MOBILE & OHIO RAIL ROAD CO Stock 1869. Mobile, AL. Chartered 1848. Historic Line

Description

Mobile & Ohio Rail Road Company. Stock issued
May 24, 1869
at Mobile, Alabama. Chartered February 1848
.
Red e
mbossed company seal lower left.
Revenue stamp affixed upper left
.
Certificate
No.
7620
was issued to
Horace P. Rushing
for
10
shares of capital stock (0 per share). Hand signed by of company
president and secretary
. Certificate is about
6.5
” x
9
”. Pale blue-gray paper.
Vignette of early steam locomotive crossing stone bridge.
The Mobile and Ohio Railroad was conceived after hard times in Mobile, Alabama following the Panic of 1837. The port was not generating the business that it had before the panic and businessmen and citizens in the city were inspired with a plan for a railroad to restore commerce to the city. The first section of track opened for service in 1852 between Mobile and Citronelle, Alabama. The line made it to Columbus, Mississippi on April 22, 1861, steamboats were then used to connect with the Illinois Central Railroad at Cairo, Illinois. The start of the Civil War shortly after the completion of the line saw it converted to military use and it quickly became a military target for both sides during the war.
Following the Civil War, the Mobile & Ohio had to be almost entirely rebuilt and was facing near total financial ruin due in part to an unpaid debt of well over ,000,000 that had been owed by the Confederate government. It was placed in receivership in 1875 and did not emerge until eight years later. By 1870 the operators had seen the need to complete the line all the way to Cairo and make it the northern terminus instead of Columbus but financial problems stood in the way. Finally on May 1, 1882 the extension to Cairo was opened. The company then acquired the St. Louis and Cairo Railroad, which was narrow gauge. They converted it to 4-foot 8 1⁄2 inch standard gauge and had a line from Mobile to St. Louis, Missouri. In 1896 the company decided to build a line from its Columbus, Mississippi, terminal toward Florida. On June 30, 1898 the Tuscaloosa to Montgomery line opened in Alabama, along with two short branch lines. That same year they decided to build a 39-mile line from Mobile to Alabama Port and Bayou La Batre, naming it the Mobile and Bay Shore Railway. It was completed in 1899.
In 1901, Mobile & Ohio’s stockholders and bondholders accepted a stock exchange plan from Southern Railway. A merger of the two was attempted in 1902 but vetoed by Mississippi governor James K. Vardaman. Thereafter the Mobile & Ohio continued operations under Southern's control. From 1908 the Mobile & Ohio was considered to be a highly prosperous railroad, but net income declined sharply after 1926 and by 1930 the Mobile & Ohio had a net deficit of almost ,000,000. On June 3, 1932, the Mobile & Ohio went into the receivership yet again. Southern was accused of having violated the Clayton Antitrust Act by using the Mobile & Ohio for its own profit at the expense of the Mobile & Ohio, though the case was dropped in 1933. Southern sold its Mobile & Ohio bonds in 1940 to the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad, which was then combined with the Mobile & Ohio to form the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
Condition:  Very Fine
, light folds, minor creasing, no tears, minor signs of wear/handling/toning (see photos),
pen cancelled by transfer.
Printer:
D. McLellan Lith., New York City.
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escription details shown above before bidding.
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