Roads Acquired by Purchase, From Springfield to East Saint Louis, III. (part of the Saint Louis, Peoria and Northern) ; Peoria, Decatur and Evansville, extending from Pekin, III., to Evansville, Ind., with a branch to New Harmony, Ind.; Chicago, Madison and North ern; Kankakee and Southwestern; Chicago and Springfield; Saint Louis, Alton and Terre Haute; Chicago, Havana and Western; Mound City; Chicago and' Texas; Riverside and Har lem; the parts of the Rantoul and Illinois and Indiana railroads lying in the State of In diana, extending from West Lebanon to State line and from Switz City to State line.
Leased The leased lines of the Illi nois Central Railroad are Kensington and East ern: South Chicago; Blue Island; Peoria and Pekin Union; Dubuque and Sioux City; Chi cago, Saint Louis and New Orleans and the Canton, Aberdeen and Nashville railroads.
Mileage. (See Annual Report, p. 15).— The corporation now controls one the most important groupings of railroad lines in the United States. The total mileage operated, ac cording to the latest official report available, is 4,766,.93 exclusive of the Yazoo and Missis sippi Valley Railroad (1,371.98 miles). The length of the main line, from Chicago to Cairo, Ill., is given as 364.73 miles; Omaha Division, from Chicago to Council Bluffs, Ia. 513.96 miles; New Orleans Division, from Cairo to New Orleans, La., 547.79; Louisville Division, from Memphis, Tenn., to Louisville, Ky., 398.12 miles; other lines owned or leased operated in the system, 2,549.12.
Additional Tracks. (See Annual Report, p. 15).— The length of line having two tracks is 799.62 miles; third and other additional main tracks, 194.49 miles; sidings, etc., 2,129.65. The gauge of this system is 4 feet 854 inches. The average weight of steel rails is 72.78 pounds.
Charter Tax.— The charter of the com pany, reserved to the State of Illinois, calls for payment, in lieu of taxes, of 7per cent of the gross receipts of the 705.50 miles of road originally built under that charter. The total amount paid to the State of Illinois under the provisions of this charter, from the opening of the road in 1855 to 30 June 1916, was about $34,000,000.
the beginning of oper ations in 1851 and 30 June 1916, the stock holders received abotit $189,000,000 as dividends out of the earnings of the company.
Rolling The rolling stock of the company, 30 June 1916, included. 1,419 locomo
tives, 521 passenger and chair cars, 32 café dining cars, 165 baggage, mail and express cars, 43 postal cars (3 of these partly owned), and 61,048 freight cars, making a total, with minor items under this head, of 62,347 cars.
The earnings of the road, for the year ending 30 June 1916 amounted to $69, 077,342.56, or $14,490.37 per mile. These earn ings were divided as follows: Passenger traffic, $16,836,511.03 ; freight t raffic $46,457,388.45 ; miscellaneous earnings, $5,783,493.08.
Net Earnings, Receipts and Dividends.— The net earnings of the road for the year end ing 30 June 1916 were $17,903,614.82.
Operating expenses of the road for the year ending 30 June 1916 amounted to $51,173,727.74, or $10,734.73 per mile. The amount paid for taxes (1915-16) was $3,724, 020.73.
Bonded The bonded debt of the road, including about 30 investments, aggregates $280,239,000. Of this total the last issue that matured was :•:::,000, issued in 1880 and ma turing in 1910. An issue of $2,800,000, placed in 1869, matured in 1917. The next, foHowing in order, is an issue of $968,000 made in 1:•:1 and maturing in 1921; an issue of $470,000 made in 1883 and maturing in 1923; an issue of $538,000, made in 1886 and maturing in 1931; an issue of $241,000, made in 1887 and due in 1932; an issue of $34,500,000, issued in 1895 1905, and due in 1951; and $25,000,000 issued in 1892, and due in 1953.
Opening up of the The beginning of active operations in establishing the line marked' the beginning of State development throughout a vast area which, up to that time, had been inaccessible to traffic of any kind ex cept by means of the most rural contrivances, utterly inadequate for any but the most re stricted local demands. The new move toward opening up commercial possibilities immediately doubled the price of public lands. These tracts were readily bought up as conditions improved and steadily increased in value year by year.
At a critical juncture in the nation's history, when it became necessary to move regiments, brigades and divisions of western troops to the scene of active Civil War operations, the Illi nois Central Railroad provided the only avail able means of adequate rapid transportation. At the same time, the existence of that railroad and its excellent management made the prompt supply of rations and forage possible.