The Railroad That Went Broke Twice in Seven Years
A federal judge appoints W. D. Tyler receiver for the Washington & Columbia River line after $300,000 in missed interest payments.
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Judge Hanford has appointed W. D. Tyler receiver for the Washington & Columbia River Railroad. The petition for a receivership was filed in Walla Walla two days ago, but was acted upon in Portland yesterday on the application of the bondholders.
The petition shows that three installments of interest on the first, second and third coupons remain unpaid, amounting to about $300,000. C. K. Wright, of Tacoma, owns the greater part of the bonds, which aggregate some $4,000,000. A similar application was made Thursday in Portland before Judge Bellinger, who appointed Mr. Tyler.
The road comprises about 200 miles, centering at Walla Walla and connecting with the Union and Northern Pacific systems. It was formerly known as the Baker system. This is the second time it has been in a receiver's hands within seven years. Since the reorganization of the road, Tyler has been its president and general manager. He left Thursday for Walla Walla.
“This is the second time it has been in a receiver's hands within seven years.”
Receivership was the 1890s version of an infrastructure bailout: bondholders and federal judges, not voters, decided whether a Washington railroad kept running. The line’s second collapse in seven years shows how speculative rail-building left communities dependent on fragile private finance.
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