The daily gazette., 1879-08-09
FIRST EDITION.
Railroads Under the Hammer.

~ noOA hADA vi AhhA CAh'
OF ROADS THAT DID NOT PAY AND
HAD TO PASS THROUGH THE ORDEAL
OF FORECLOSURE.
A decree for the sale of The PcnnsyL
vania and Delaware X. r., was made in
the United States Circuit Court, May
9th, 1870, on bill filed for decree Of
sale and foreclosure, under a mortgage
dated May 31st, 1873. The sale thus or
dercd Will take place on Tuesday next,
18th inst, at noon, at III. Thomas % Go. 3
auction rooms in Philadelphia.
The terms of the sale are the highest
and best bidder, to take the road upon
! signing the conditions and paying in cash
the sum of 100000. The balanee OF
the purchase II oney TO be paid within
thirty days after the continuation Of the
sale, provided that if the purchasers are
holders Of bonds and unpaid mature
coupons, or either, secured by the afore-
said mortgage, they may accept, to Sam1
| 4. Stokes and Strickland Kn, ass, Tr,ls-.
| tees, for the dividend OF said balance Of
purchase money, payable Oh the said
bonds and matured coupons, or either,
and the sum THUS receipted for shall be
considered as paid on account of the pur-
| chase money. 10
The p. e D. r. b. is now about the
only one of those smaller local roads in
teresting the people of our State, that
has not already passed under the auctionI
eer's hammer, in pursuance OF Circuit
Court decree of foreclosure Of mortgages,
So general has been this experience that
| it seems TO have been an ordeal through
which those roads, by the na.ural order
of things, were compelled to pass. Built
when times were good and prices of labor
and material were high, and having to
enter upon their existence in the midst
of season when the country was full of
panics and failures and rumors of panics
| and failures, il is not at all surprising
that the estimates and calculations Of
the projectors fell far short of expectation.
The lesson of railroad speculation that
has been taught the capitalists of Will
| mington has been bitter one; and un-
like many another moral painted by some
other similar enterprise of that period.
The history of ihe T.. & d. X. X. is
soon told. 1t was built from Pomeroy
in Chester Co., Pa, where il connected
with the PpnusJ lvania road, southwark
to Delaware City. The building of the
road was the result Of utopian scheme
to transport coal, or cattle or something
like that from Pennsy lvania to the Della
ware bay and thence ship by water. The
projectors of the road, with the exception
of VIM. Rtybold, of Delaware City,
were citizens of Pennsylvania, and the
greater part Of them Philadelphia capi-
talists.
A wilder plan more recklessly entered
upon than this has seldom been seen, for
by the time the road was completed the
| funds we're much more than exhausted.
The stock capital was 100000; the first
mortgage bonds, 81 1,0S3, 900; the second
mortgage bonds, $510,OOU; the amount
OF funded and floating debt, 81, ,G73,3 3,346.21
The road..and equipments cost $2,502, 900.
With such burden upon their shoulders
the company did not attempt TO operate
the road. 1t was opened in 1873 and on
| June 80 of that year the Pennsylvania
Railroad leased it, but on Feb. 10th
of the present year gave mp the
lease. The Delaware Western road has
been operating the road ever since and
| run trains down il twice a week. IL in
tersects the Delaware Western road and
| gives it a through route to Pomeroy,
much further than was given it by the
original line.
For a person 10 look over the list of
roads whose history in ultimate result
is similar to that of this road is to give
him an idea of the vast amount that must
be lost In this class of roads before they
can be brought to anything approaching
/ Ut 20 I, Ia fot.
of nearly every road in the upper part OF
the Peninsula.
The Wilmington and Western road, or
Delaware Western as it isDow called, is
another good example. The projectors
of the road des gned to make it an i'm
mense affair, to have Wilmington as the
eastern terminus and to extend into the
west to an indefinite distance. They saw
that much of Southern Pennsylvania had
no railroad outlet and the road was in
tended to supply that deficiency. In
1857 the Delaware Legislature chartered
the "Delaware aud Chester County Rail
road Company" which was the out
growth of the enterprise. 1t was COM
menced July 8, 1871 and opened Oct. 10Th
1872. 1t extended to Landenburg and
the capital came chiefly from the city of
Wilmington and from Mill Creek and
Christiana Hundreds, through which 1t
passed. 1t was only local road but the
company entertained the idea of pushing
it eventually to some vague E2 Dorado
in the West. At first it had been expect
ed TO be paying concern, but the panic
and hard times conspired against it. 1t
struggled for four years and was sold
April Goth 1877, to VIM. M. Candy for
the first mortgage bond holders for $500,
900, q spool" having been formed for
that purpose. Every one who entered
extensively into the plai lost heavily. j.
Il. Heald, the first President, lost, 1t is
said, 100000.
The history of the downfall Of the
Wilmington and Reading Railroad is
something similar to that of the Will
mington and Western. 1t was opened
in 1870, The road was built by sub
scription from parties along the line
from Wilmington to Reading, and many
Wilmington capitalists took stock in it.
Four years after the first train clattered
over its length on April 1, 1875, it de-
faulted in interest due the bondholders
being unable to make ends meet by a
long distance. On December 4ih, 1915,
bill for foreclosure was placed in the
hands of the u. S. Commissioner OF
the Circuit Court. All proceedings
were vigorously resis ed by the compa y,
and especially by the second mortgage
bond holders. They did not succeed and
the decree was entered June 9th, 1910
l = ~. -, hos slV,d