Billion

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is the oldest trunk-line road in the U. S. Last year was the B. & O.'s 97th birthday, and the most successful year in its long history in several respects. No previous year's gross operating revenue was ever as high as the 1923 figure of $255,594,435; in 1922 it was $200,843,169. No previous year's net revenue has reached or surpassed 1923's record of $22,422,035, which compares with $4,375,373 in 1922, and amounts to $13.21 a share on the common stock, as against $2.56 the year before. The year 1923 was also a record one in the amount of freight handled.

In still another way this annual 1923 report of the B. & O. is interesting. Total assets of the company as of Dec. 31, 1923, were $900,191,932. While the B. & O. is not as yet a "billion dollar concern," it is nearer that mark than is commonly realized.