Ten (10) ERIE RAILROAD stock certificates in one set

Erie Railroad Company
Stock Certificates

This an authentic stock certificate from the Erie Railroad Company.  The stock has a fantastic vignette of the famous company logo ERIE flanked by two allegorical Greek figures. Various dates in the 1950's.  Cancellation holes to the side.

This auction is for ten (10) stock certificates with no holes and no folds.

IMPORTANT:  These ERIE RR stocks do NOT have the perforation holes through the vignette like others on eBay.  

A history of the ERIE RR:

The Erie Railroad was chartered in April 1832 from the banks of the Hudson River to the shores of Lake Erie as the New York and Erie Railroad, with the restriction that it could not enter any other state or connect with railroads from other states. Construction got under way in 1838, and the first train ran in 1841. The New York & Erie reached Port Jervis, N. Y., on the Delaware River 74 miles from Piermont, on December 31, 1847; just a year later it was into Binghamton. The whole road from Piermont to Dunkirk was opened in May 1851 with an inspection trip for dignitaries from U. S. President Millard Fillmore and Secretary of State Daniel Webster on down and the customary eating, drinking, and speechifying.

In 1833 the Paterson & Hudson River Rail Road was chartered to build between Paterson, N. J., and Jersey City, and the Paterson & Ramapo Railroad north to the New York state line at Suffern. The two lines provided a shortcut between New York City and the New York & Erie at Suffern, even though they did not connect directly - passengers walked the mile between the two. The New York & Erie fought the situation until 1852, when it leased the two railroads, built a connecting track, and made that the main route, supplanting the original line to Piermont. The New York & Erie came upon hard times in the 1850s. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the "Commodore," and Daniel Drew both lent the road money, and in 1859 it entered receivership and was reorganized as the Erie Railway. Drew and two associates, James Fisk and Jay Gould, engaged in some machinations, with the result that in the summer of 1868 Drew, Fisk, and Vanderbilt were out and Gould was in as president of the Erie.

In 1874 the Erie leased the Atlantic & Great Western, which had been opened 10 years earlier between Salamanca, N. Y., on the Erie, and Dayton, Ohio. The A&GW entered Cincinnati over the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, which laid a third rail to accommodate A&GW's broad gauge equipment. At Cincinnati the A&GW connected with the broad gauge Ohio & Mississippi to St. Louis. (The two connecting roads later became part of Baltimore & Ohio.) The lease to the Erie did not last long. A&GW entered receivership and was reorganized as the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio. To obtain access to Cleveland and Youngstown, the NYP&O leased the Cleveland & Mahoning Valley in 1880. The Erie leased the Nypano (as it was known) in 1883, acquired all its capital stock in 1896, and acquired its properties in 1941.

The Erie went through a number of name changes in its history. As noted above, the company was chartered in 1831 as the New York and Erie Railroad. In 1861 it changed its name to the Erie Railway when it completed its line to Dunkirk. On April 24, 1875 the bankrupt Erie Railway was sold for six million dollars and the entire property was transferred to the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railway. In May 1893 the NYLE&W went into bankruptcy again and was reorganized in 1895 as the Erie Railroad Company.

In the 1920s the Van Sweringen brothers began buying Erie stock, seeing the road as a logical eastern extension of their Nickel Plate Road. By the time they were done, they owned more than 55 percent of Erie's stock along with their interests in Chesapeake & Ohio, Pere Marquette, and Hocking Valley. The Erie family included several short lines. The Erie began to buy New York, Susquehanna & Western stock in 1898 and leased the line that same year. The Susquehanna entered bankruptcy in 1937 and resumed life on its own in 1940. Bath & Hammondsport was controlled by the Erie from 1903 to 1936, when it was sold to local businessmen. Much of Erie's commuter business out of Jersey City was over subsidiary lines that Erie operated as part of its own system: New York & Greenwood Lake, Northern Railroad of New Jersey, and New Jersey & New York.

