3 | The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company. | Under general laws of Pennsylvania, July 16, 1877. | Consolidated July 30, 1891, with 2 to form 1. |
| 4 | South Mountain Iron Company. | By special acts of Pennsylvania, Apr. 23, 1864, and Feb. 28, 1865. | Sold at foreclosure June 14, 1877 to form 3. |
Development of Fixed Physical Property
editThe owned mileage of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg, about 41.60 was all acquired by consolidation of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company and The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company. Of the three corporations that comprise the line of succession culminating in the Gettysburg and Harrisburg as at present constituted, the South Mountain Railway and Mining Company constructed no road. The property constructed by the remaining corporations, the years when the various portions of the line were constructed, and the manner in which the Gettysburg and Harrisburg acquired the property are indicated in the following table:
- Acquired by consolidation, Recorded mileage
- From the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company, July 16, 1891:
- Constructed by the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company—
- Hunters Run to Round Top, Pa., 1884. 24.00
- Constructed by the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company—
- From The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company, July 16, 1891:
- Constructed by The South Mountain Iron Company—
- Gettysburg Junction to Pine Grove Furnace, Pa., 1868, 1869. 17.50
- Total. 41.50
- Gettysburg Junction to Pine Grove Furnace, Pa., 1868, 1869. 17.50
- Constructed by The South Mountain Iron Company—
- From the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company, July 16, 1891:
- Difference between total recorded mileage and mileage inventoried as of date of valuation. .011
- Mileage inventoried as of date of valuation. 41.511
The mileage constructed by the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company was built by that company under contract. No details of the construction of the line acquired from The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company were obtainable.
Leased Railway Property
editThe Gettysburg and Harrisburg uses on date of valuation facilities owned by other companies and other companies use facilities owned by the Gettysburg and Harrisburg to the extent Indicated below. The description of the property, the period and terms of use, and the rentals accrued and charged or credited to income for the year ending on date of valuation, are as follows:
- Solely owned but jointly used; used with—
- Western Maryland Railway Company— Rentals
- Wye tracks at Gettysburg. $108
- Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company—
- Joint agency at Mount Holly Springs, Pa. ...
- Western Maryland Railway Company— Rentals
- Jointly used but not owned; owned by—
- Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company—
- Signal tower and agency at Carlisle, Pa. Expenses of operations and maintenance are paid in equal parts by the joint users. ...
- Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company—
The Gettysburg and Harrisburg uses, in common with the other roads of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway System, equipment owned by the Reading Company and leased to the Philadelphia and Reading. The available records do not indicate that any of the equipment was permanently assigned to the service of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg, but equipment is furnished by the Philadelphia and Reading as needed and charges for the use thereof are assessed under the rules of the American Railway Association. The amount payable for the use of the equipment is included in the income accounts for hire of freight cars and rent for equipment.
Predecessor Companies
editGettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company
editIntroductory
The records reviewed do not indicate that the company was controlled by any individual or corporations on July 30, 1891, the date of its demise, nor, on the other hand, whether it controlled any common-carrier corporation. However, from 1884, the accounts of The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company were carried in the books of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company, but the records did not disclose the amount of control exercised by the latter over the former carrier.
The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company
editThe records reviewed do not indicate whether the company was controlled by any individual or corporation on July 30, 1891, the date of its demise, nor, on the other hand, whether it then controlled any common-carrier corporation.
The property owned on the date of its demise was acquired through foreclosure proceedings. It consisted of about 17 miles of single-track, standard-gage railroad formerly owned by the South Mountain Iron Company, extending from Gettysburg to Pine Grove Furnace, Pa.
Effective July 13, 1891, about 7.50 miles of the road between Hunters Run and Pine Grove Furnace was leased for 999 years to the Hunters Run and Slate Belt Railroad Company. The terms of the lease are not recorded.
Beginning with 1884, the accounts of the company were carried in the books of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company. There are no obtainable accounting records of the company prior to that date.
South Mountain Iron Company
editThe accounting records of the company were not obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from the accounts in connection with the finances, operations, aids, investments, or original cost. The records reviewed do not indicate whether the company was controlled by any individual or corporation on June 14, 1877, the date of its demise, nor, on the other hand, whether it then controlled any common-carrier corporation. During the years 1868 and 1869 the company constructed a railroad between Carlisle (now called Gettysburg Junction) and Pine Grove Furnace, Pa., a distance of about 17 miles. On June 14, 1877, the property rights and franchises of the company were sold under foreclosure proceedings and were conveyed to Thomas A. Kennedy, who represented the incorporators of The South Mountain Railway and Mining Company.