Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Sharpsville Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 103

The Sharpsville Railroad

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of The Sharpsville Railroad Company, hereinafter called the carrier, is a single-track standard-gauge steam railroad, located within the State of Pennsylvania. The owned mileage extends in a southeasterly direction from Sharpsville to Wilmington Junction, Pa., a distance of 16.727 miles, with a branch line 1.205 miles long to the line of Erie Railroad Company at Sharpsville, making a total main-track mileage of 17.932 miles. The carrier also owns yard and side tracks totaling 3.673 miles. Its road thus embraces 21.605 miles of all tracks owned. In Appendix 1 will be found a general description of the property of the carrier.

Jointly Used Property

The carrier jointly owns and uses with the New Wilmington Telegraph & Telephone Company 14 miles of telephone line between Sharpsville and New Wilmington, Pa., on a basis of 50 per cent ownership. It also jointly owns and uses with others certain minor facilities, the carrier's portion of the reproduction costs being included with the wholly owned and used. In Appendix 2, under the caption Leased Railway Property, will be found a statement showing the property used jointly with others and the terms of the use.

Corporate History

The carrier was incorporated under the general laws of Pennsylvania on March 6, 1876, for the purpose of acquiring and operating the property of the Sharpsville and Oakland Railroad Company, an unincorporated company, and to construct an extension thereto to Cherry Township, Butler County, Pa., making a total proposed mileage of approximately 35 miles. The organization of the carrier was perfected March 25, 1876. The property, rights, and franchises of the Oakland Railroad Company[sic - Sharpsville and Oakland Railroad Company] were acquired by the carrier by direct purchase, by deed dated March 25, 1876, from Charles E. Agnew, trustee, to whom that company's property had been sold and conveyed by deed bearing the same date.

The carrier operated its own property from March 25, 1876, to January 20, 1897. From January 21, 1897, to date of valuation the property has been operated by a receiver. The principal office is at Sharpsville. The detailed facts as to the development of the fixed physical property are given in Appendix 2.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The owned mileage of the carrier on date of valuation, approximately 17.93 miles, was acquired as follows:

	Mileage
By purchase.	20.10
By construction.	13.00
Total acquired.	33.10
Less mileage abandoned.	15.17
Total.	17.93

The carrier acquired by direct purchase from Charles E. Agnew, trustee, by deed dated March 25, 1876, the property, rights, and franchises of the Sharpsville and Oakland Railroad Company, consisting of a main line extending from Sharpsville to Bethel, Pa., about 8.1 miles, together with several small branches aggregating 12 miles, making a total in all of about 20.1 miles. During the period from 1878 to 1884 the carrier constructed about 13 miles of railway, of which about 8.63 were an extension of the main line from Bethel to Wilmington Junction, and 4.37 miles consisted of various branches. The carrier abandoned about 15.17 miles of railroad during its life, 12 miles of which were several small branches acquired by purchase, the remainder, or 3.17 miles, being branch lines constructed by the carrier.

Leased Railway Property

At date of valuation the carrier used jointly under a trackage agreement 0.08 mile of track of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway Company at Wilmington Junction, Pa. This track is used under an agreement with the Pennsylvania Company, lessee of the above-named carrier, to permit the carrier's locomotives to obtain water from the standpipe of the Pennsylvania Company. In exchange for these trackage rights and for the water for locomotives the carrier grants to the Pennsylvania Company the joint use of 0.37 mile of sidetrack at Wilmington Junction for loading and unloading freight cars.

The carrier was using at date of valuation four locomotives and one passenger car owned by The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. The rental paid was $2.10 per day each for three of the locomotives and $2.50 per day for the fourth. The rental for the passenger car was $58 per annum. There was no formally executed agreement covering the use of this equipment.