Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Co. - 1880 dated $100 Uncanceled Railway Gold Bond
Inv# RB5009A Bond
$100 3% Uncanceled Bond printed by American Bank Note Co. N.Y. & Boston. All 60 coupons remain.
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (A&P) was born from the ambitious Pacific Railroad Act of 1866, chartered by Congress to create a transcontinental link along the 35th parallel. Starting in Springfield, Missouri, the line was intended to stretch across the Southwest to the Pacific coast. However, the project faced immediate financial hurdles, including the Panic of 1873, which stalled construction for years. Despite these setbacks, the railroad managed to lay significant tracks through Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma) and eventually pushed into Arizona and New Mexico, establishing vital infrastructure in previously isolated regions.
The company’s independence was short-lived, as it became a strategic pawn between larger rail giants. By the 1880s, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (Frisco) jointly controlled the A&P to secure a route to California. This partnership allowed for the completion of the line to Needles, California, where it connected with the Southern Pacific. Ultimately, the A&P succumbed to bankruptcy in the mid-1890s and was absorbed by the Santa Fe, but its legacy lives on through the modern BNSF Railway network, which still utilizes much of the original 35th-parallel grade.
A bond is a document of title for a loan. Bonds are issued, not only by businesses, but also by national, state or city governments, or other public bodies, or sometimes by individuals. Bonds are a loan to the company or other body. They are normally repayable within a stated period of time. Bonds earn interest at a fixed rate, which must usually be paid by the undertaking regardless of its financial results. A bondholder is a creditor of the undertaking.
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