Dow Jones Index

The Dow Jones Railroad and Transportation Averages

Collectors occasionally 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
• GATX
• Norfolk Southern
• Union Pacific

Here are all the companies that have appeared in the Dow Jones Railroad Average and the Dow Jones Transportation Average. Visit Dow Jones to learn more about the makeup 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
BUR-482	1995-present	Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp
BOS-514	1943-1949	Boston & Maine RR
BRO-728	1899-1912	Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co
BUR-478	1970-1995	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'
	Question marks following dates mean that I do not know the precise year a name change took place.

 

A few railroad-related companies have also appeared in the popular Dow Jones Industrial Average. Here are the companies I currently know of. Be advised I have not researched this index thoroughly.

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