Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 27 with predecessors listed in Volume 28.

The St. Lawrence & Adirondack Railway

Location and General Description of Property

The railroad of The St. Lawrence & Adirondack Railway Company, herein called the St. Lawrence & Adirondack, is a single-track line, consisting of two disconnected sections of main line aggregating 43.070 miles of road, one extending from Malone Junction, N.Y., to Valleyfield, Province of Quebec, and the other from Beauharnois to Adirondack Junction, within the Dominion of Canada. These separated sections are joined by 12.70 miles of road between Valleyfield and Beauharnois, leased from The Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. Only that portion of the property within the United States (Malone Junction to International Boundary, a distance of 10.249 miles) is included in this report.

Introductory

The St. Lawrence & Adirondack is a corporation of the State of New York and the Dominion of Canada, having its principal office at Ottawa, Canada. It is controlled by the New York Central through ownership of the entire outstanding capital stock. On the other hand, the records do not indicate that this company, itself, controls any common-carrier corporation. The property of this company together with its leased lines has been operated during its corporate life as indicated below:

• As agent:
  • The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company (first corporation). July 2, 1896, to Apr. 16, 1913.
  • The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company (second corporation). Apr. 16, 1913, to Dec. 23, 1914.
  • New York Central. Dec. 23, 1914, to Dec. 31, 1915.
• Under lease:
  • New York Central Jan. 1, 1916, to date of valuation.

The data covering the corporate operations, financial transactions, and investments of this company that pertain to that portion of its property located in the Dominion of Canada have been included in its accounts without separation, as explained more fully hereinafter in each of the chapters of this report that pertain to its Canadian property.

Corporate History

The St. Lawrence & Adirondack was incorporated July 2, 1896, under the general laws of the State of New York and of the Dominion of Canada, for the purpose of consolidating the property rights and franchises of The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company and the Southwestern Railway Company. The date of its organization has not been ascertainable from the records reviewed.

Pursuant to the above purpose, the St. Lawrence & Adirondack acquired on July 2, 1896, the property, rights, and franchises of the two railroad corporations named. The St. Lawrence & Adirondack, itself, and those corporations, together with their predecessors, total five different corporations and comprise the line of corporate succession culminating in the St. Lawrence & Adirondack, as at present constituted. The following chart shows the names of the corporations, the respective dates of incorporation, and for each predecessor the date of succession the immediately succeeding corporation 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 St. Lawrence & Adirondack Railway Company.	Under general laws of New York and Dominion of Canada through articles of consolidation, dated Dec. 17, 1895; filed in New York July 2, 1896.
2	The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company.	Under general laws of New York and Dominion of Canada through articles of consolidation, dated Dec. 13, 1894; filed in New York Nov. 18, 1895.	Consolidated July 2, 1896, with 3 to form 1.
3	Southwestern Railway Company.	Under laws of Dominion of Canada, May 22, 1888.	Consolidated July 2, 1896, with 2 to form 1.
4	Malone and St. Lawrence Railway Company.	Under general laws of New York Sept. 10, 1891.	Consolidated Nov. 18, 1895, with 5 to form 2.
5	St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company.	Under laws of Dominion of Canada, May 4, 1888.	Consolidated Nov. 18, 1895, with 4 to form 2.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The owned mileage of the St. Lawrence & Adirondack, amounting to 43.07 miles, was acquired partly by consolidation and partly by construction. The property constructed by this company, itself, and that constructed by the four corporations that comprise the line of succession culminating in the St. Lawrence & Adirondack as at present constituted, the years when the various portions of the line were constructed, and the manner in which this company 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:
  • Constructed partly by the Southwestern Railway Company and completed by the St. Lawrence & Adirondack—
    • Beauharnois to Adirondack Junction, Canada, prior to 1897, 12.900 miles.
• Acquired by consolidation:
  • From The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company—
    • Constructed by the Malone and St. Lawrence Railway Company—
      • Malone Junction, N.Y., to the United States-Canada international boundary line, 1891-1892, 10.249 miles.
    • Constructed by the St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company—
      • United States-Canada international boundary line to Valleyfield, Canada, prior to Jan. 11, 1892, 19.921 miles.

