Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway Company

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 46

Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway Company, hereinafter called the Omaha Bridge and Terminal, is a double-track line, from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Omaha, Nebr., 4.398 miles, including a bridge across the Missouri River and terminal facilities in Omaha.

Introductory

The Omaha Bridge and Terminal is a corporation of the State of Nebraska, having its principal office at Omaha, Nebr. The company is controlled by the Mississippi Valley Corporation, a holding company of the Illinois Central, through stock ownership. On the other hand, the records do not indicate that this company, itself, controls any common-carrier corporation.

The property of the Omaha Bridge and Terminal has been operated by the Illinois Central since December 6, 1899.

Corporate History

The Omaha Bridge and Terminal was incorporated November 28, 1890, under the general laws of Nebraska, as The Inter State Bridge and Street Railway Company. On September 19, 1892, amended articles of incorporation were filed in Nebraska, changing the name to the Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway Company. An act of Congress authorizing the construction of a bridge over the Missouri River near Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebr., was approved February 13, 1891, and amendments were approved January 28, 1893, April 21, 1898, and May 23, 1902.

On May 25, 1893, a permit was issued by the secretary of state of Iowa to the Omaha Bridge and Terminal to transact its business in that State.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The bridge and certain terminal facilities were constructed by the Nebraska Construction Company under the terms of an agreement dated August 1, 1892. The bridge was open for traffic in January 1894 but the Omaha Bridge and Terminal did not accept the properties as completed until December 1899. Under an amendment to the act of Congress, approved May 23, 1902, the bridge was partly reconstructed.

On June 1, 1889, the East Omaha Land Company, in whose interest The Inter State Bridge and Street Railway Company, a predecessor of the Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway Company, was incorporated, entered into a 999-year agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad Company for the construction of certain railroad facilities, including a belt line and industrial tracks from a connection with the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Company in East Omaha, Nebr., across the property of the East Omaha Land Company, which property the latter company was developing as a manufacturing district; it being provided in the agreement that upon completion of the terminal facilities, they were to be operated jointly by the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company. In accordance with this arrangement, the Union Pacific Railroad Company constructed about 8 miles of belt line tracks and industrial sidings, mostly upon the right-of-way furnished by the East Omaha Land Company, which was operated jointly with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company until November 1890. At that time, the Union Pacific Railroad Company failed to carry out certain provisions of the contract in respect to construction of additional industry tracks which resulted in the East Omaha Land Company declaring the contract forfeited. The Union Pacific Railroad Company filed suit in the Circuit Court of the United States, claiming specific performance under the contract. On March 31, 1894, the court rendered a decision In favor of the East Omaha Land Company, but stipulated that the Union Pacific Railroad Company should be reimbursed for the cost of the improvements it had placed on the property of the East Omaha Land Company, which was fixed at an agreed value of $85,000. The court further decreed that the Union Pacific Railroad Company had no equity under the contract and agreement in the right-of-way over the lands of the East Omaha Land Company.

On February 1, 1903, the Omaha Bridge and Terminal sold to the Dubuque and Sioux City certain of its terminal property located in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Leased Railway Property

The properties of the Omaha Bridge and Terminal are operated by the Illinois Central. This arrangement was made by an informal agreement between the lessor and the lessee, dated December 6, 1899, whereby the lessee acquired the exclusive use of freight houses and team tracks in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebr., and the joint use of all other facilities.

On February 1, 1903, an agreement was entered into with the Dubuque and Sioux City, superseding the informal agreement of December 6, 1899, which provided for the joint use of the bridge and exclusive use of other property by that company. On the same date this agreement was assigned to the Illinois Central.

On July 1, 1911, the Omaha Bridge and Terminal leased its property to the Dubuque and Sioux City for sole operation under modified terms of the agreement dated February 1, 1903, for a rental of $87,500 per annum, plus 6 percent on cost of additions and betterments made to the property. This agreement was also assigned to the Illinois Central on the date it was executed.