Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Mahoning State Line Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 28

The Mahoning State Line Railroad

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of The Mahoning State Line Railroad Company, herein called the Mahoning State Line Railroad, is a single-track branch line located in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and extends from a junction with the Lowellville branch of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie at Bently, Ohio, southeasterly to Hillsville, Pa., a distance of 5.478 miles.

Introductory

The Mahoning State Line Railroad Company is a corporation of the State of Ohio, having its principal office at Youngstown, Ohio. It is the second company of that name. The present company continued the accounting records of the first company as its own and also incurred its stock liability. Owing to these complications, it will be necessary for the purposes of this report to consider the two companies as one corporation. The Mahoning State Line Railroad is controlled by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie through ownership of more than a majority of its capital stock. On the other hand the records do not indicate that this company, itself, controls any common-carrier corporation. The property of the Mahoning State Line Railroad has always been operated by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie.

Corporate History

The Mahoning State Line Railroad was incorporated August 10, 1891, under the general laws of the State of Ohio, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad between Lowellsville, Ohio, and the Ohio-Pennsylvania State Line, a distance of about two miles. Pursuant to this purpose, the company constructed a railroad from Lowellsville Junction, Ohio, to the Ohio-Pennsylvania State line. On November 7, 1894, this company acquired under an agreement of consolidation the property, rights, and franchises of The Carbon Limestone Railroad Company, incorporated on April 13, 1894, under the general laws of the State of Pennsylvania.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The owned road of the Mahoning State Line Railroad in Ohio, 1.700 miles, was constructed by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie for its account. It acquired its road in Pennsylvania, 3.778 miles, under the agreement of consolidation. The road in Pennsylvania was constructed by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie for account of the Carbon Limestone Railroad Company. No accounts were kept by The Carbon Limestone Railroad Company but the cost of the two roads was charged by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie to the Mahoning State Line Railroad. The two roads were built in 1894 and, upon completion, were consolidated and placed in operation, November 7, 1894, by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie as lessee.

Leased Railway Property

The entire property of the Mahoning State Line Railroad is exclusively operated on the date of valuation by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad under a 99-year lease dated November 26, 1895. The terms of the lease are given in the chapter on leased railway property in the report on the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie.

Predecessor Company

The Carbon Limestone Railroad Company

The accounting records of The Carbon Limestone Railroad Company were not obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. Certain information stated below was obtained from its corporate records and from the records of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie and the Mahoning State Line. The records reviewed did not indicate whether The Carbon Limestone Railroad Company was controlled by any individual or corporation on November 7, 1894, the date of sale, or, on the other hand, that it then controlled any common-carrier corporation.

The railroad of The Carbon Limestone Railroad Company was constructed by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie, but the expenditures thereon were charged with similar expenditures upon the road of the Mahoning State Line Railroad to that company. Upon completion of the road, and subsequent to the date of consolidation, the liability for the expenditures of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie upon both roads was recorded and discharged by the Mahoning State Line Railroad.