The Erie held its own against the Great Depression until January 18, 1938, when it entered bankruptcy. Its reorganization, accomplished in December 1941, included purchase of the leased Cleveland & Mahoning Valley, swapping high rent for lower interest payments, and purchase of subsidiaries and leased lines. To the surprise of many, Erie began paying dividends. Prosperity continued until the mid-1950s, but then began to decline. Erie's 1951 income was less than half that for 1956; in 1958 and 1959 the road posted deficits.

The business recession of the 1950s prompted Erie to explore the idea of cooperation with Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. The first results were the elimination of duplicate freight facilities at Binghamton and Elmira, and in 1956 and 1957 Erie moved its passenger trains from its old Jersey City terminal to Lackawanna's newer one at Hoboken. The discussions of cooperation turned into merger talks, at first including the Delaware & Hudson. An agreement was worked out with the Lackawanna, and the two roads merged as the Erie-Lackawanna on October 17, 1960.

In 1972, Hurricane Agnes destroyed many miles of track and related assets, especially in southwestern New York State. The costs of repairs and the effect of lost revenues forced the company into bankruptcy, filing for Chapter 77 on June 26. The completion of the Interstate 80 highway across Pennsylvania and New Jersey by 1971 added to the Erie Lackawanna's financial problems, as it diverted piggyback traffic previously garnered from less than truckload shipping companies such as Navajo and Cooper-Jarrett.

After its 1972 bankruptcy, EL management attempted to plot an independent course, anticipating financial reorganization without a heavy debt burden. Therefore, it initially declined interest in joining the Consolidated Rail (Conrail) takeover of the other major bankrupt eastern lines. The preliminary (PSP) and final (FSP) system plans for Conrail showed the EL being merged into the Chessie System. However, the operating unions could not reach a compromise. Also, by 1975 the economy in the eastern United States was gravely affected by the 1973 oil crisis, quashing any hopes of the EL being able to independently compete with government-rehabilitated Conrail lines. Therefore, the EL petitioned and was accepted into Conrail at the last minute.

In 1976 much of the company's railroad assets were thus purchased by the federal government and combined with other companies' railroad assets to form Conrail. 

This is a great piece for a novelty gift!  Perfect for framing!  Really an outstanding, uncommon collectible stock!  Offered at a truly fantastic price.

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This is a sample photo only. The certificate for sale has the same color, condition, and vignette.  Differences will be in date, marks, original owner name, serial number, and corporate officers unless otherwise noted.  The quality shipped will be the same or better than pictured.  Refund given if buyer is not satisfied.  Note that we cannot search for a specific date or name due to our large inventory.  Modern certificate pictures often have owner names obscured for privacy. Modern certificates may still be trading in the stock market but no ownership is transferred in this sale - the certificate is sold as a collectible novelty only.  It is likely that the scanned certificate has already been sold but you may ask us to check before bidding.

Shipping costs are less than actual cost to us, the seller.  We ship by USPS Priority Mail for fast delivery times.  We use a custom-sized photo mailer with a custom, non-acid slip sleeve for protected shipping.  We allow for combined shipping to save the buyer money for multiple auction wins.  Please wait until all auctions are complete before sending payment. I will not know if you are continuing to bid so I ship when paid.  (If you pay early I will ship and cannot combine shipping on later auctions.)  Please include item numbers with payment for quick, positive feedback and accurate shipping.  Please send only one payment to avoid confusion.   

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All certificates are only sold as collectibles.  No investment value is implied, transferred, or considered.  No transfer of securities is performed. Certificates are cancelled or obsolete.  (Now really, would I sell a $10,000 investment instrument for $10?)  We follow all  rules on selling stock and bond certificates. We also comply with SEC regulations governing certificate sales and licensing requirements (we are not authorized to sell investments or securities under these rules.)

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Are these real?  -  YES!  We only sell authentic stocks and bonds that have been used in actual commerce or from company archives.  They have been cancelled and no longer have investment value but are still the real deal.  We do not sell copies.  Active companies (still trading) are also only sold as collectibles.  These have more recent dates due to the methods by which they were obtained.

Where's the value in these?  -  Since these pieces no longer have investment value, aren't they worthless?  Literally, they are only worth the paper that they are printed on.  The same can be said for baseball cards and stamps but it is really the collectible value that makes these worthless securities desirable.  These are sold as collectibles or novelties only.