Annual Tax and Operation Reports for Railroads, 1899-1975

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Virginia State Corporation Commission, Annual financial operating reports for railroads [cite specific date and accession number]. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Creator:
State Corporation Commission
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Virginia State Corporation Commission, Annual financial operating reports for railroads [cite specific date and accession number]. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

These annual operating reports for railroads consist of bound volumes for individual railroad companies. Reports include information on the following: company history and organization, officers, property, stock, debt, income and earnings, expenses, contracts, employees and salaries, equipment, accidents, taxes, and assessments.

Biographical / historical:

The State Corporation Commission was created by the state constitution adopted in 1902, to replace the Board of Public Works. It is independent of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, but holds many of their powers, including the authority to issue and revoke corporation charters, to set the rates to be charged by public utilities, and generally to regulate the activities of corporations conducting business in Virginia. An independent Department of Corporations was created by the General Assembly on April 18, 1927, and the Commission was placed within it. The Commission is made up of three members elected by joint vote of both Houses of the General Assembly. The chairman is elected by the members. Specific purpose, powers and duties are: charter and supervise domestic corporations and license foreign corporations; further regulate rates, charges, and services of railroads, telephone, gas and electric companies. Regulatory duties extend to aviation, telegraph, water and sewer companies, to those banks, savings and loan associations, industrial loan associations, credit unions and small loan associations, industrial loan associations, credit unions and small loan companies which it licenses; supervise and license insurance companies and enforce motor carrier laws; collect State's gross receipts, road taxes and motor fuel road taxes, and assess for local taxation real and personal property of all public service companies; and administer laws governing securities and retail franchising. The Commission has an administrative office and a legal office to support the regulatory divisions, which are: Bureau of Financial Institutions, Bureau of Insurance, Motor Carrier Division, Public Service Taxation, Public Utilities, Railroad Regulation Division, and Securities and Retail Financing.

Acquisition information:
Transferred by Virginia State Corporation Commission, 28 August 1957 (24666), 10 September 1963 (25914), 1 March 1966 (26467), 6 January 1967 (26618), 24 October 1967 (26801), 13 September 1968 (27025), 5 August 1969 (27211), 11 August 1970 (27428), 28 July 1971 (27605), 2 August 1972 (27789), 10 September 1973 (28905), 12 August 1974 (28344), 22 August 1975 (28748), 10 September 1976 (29239), 11 October 1977 (29633), 28 September 1978 (30058), 26 October 1979 (30803), 14 November 1980 (30942), 29 August 1981 (31163), no acquisition information (41004)
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into one series:

  • Series I. Annual Tax and Operation Reports for Railroads

This collection is arranged chronologically and thereunder alphabetically by the name of the railroad with a few exceptions.

Arranged chronologically.

Physical description:
366 boxes, 165 cubic feet