Total mileage in Canada. 32.821 miles.

Total mileage in the United States. 10.249 miles.

In the construction of the road completed by this company the work was performed under contract by the Railway Construction and Equipment Company.

Leased Railway Property

The entire property of the St. Lawrence & Adirondack, and also all of its rights under leases and trackage agreements, are leased to the New York Central for a term of 21 years from January 1, 1916. 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 in the report on the New York Central.

Predecessor Companies

The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company

The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company was incorporated under the general laws of New York and the Dominion of Canada through articles of consolidation, dated December 13, 1894, filed in New York November 18, 1895. No accounting records of The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company were 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 the accounting records of the St. Lawrence & Adirondack and other documents on file. The records reviewed do not indicate whether The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company was controlled by any individual or corporation on July 2, 1896, the date of consolidation, nor, on the other hand, whether it then controlled any common-carrier corporation. The property of the company was operated by The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company (first corporation), as agent, from the date of acquirement thereof to the date of consolidation. The railroad owned by The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company on the date of consolidation consisted of 30.17 miles of single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, extending from Malone Junction, N.Y., to Valleyfield, Canada, all of which had been acquired by consolidation.

Malone and St. Lawrence Railway Company

The Malone and St. Lawrence Railway Company was incorporated September 10, 1891, in the State of New York. No accounting records of the Malone and St. Lawrence Railway Company were obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. However, certain data indicated below with respect to the issuance of stock and bonds were obtained from records of the St. Lawrence & Adirondack and other documents on file. The records reviewed do not indicate whether the Malone and St. Lawrence Railway Company was controlled by any individual or corporation on November 18, 1895, the date of consolidation, nor, on the other hand, whether it then controlled any common-carrier corporation. The property of the company was operated under lease by the Central Vermont Railway Company from the date it was completed to March 1, 1894. From the latter date until the date of consolidation it was operated by The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company (first corporation), as agent.

This company owned on the date of its consolidation 10.25 miles of single track, standard-gauge, steam railroad, extending from Malone Junction, N.Y., to a connection with the road of the St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company at the United States-Canada International Boundary Line, which had been acquired by construction during 1891 and 1892. The construction work was performed by the Railway Construction and Equipment Company, contractors.

St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company

The St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company was incorporated May 4, 1888, in the Dominion of Canada. No accounting records of the St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company were obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations or investments. However, certain data indicated below with respect to the issuance of stock and bonds were obtained from records of the St. Lawrence & Adirondack and from certain other documents on file. The records reviewed do not indicate whether the St. Lawrence and Adirondack Railway Company was controlled by any individual or corporation on November 18, 1895, the date of consolidation, nor, on the other hand, whether it then controlled any common-carrier corporation.

The property of the company was operated, under lease, by the Central Vermont Railway Company from the date it was completed to March 1, 1894. From the latter date until the date of consolidation its property was operated by The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company (first corporation), as agent. This company owned on the date of consolidation 19.92 miles of single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, extending from a connection with the road of the Malone and St. Lawrence Railway Company at the United States-Canada International Boundary Line to Valleyfield, Canada, which had been acquired by construction during 1890 and 1891. The construction work was performed by the Railway Construction and Equipment Company, contractors.

Southwestern Railway Company

The Southwestern Railway Company was incorporated May 22, 1888, in the Dominion of Canada. No accounting records of the Southwestern Railway Company were obtained. Therefore, no information can be given from its accounts regarding its financial dealings, corporate operations, or investments. However, certain information stated below was obtained from the accounting records of the St. Lawrence & Adirondack and certain papers on file. The records reviewed do not indicate whether the Southwestern Railway Company was controlled by any individual or corporation on July 2, 1896, the date of consolidation, nor, on the other hand, whether it then controlled any common-carrier corporation.

The records reviewed indicate that the company owned on the date of consolidation a partially constructed railroad between Beauharnois and Adirondack Junction, Canada.