Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Northern Railroad

Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Reports, Volume 30

Northern Railroad

Introductory

The railroad of Northern Railroad consists of a single-track, standard-gage, steam railroad, lying within the States of New Hampshire and Vermont. It consists of a main line extending from Concord, N. H., to White River Junction, Vt., 69.569 miles, and a branch line extending from Franklin Junction, N. H., to Bristol, N. H., 12.777 miles, a total of 82.346 miles of road.

This property is operated by the carrier as lessee through the Boston and Lowell.

Corporate History

The Northern Railroad was incorporated under a special act of New Hampshire of December 27, 1844, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad from Concord, NH, to the west bank of the Connecticut River in the town of Lebanon, Grafton County, N. H. The road built indicates that the Northern Railroad exercised, in some way not disclosed by the records, the franchise right of the Grafton Railroad. The latter was incorporated under a special act of New Hampshire of July 2, 1847, to build a railroad from Lebanon to White River Junction, N. H. On January 31, 1849, effective as of April 30, 1851, the Franklin and Bristol Railroad, which had been incorporated by special act of New Hampshire of July 8, 1848, to construct and operate a railroad from Franklin to Bristol, N. H., was merged with the Northern Railroad. The Northern Railroad's principal office is at Concord, N. H.

The Northern Railroad controls the Concord and Claremont and the Peterborough and Hillsborough, all of whose capital stock it owns, and together with the Concord & Montreal it controls the Franklin and Tilton.

Development of Fixed Physical Property

The property of the Northern Railroad was acquired in the manner indicated in the following summary. Construction in each instance was under contract with independent contractors.

	Mileage
Constructed:
Concord, N. H., to Franklin, N. H., Dec. 28, 1846.	18.68
Franklin, N. H., to Grafton, N. H., Sept. 1, 1847.	24.87
Grafton, N. H., to Lebanon, N. H., Nov. 17, 1847.	21.44
Lebanon, N. H., to White River Junction, Vt., June, 1848.	4.51
Total.	69.50
Acquired from the Franklin and Bristol Railroad on Jan. 31, 1849:
Franklin Junction, N. H., to Bristol, N. H., July 1, 1848.	13.41
Total.	82.91

The total mileage owned inventoried as of date of valuation is 82.346 miles. The difference of 0.564 mile is due to remeasurements and reclassifications.

Leased Railway Property

The entire property of the Northern Railroad, together with that of the Concord and Claremont and the Peterborough and Hillsborough, was leased to the Boston and Lowell on December 30, 1889, for a period of 99 years from January 1, 1890. This lease was assumed by the carrier on February 28, 1890, with reversionary rights to the Boston and Lowell. The annual rental prior to June 30, 1897, was 5 per cent on the capital stock or $153,420, and since that time 6 per cent on the capital stock, $184,104, with an additional payment of $5,000 in each case for maintenance of investment organization. There is no provision in the lease relative to the payment for additions and betterments to the property made by the lessee. The carrier is obligated to maintain the property and pay all taxes. The rental accrued for the year ended at date of valuation, which includes the rental accrued for the properties of the Concord and Claremont and the Peterborough and Hillsborough, is recorded as $226,039.17.

Two steam locomotives owned by the Northern Railroad are used by the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad Company.