Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 28

The Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad

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Location and General Description of Property

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The railroad of The Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad Company, herein called the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny, is located within the State of Pennsylvania and consists of 116.064 miles of road with 95.370 miles of second, 3.862 miles of third, and 3.862 miles of fourth main tracks. One double-tracked line of this company extends northwesterly from Connellsville, through McKeesport, to Pittsburgh, and forms a part of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie's principal main line. Another double-tracked main line extends southerly from Belle Vernon Junction to Brownsville Junction. There are also many single-track branch lines, the most important projecting from Fayette City to Fuller, Whitsett Junction to Washington Mines, and from Dickerson Run to Vanderbilt.

Introductory

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The Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny is a corporation of the State of Pennsylvania, having its principal office at Pittsburgh, Pa. 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 accounting records of the company do not include the results of its corporate operations. The company is controlled jointly by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie and The New York Central Railroad Company through ownership of 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 Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny has been operated by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie during its entire life.

Corporate History

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The Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny was incorporated August 4, 1881, under the general laws of the State of Pennsylvania, for the purpose of constructing a railroad from a point of connection with the property of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie at Pittsburgh, Pa., to New Haven, Pa., on the Youghiogheny River, a distance of about 50 miles. Pursuant to the above purpose, the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny acquired a portion of its property by construction, and it has since acquired the property, rights, and franchises of two other corporations. The three corporations comprise the line of corporate succession culminating in the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny as at present constituted. The following chart shows the names of the corporations, the respective dates of incorporation, and for each predecessor the date 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 The Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad Company. Under general laws of Pennsylvania, Nov. 21, 1890.
2 The Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad Company (of 1881). Under general laws of Pennsylvania, Aug. 4, 1881. Reorganized as 1.
3 The Dawson, Broadford and Mount Pleasant Railroad Company. Under general laws of Pennsylvania, Aug. 8, 1881. Sold to 1, Dec. 31, 1882.
4 The McKeesport and Belle Vernon Railroad Company. Under general laws of Pennsylvania, Jan. 8, 1886. Sold to 1, Nov. 21, 1890.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

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The owned mileage of the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny amounting to 116.064 miles, was acquired as follows:

  • By construction, 88.690 miles.
  • By purchases, 27.530 miles.
  • Less difference between total recorded mileage and mileage inventoried as of date of valuation, 0.156 miles.

Mileage inventoried as of date of valuation, 116.064 miles.

Of the three corporations that comprise the line of succession culminating in the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny as at present constituted, one corporation, namely, The Dawson, Broadford and Mount Pleasant Railroad Company, conveyed its rights and franchises only. The property constructed by the remaining corporation, together with that constructed by the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny, the years when the various portions were constructed, and the manner in which the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny acquired the property are indicated in the following table, wherein, to facilitate comparison with the table showing the corporate succession, previously given, the same order of corporations is maintained:

  • Acquired by construction: 88.690 miles.
    • Pittsburgh to Connellsville, 1883, 56.830 miles.
    • Broadford branch, 1883, .400 miles.
    • Dickerson Run to Vanderbilt, 1886, 4.400 miles.
    • Summit to Franklin Coke Ovens, 1886, .630 miles.
    • Tyronne branch, 1886, .230 miles.
    • Whitsett Junction to Washington Mines, 1893, 5.000 miles.
    • Belle Vernon to Fayette City, 1895, 2.500 miles.
    • Speers Run Junction to Tipple No. 4, 1898, 2.060 miles.
    • Fayette City to Brownsville Junction, 1903, 8.490 miles.
    • Fayette City to Landon, 1912, 1.430 miles.
    • Downer Junction to Fuller, 1913, 6.720 miles.
  • Acquired by purchase:
    • From The McKeesport and Belle Vernon Railroad Company, Nov. 21, 1890—
      • Constructed by that company—
        • Belle Vernon Junction to Belle Vernon, 1889, 27.530 miles.

Total, 116.220 miles.

Leased Railway Property

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The entire property of the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny is leased for a term of 999 years from August 3, 1881. The terms of the lease and the rental accrued for the year ending on date of valuation are given in the chapter on leased railway property of the report on the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie.

Predecessor Company

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The McKeesport and Belle Vernon Railroad Company

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The accounting records of The McKeesport and Belle Vernon Railroad Company were not obtained. Therefore no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. However, certain data indicated below were obtained from the records of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie. The records reviewed did not indicate whether the company was controlled by any individual or corporation on November 21, 1890, the date of sale, or, on the other hand, whether it then controlled any common-carrier corporation.

The McKeesport and Belle Vernon Railroad Company owned on the date of sale 27.530 miles of single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, between Belle Vernon Junction and Belle Vernon, Pa., which it had acquired by construction. The property of the company was operated by its own organization from the date of acquirement thereof to January 28, 1890; from the latter date to the date of sale it was operated by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie.