Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/New London Northern Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 30

New London Northern Railroad

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of New London Northern Railroad Company, herein called the New London Northern, is a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The owned mileage extends from New London, Conn., to Brattleboro, Vt., and consists of 125.186 miles of road and 45.886 miles of yard tracks and sidings, making 171.072 miles of all tracks. All of its property is leased to and operated by the carrier.

Corporate History

The New London Northern was incorporated June 7, 1859, in Connecticut, and February 24, 1860, in Massachusetts, by special acts of the legislatures of those States, with principal office at New London, Conn.

Under special act of Connecticut approved May 23, 1860, the Connecticut and Massachusetts companies were consolidated. Organized for the purpose of acquiring the property of The New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad Company, it acquired this property on March 30, 1861. The property of the New London Northern was leased for sole operation to the Consolidated Railroad Company of Vermont, which lease was assigned to the carrier, terms of which lease are given in the report on the carrier. Further information in regard to corporate history and the development of fixed physical property is given in Appendix 2.

The corporate predecessors of the New London Northern, together with succession, is shown in the following table.

No.	Name	Incorporation	Succession
1	New London Northern Railroad Company.	In Connecticut, June 7, 1859; in Massachusetts, Feb. 24, 1860.
2	The New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad Company.	In Massachusetts, Apr. 10, 1848.	Sold to 1, Mar. 30, 1861.
3	New London, Willimantic and Springfield Railroad Company.	In Connecticut, May, 1847.	Merged with 2, Jan. 17, 1849.
4	Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer Railroad.	In Massachusetts, Mar. 25, 1858.	Sold to 1, Mar. 1, 1861.
5	Amherst and Belchertown Railroad Company.	In Massachusetts, May 24, 1851.	Sold to 4, Jan. 1, 1858.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The property owned by the New London Northern on date of valuation was acquired by merger, purchase, and construction. A statement of the owned road mileage, as indicated by its records, follows:

[Property]	[Mileage subtotal]	Mileage
Acquired by merger or purchase:
From The New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad Company—
Construction by that company—
New London to Willimantic, Conn., 1849.	30.000
Willimantic to Stafford, Conn., 1850.	20.000
Stafford, Conn., to Palmer, Mass., 1850.	16.000
		66.000
From the Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer Railroad Company; constructed by the Amherst and Belchertown Railroad Company, Plamer[sic] to Amherst, Mass., 1853.		19.050
Acquired by purchase of trackage:
From the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Company, Millers Falls, Mass., to Brattleboro, Vt., 1880.		21.000
Acquired by construction:
Amherst to Millers Falls, Mass., 1866.	14.500
Montville to Palmertown, Conn., 1899.	2.518
		17.018
Total recorded mileage.		123.518
Add difference between total recorded mileage and mileage inventoried as of date of valuation.		1.668
Mileage inventoried as of date of valuation.		125.186

Leased Railway Property

On November 21, 1871, the New London Northern leased its property to J. Gregory Smith, Worthington C. Smith, and Benjamin P. Cheney for 20 years from December 1, 1871, at a rental of $150,000 per annum, and 15 per cent of each $100,000, but no fractional part thereof, of excess of "gross earnings" over $510,000 per annum, and $1,000 per annum for organization expenses. This lease was amended June 25, 1873, assigning it to the Central Vermont Railroad Company and again amended in December, 1880, increasing the rent $42,000 per annum to December 1, 1885, and thereafter $39,000 per annum account of the purchase by the New London Northern of that portion of the railroad of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Company from Millers Falls to Brattleboro. The lease stipulated that the New London Northern would pay for all additions and betterments to the aggregate amount of $500,000 and the lessees would pay all taxes and insurance. On October 17, 1891, the New London Northern leased its property together with that of the Brattleboro and Whitehall Railroad Company (predecessor of the West River Railroad), to the Consolidated Railroad Company of Vermont for a period of 99 years from December 1, 1891, and that company on April 30, 1899, assigned the lease to the carrier, which has continued to operate the properties. Under the terms of the lease (which are detailed in the report on the carrier), the annual rental amounts to $216,552.50, of which $3,000 represents interest on the bonds of the West River Railroad held by the carrier.