University of Connecticut | New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Archives
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The Accounting Department served three basic functions:
l. to receive revenues for rail services
2. to ensure proper payment of bills and salaries
3. to maintain a record of financial and operating
statistics for use in annual reports.
Company by-laws (l953) state that "the Comptroller shall have general charge of the Accounting Department. . . . He shall prepare and submit an annual statement of the financial condition of the company . . ." The Accounting office answered to the Comptroller and was responsible for preparing balance sheets and income statements for the NHRR as well as furnishing federal and state regulatory agencies with monthly, quarterly and annual reports. For ease of access, the ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, ANNUAL REPORTS, and COMPTROLLERS RECORDS are maintained as distinct record groups.
The Accounting Department was responsible for contract payments, such as equipment installments, obligations, bond interest and dividends. It collected mortgage installments and interest receivable. The budget was assembled by the Accounting Office. It controlled accounting activities at Grand Central Terminal and oversaw company operation in the terminal area. In addition to its financial responsibilities, the Accounting Department compiled extensive files of railroad operating statistics, such as hourly wage rates, operating cost per train mile/car mile/ton and passenger mile.
The Accounting Office records are far from complete. They are best used in conjunction with the SECRETARY RECORDS (RG 1), the COMPTROLLERS RECORDS (RG 4), and the BOUND VOLUMES (RG 7) for a more complete picture.
Many of the records of the Accounting Department were judged to have low informational and research value. Journal entries and vouchers were sa mpled and heavily weeded, as described below. In addition, the following files were discarded: Grand Central Terminal bills collectable,13 linear feet; Per Diem files, 6 linear feet; and baggage claims, 1 linear foot.
The ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT records are organized into the following ten series:
Series I, GENERAL SUBJECT FILES, l895-l968 [l940-l960], contains a wealth of information on subjects ranging from the history of the Connecticut Company to board meeting data. This catch-all series includes press releases, operating statistics and some ICC and SEC investigation files. The accompanying container list is not a complete folder listing and researchers are advised to use it only as a general guide to the 36 boxes. The series is arranged in a random fashion by subject heading, and includes material on both the NHRR and subsidiary companies.
Series II, CLOSED SUBJECT FILES, l920-70, contains inactive files on matters that were closed. Like the GENERAL SUBJECT FILES above, the series is a mix of completed contracts and agreements as well as noncurrent subsidiary, ICC and investment files. Here also are some Abandonments hearings files, l962-69, before the ICC.
Series III, SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION , l 9l0-50, [l935-50], contains reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed by the New Haven and many of its subsidiary lines. These reports, filed in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Act of l934, give information on securities registered by corporations, companies in bankruptcy and receivership, and those that did not file reports with the ICC. The series includes the proofs and working papers for the SEC reports, as well as reports on gross earnings and taxes to New York State.
Series IV, PORTFOLIOS, l904-52 [l933-48], contains bound portfolios listing the stocks and bonds owned by the New Haven and its subsidiary lines. In addition to lists of stocks and bonds, the volumes also contain general statements of income, expenditures, and accounts. Some of the information for the NHRR is presented in an alternate accounting system. The series is arranged in chronological order by year with the NHRR portfolios preceeding the subsidiary lines.
Series V, RATE STRUCTURE STUDIES AND CASES, l936-53, [l950-53], provides the researcher with material which documents, in part, the relationship between the ICC and the New Haven. This series includes reports, testimony transcripts, and printed reports resulting from hearings held by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) concerning rate increases. Most of the material presented is financial and statistical data in support of the New Haven's argument. There is also a record of the testimony by those rail users who opposed the rate increase. The records are arranged by case number, then chronologically.
Series VI, FIRST REORGANIZATION, l937-45, documents, during ICC hearings, the impact of the first court ordered reorganization on the New Haven and its subsidiary lines. These essential accounting records contain a wealth of financial and statistical information within the various reporter's and stenographer's minutes, exhibits, and reports filed with the ICC. The material is arranged either by exhibit number or in a very rough chronological order. First Reorganization records are also located in the SECRETARY RECORDS. Information on the Second Reorganization is located in the TRUSTEES RECORDS.
Series VII, SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES, l938-62, is composed of records pertaining to a number of New Haven subsidiaries companies. The Connecticut Company, l948-62, consists of financial statements and reports, contracts, and audit reports. The New England Transportation records deal with ICC investigations and quarterly reports, l938- 67. Trial balances, company history, income accounts, and journal entries, l928-6l, are available for the Providence Produce Warehouse. The records from County Transportation pertain to hearings before the New York Public Service Commission; the hearings dockets and minutes cover the period l946-48. Correspondence regarding the sale of the Soundview Transportation Company, l946-48, is contained in this series. Also see Series IX, SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES, in the SECRETARY RECORDS (RG 1).
Series VIII, CLAIMS, l930-40, deals with death, injury, tax, and property damage claims filed by individuals and corporations with the Federal District Court during reorganization proceedings. These claims were submitted as proof that the New Haven was in debt to the party involved before it declared bankruptcy. They are arranged in numerical order by file number. An index, including a summary of each claim, is available in the first box of this series. See also the LEGAL DEPARTMENT CLAIMS record group.
Series IX, BUDGET, l946-57, contains the working papers, income accounts, estimates, and forecasts used to prepare the company's budget. This series contains the working papers for the budget. The final operating figures are not in this series.
Series X, JOURNAL ENTRIES AND VOUCHERS, l890-l967, contains a sample of journal entries and vouchers for different periods of time for both the New Haven and its subsidiary lines. The series also contains microfilmed journal entries, 1920-40. The information contained in the journal entries and vouchers is available in summary form in the BOUND VOLUMES (RG 7). Within the record type, the materials are arranged by company, then chronologically.
The journal entries and vouchers were sampled to provide a physical example of these record types. Sampling reduced the journal entries from 154 linear feet to one linear foot, and reduced the vouchers from 90 linear feet to one linear foot. The sampling procedure used for the journal entries was to retain one inch of these folded documents from each of approximately 30 randomly-selected boxes, including at least one box from each company represented in the files. A similar procedure was used in sampling the vouchers. Neither sample is statistically reliable.