Annual reports of railroad companies

Numerical by report number, which corresponds to alphabetical by company name.

The series consists of report forms for approximately 46 railroad companies filed with the State Engineer and Surveyor for the year ending September 30, 1867. The companies were required to prepare and file the forms in conformance with Chapter 906 of the Laws of1867. That law amended Chapter 140 of the Laws of 1850, which authorized the formation and regulation of railroad corporations.

Chapter 906 of the Laws of 1867 required raillroad corporations with roads operated exclusively or partly by horse-power or steam dummy cars to report annually to the State Engineer andSurveyor, with reports verified by oaths of the treasurer or president and acting superintendent of operations, filed in the office of the State Engineer and Surveyor. A penalty accrued to any company which failed to make a report.

The reports in this series show amount of capital and stock; total debt; costs of road and equipment; characteristics of the road (length, number of cars, rate fares); expenses of maintaining the road-bed, railway, and adjoining real estate (repairs of buildings and fixtures); expenses of operating the road and for repairs; payments for dividends on stock; cash receipts and other payments; injuries and cause of injuries to employees, passengers, or others; and the name and residence of company officers. Sworn endorsements appear at the end of each report.

A table of contents lists companies and report numbers.

This series was accessioned by the New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections in 1925 as accession number 8199. The source of the accession is not known. The volume was transferred to the State Archives in June 1995.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.