Collectible Stocks and Bonds from North American Railroads
by Terry Cox
Dow Jones index
 
The Dow Jones Railroad and Transportation Averages

A few collectors have asked whether certain companies had ever been part of the Dow Jones index. Actually the "Dow Jones Index" encompasses several different indices. The one most pertinent to our interest here is the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Charles Dow began his 'Dow Dozen' in 1884. His average became officially known as the Industrial Average in May, 1896. Later in that same year, Dow began publishing his Railroad Average (DJRA).

Over the years, the composition of the 20 stocks that made up the DJRA changed constantly with mergers and financial fortunes. In 1968, a gap was created by the Pennsylvania/New York Central merger It was filled by Northwest Industries. Until then, every company in the Railroad Average had been either a railroad company or a diversified descendent of one.

However, within two years, half of the companies in the average were non-railroads and Dow Jones officially changed the name to the Transportation Average. Today, only five railroad-related companies remain:

Burlington Northern Santa Fe
CSX
Norfolk Southern
Union Pacific
GATX.


Here are all the companies that have appeared in the Dow Jones Railroad Average and the Dow Jones Transportation Average. An 'x' in the right-hand column means some sort of certificate from that company is currently known.

Visit Dow Jones to learn more about the makeup of any of its averages on any particular day in history.

Catalog#

Dates

Company

ATC-786

1896-1968

Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Ry Co

ATL-427

1928-1967

Atlantic Coast Line RR Co

BAL-662

1901-1965

Baltimore & Ohio RR Co

BOS-514

1943-1949

Boston & Maine RR

BRO-728

1899-1912

Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co

BUR-478

1970-present

Burlington Northern Inc

CAN-387

1902-1988

Canadian Pacific Ry Co

CEN-186

1896-1902

Cental RR Co of New Jersey

CHE-476

1896-1902

Chesapeake & Ohio Ry Co

CHE-476

1914-1970

Chesapeake & Ohio Ry Co

CHE-622

1971-1980

Chessie System Inc

CHI-086

1896-1902

Chicago Burlington & Quincy RR Co

CHI-440

1896-1928

Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul Ry Co

CHI-444

1968-1969

Chicago Milwaukee St Paul & Pacific RR Co

CHI-502

1896-1914

Chicago & North Western Ry Co

CHI-502

1961-1968

Chicago & North Western Ry Co

CHI-602

1951-1965

Chicago Rock Island & Pacific RR Co

CHI-603

1896-1902

Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Ry Co

CHI-603

1928-1935

Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Ry Co

CLE-413

1896-1903

Cleveland Cincinnati Chicago & St Louis Ry Co

CON-629

1993-1997

Conrail Inc

CON-740

1987-1993

Consolidated Rail Corp

CSX-500

1980-present

CSX Corp

DEL-267

1902-1928

Delaware & Hudson Co

DEL-267

1929-1957?

Delaware & Hudson Co

DEL-269

1957?-1968

Delaware & Hudson RR Corp

DEL-312

1924-1933?

