thence to St. Louis, and north of a line from St. Louis to Kansas City and thence to El Paso and by the Mexican boundary to the Pacific.

EASTERN DISTRICT

NEW ENGLAND REGION.-This region comprises the New England States.

GREAT LAKES REGION. This region comprises the section on the Canadian boundary between New England and the westerly shore of Lake Michigan to Chicago, and north of a line from Chicago via Pittsburgh to New York.

CENTRAL EASTERN REGION.-This region comprises the section south of the Great Lakes region, east of a line from Chicago through Peoria to St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Ohio River, and north of the Ohio River to Parkersburg, W. Va., and a line thence to the southwestern corner of Maryland and by the Potomac River to its mouth.

SOUTHERN DISTRICT

POCAHONTAS REGION.-This region comprises the section north of the southern boundary of Virginia, east of Kentucky and the Ohio River north to Parkersburg, W. Va., and south of a line from Parkersburg to the southwestern corner of Maryland and thence by the Potomac River to its mouth.

SOUTHERN REGION.-This region comprises the section east of the Mississippi River and south of the Ohio River to a point near Kenova, W. Va., and a line thence following the eastern boundary of Kentucky and the southern boundary of Virginia to the Atlantic.

WESTERN DISTRICT

NORTHWESTERN REGION.-This region comprises the section adjoining Canada lying west of the Great Lakes region, north of a line from Chicago to Omaha and thence to Portland and by the Columbia River to the Pacific.

Class II steam railways numbered 196, 10 less than for 1934, and class III steam railways numbered 255, a decrease of 8 from the corresponding 1934 total. Both of these groups owned less mileage in 1935 than in 1934, that of class II decreasing from 10,803 to 10,087, and that of class III from 4,314 to 4,032. Of the total road mileage, class II steam railways owned 4.2 percent, and class III steam railways 1.7 percent.

The 341 lessor companies, 3 less than the number for 1934, owned 38,872 miles of road or 16.1 percent of the total. During the same period, proprietary companies decreased in number from 214 to 205, and in mileage from 8,842 to 8,041.

The change in mileage of class I railways reflects numerous abandonments of roadway during the year, amounting to 1,027 miles of road. The decline in total reported mileage of lessor and proprietary companies is due largely to the filing of new system reports, and to the acquisition by class I companies of the properties of several companies which were lessors or proprietary companies in 1934.

Of the 254,347 miles of road operated, including the duplications resulting from the reporting of trackage rights, class I steam railways accounted for 93.4 percent, class II steam railways for 4.4 percent, class III steam railways for 1.7 percent, and unclassified steam railways for the remainder. This was a decrease of 2,071 miles under the miles of road operated at the end of 1934.

acquisition by the operating carrier of the road of the proprietary company, tary company. During the year, the investment in road and equipment of these companies declined from $890,581,460 to $861,716,329; the capital stock from $218,649,702 to $210,330952; and the funded debt unmatured from $385,706,956 to $371,000,156.

For a survey of the relative importance of proprietary, lessor, and other classes of steam railways, see statement no. 54.

The number of miles of road in the United States, at the end of 1935, is given in statement no. 2 by States and classes of steam railways. Alabama, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont were the only States for which net increases in road mileage during 1935 are shown. For the United States, the road mileage was 241,822, or 2,035 miles less than reported for 1934. This decline is the net of the mileage decreases of classes II and III steam railways, nonoperating companies, and companies not filing reports and a slight increase in the mileage of class I steam railways. Miles of road are to be distinguished from miles of track. A mile of double-tracked line is 2 miles of track but only a mile of road. Duplications on account of jointly owned mileage have been excluded.

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In 1935, only 25 miles of road were constructed, or less than in any previous year covered by the statement. Mileage abandoned was 1,974, an increase of 190 over the mileage abandoned in 1934, but a decrease below the 2,016 miles in 1933.

The difference between miles of road constructed and miles of road abandoned as given in statement no. 2-A does not allow for adjustments, reclassifications, relocations, and tracks laid to shorten route distances, and because of this is not comparable with the mileage change shown in statement no. 2. In the 15 years, 1921-1935, the length of steam railways in the United States has been decreased by 8,740 miles as the result of the excess of abandonment over construction.

method of control by operating company, the 400,271 miles were divided in the following manner: 70.8 percent owned by operating company; 3.3 percent owned by proprietary companies; 15.2 percent operated under lease; 4.0 percent operated under contract, etc.; and 6.7 percent operated under trackage rights. These proportions were practically the same for 1934. The increased use of trackage rights since 1923, amounting to 27.8 percent as compared with an increase of 2.4 percent in the miles of track held under other forms of title, indicates a greater coordination of facilities.

Class I steam railways at the end of 1935 operated 400,271 miles of track, or 2,160 miles less than for 1934. According to