Delaware & Lackawanna RR Co

DEL-317

1933?-1951

Delaware Lackawanna & Western RR Co

DEN-667

1899-1904

Denver & Rio Grande RR Co preferred

DEN-679

1965-1969

Denver & Rio Grande Western RR Co

ERI-055

1896-1899

Erie RR Co

ERI-438

1905-1965

Erie - Lackawanna RR Co

FLO-460

1969-1970

Florida East Coast Ry

GAT-950

1998-present

GATX Corp

GRE-123

1935-1970

Great Northern Ry Co preferred

GUL-517

1967-1970

Gulf Mobile & Ohio RR Co

ILL-079

1901-1929

Illinois Central RR Co

ILL-079

1934-1964

Illinois Central RR Co

ILL-100

1995-1998

Illinois Central Corp

ILL-120

1964-1970

Illinois Central Industries

INT-064

1896-1905

Interborough Rapid Transit?*

KAN-690

1914-1924

Kansas City Southern Ry Co

KAN-690

1952-1962

Kansas City Southern Ry Co

KAN-693

1962-1970

Kansas City Southern Industries

LAK-635

1896-1898

Lake Shore Ry Co

LEH-741

1912-1924

Lehigh Valley RR Co

LOU-666

1896-1929

Louisville & Nashville RR Co

LOU-666

1935-1971

Louisville & Nashville RR Co

MET-700

1898-1899

Metropolitan Street Ry Co

MET-700

1904-1906

Metropolitan Street Ry Co

MIN-499

1902-1904

Minnesota & St Louis RR Co

MIS-716

1896-1902

Missouri Kansas & Texas Ry Co preferred

MIS-807

1976-1982

Missouri Pacific Corp

MIS-815

1929-1935

Missouri Pacific RR Co

MIS-815

1968-1970

Missouri Pacific RR Co class A

MIS-820

1896-1914

Missouri Pacific Ry Co

NEW-161

1914-1943

New Haven RR Co

NEW-530

1896-1968

New York Central RR Co

NEW-555

1929-1964

New York Chicago & St Louis RR Co

NEW-688

1949-1961

New York New Haven & Hartford RR Co

NEW-712

1897-1898

New York Ontario & Western Ry Co

NEW-794

1896-1897

New York Susquehanna & Western RR Co preferred

NOR-051

1982-present

Norfolk Southern Corp

NOR-080

1899-1900

Norfolk & Western Ry Co preferred

NOR-080

1905-1982

Norfolk & Western Ry Co common

NOR-790

1899-1901

Northern Pacific Ry Co preferred

NOR-790

1905-1952

Northern Pacific Ry Co common

PEN-168

1969-1969

Penn Central Corp

PEN-316

1901-1960?

Pennsylvania RR Co

PEN-317

1960?-1969

Pennsylvania Co

PER-050

1928-1934

Pere Marquette Ry Co

REA-300

1896-1899

Reading

REA-300

1902-1928

Reading

RIO-340

1969-1970

Rio Grande Industries

RIO-340

1982-1984

Rio Grande Industries

ROC-355

1912-1914

Rock Island Co

SAN-899

1968-1983

Santa Fe Industries

SEA-109

1965-1967

Seaboard Air Line RR Co

SEA-143

1967-1969

Seaboard Coast Line RR Co

SEA-145

1969-1979

Seaboard Coast Line Industries

SOU-479

1896-1901

Southern Ry Co preferred

SOU-479

1901-1982

Southern Ry Co

SOU-733

1900-1901

Southern Pacific RR Co

SOU-733

1904-1983

Southern Pacific RR Co

SOU-774

1983-1995

Southern Pacific & Santa Fe Ry?**

STL-808

1964-1980

St Louis - San Francisco Ry Co

STL-857

1924-1928

St Louis Southwestern Ry Co

TEX-569

1928-1929

Texas & Pacific Ry Co

TWI-636

1906-1912

Twin City (Rapid Transit?)***

UNI-284

1969-present

Union Pacific Corp

UNI-286

1898-1905

Union Pacific RR Co preferred

UNI-286

1900-1969

Union Pacific RR Co common

WAB-083

1896-1900

Wabash RR Co preferred

WAB-083

1904-1905

Wabash RR Co preferred

WES-799

1965-1970

Western Pacific RR Corp

* listed by Dow Jones as 'Manhattan Elevated'
** listed by Dow Jones as 'Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corp'
*** listed by Dow Jones as 'Twin City'
The question marks following some dates mean that I do not know the precise year a name change took place. Please help if you can.

 

A few railroad-related companies have also appeared in the more popular Dow Jones Industrial Average. Here are the companies I currently know of. Be advised, though, that I have not researched this index thoroughly. Contact me if you know of others.

Catalog#

Dates

Company

AME-083

1901-1928

American Car & Foundary Co

AME-375

1916-1928

American Locomotive Co

BAL-147

1916-1925

Baldwin Locomotive Works

GEN-052

1928-1930

General Railway Signal Corp

TEN-263

1896-1907

Tennessee Coal Iron & RR Co

 

 
 

 
Papermental logo Help support this free site! Please visit my store at Papermental.com for railroad ephemera, newspapers, magazines, engravings, and all sorts of paper collectibles.

Please contact me if you have certificates not yet listed. (See How You Can Help for more information.) Try to limit images to 250 Kb each.

Please contact the many fine dealers on my dealers page to buy certificates.

This site best viewed at 800x600 resolution.