The forecast is based upon the assumption of $577,034 carloads of revenue freight in 1933, as compared with 598,951 carloads in 1932. The largest business reported in a single year was 1,053,147 cars, in 1929. Conclusions.-We conclude: 1. That we should approve a further loan of not to exceed $3,000,000 to the applicants by the Finance Corporation, for a term not exceeding three years from the making of each advance thereon, for the purpose of paying, in part, the principal and interest obligations due between April 1 and November 1, 1933, inclusive, as set forth in the supplemental application filed March 29, 1933, and in this report: 2. That the applicants should pledge with the Finance Corporation, as collateral security for, or as direct evidence of, said further loan, an equal principal amount of receivers' certificates duly authorized by the courts of jurisdiction and of equal rank to the certificates securing or evidencing the loans heretofore approved by us; 3. That the applicants should agree with the Finance Corporation that all of the security for this and any other loan by that corporation to the applicants shall apply equally and ratably as security for all such loans; 4. That the Finance Corporation will be adequately secured under such conditions; and 5. That the applicants should be required to report to the Finance Corporation and to this commission, in writing, at the close of each 30-day period from the making of the initial advance under the loan, the expenditure of the proceeds for the purposes for which the further loan is authorized. An appropriate certificate of approval will be issued. 193 I.C.C. FINANCE DOCKET No. 9887 DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY ABANDONMENT Submitted April 25, 1933. Decided April 28, 1933 Certificate issued permitting the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Company to abandon part of its Winter Quarters spur in Carbon County, Utah. T. R. Woodrow for applicant. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION DIVISION 4, COMMISSIONERS MEYER, EASTMAN, AND MAHAFFIE BY DIVISION 4: The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company, on March 14, 1933, applied for permission to abandon that part of the main track of its so-called Winter Quarters spur extending from a point about 243 feet westerly from the west head-block of the wye at Scofield in a westerly direction to Winter Quarters, 1.744 miles, together with 1.314 miles of side or yard tracks connecting therewith, all in Carbon County, Utah. No representations have been made by any State authority, and no objection to the application has been offered. The Winter Quarters spur was used for many years to serve coal mines of the Utah Fuel Company. In 1928 these mines were discontinued and all mine machinery was moved from Winter Quarters on September 10, 1930. Since the latter date there has been no operation of the tracks. No resumption of operation of these coal mines is contemplated. The applicant states that as there is no population in the tributary territory there is no need for the existence of the tracks, on which the taxes amount to about $1,000 a year. It is clear from the record that there is no public need of the tracks proposed to be abandoned, and that their existence imposes a burden on interstate commerce. We find that the present and future public convenience and necessity permit the abandonment by The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company of that part of its Winter Quarters spur in Carbon County, Utah, described in the application. An appropriate certificate will be issued, effective from and after 30 days from its date. Suitable provision will be made therein for the cancelation of tariffs. FINANCE DOCKET No. 9386 DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY ABANDONMENT Submitted April 11, 1933. Decided April 25, 1933 Certificate issued permitting abandonment by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Company of a branch line of railroad in Gunnison and Hinsdale Counties, Colo. Henry McAllister, T. R. Woodrow, and T. A. White for applicant. Paul P. Prosser, attorney general of Colorado, Ralph C. Horton, H. G. Heath, W. S. Whinnery, Clifford H. Stone, and C. L. Colburn for protestants. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION DIVISION 4, COMMISSIONERS MEYER, EASTMAN, AND MAHAFFIE BY DIVISION 4: Exceptions were filed to the report proposed by the examiner. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company on May 5, 1932, applied for permission to abandon a narrow-gage branch line of railroad extending in a general southerly direction from Lake Junction to Lake City, 35.81 miles, in Gunnison and Hinsdale Counties, Colo. At a hearing held for us by the Public Utilities Commission of Colorado, protest against the proposed abandonment was made by interested individuals and on behalf of the counties affected and mining and livestock interests. The branch was built to provide transportation facilities for ores formerly produced in substantial volume at mihes near Lake City. It follows the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, connecting at Lake Junction with the applicant's narrow-gage line from Montrose, through Sapinero, Iola, and Gunnison, to Salida. Operation of the branch began August 15, 1889. Hinsdale County is crossed from east to west by the main Continental Divide, about 20 miles, by highway, southeast of Lake City. Because of this natural barrier the community's principal outlet is to the north. In Gunnison County the branch traverses an agricultural region producing hay and livestock. From October 2, 1927, to July 31, 1928, service on the line was limited to semiweekly trips by a mixed train, but 6-day service was restored on August 1, 1928, due to urgent appeals by and on behalf of the public and because a new mail contract had been secured. Statistics of traffic and earnings are furnished for the five years 1927-1931 and six months of 1932. The number of passengers declined from 1,125 in 1927 to 372 in 1931 and 286 in the first six months of 1932, with corresponding decreases in revenue from $1,598 to $538 and $399, respectively. The total revenue freight handled during the period amounted to 9,493 tons, of which 6,556 tons moved inbound. The traffic consisted of coal 3,495 tons, livestock 1,751 tons, merchandise 1,491 tons, ore 980 tons, miscellaneous 822 tons, gasoline 430 tons, and flour, hay, and lumber 524 tons. The movement in each full year and the part of 1932, in order, was 2,354, 2,611, 1,359, 1,614, 1,127, and 428 tons. Ore has not moved on the line in substantial volume since 1913. Only three cars have been shipped since 1929. Practically all the freight moves to or from the applicant's MontroseSalida line or beyond. Results of operation of the line are shown for the 5.5 year period as follows: Revenues $68,634, operating expenses $161,936, operating loss $93,302, taxes $135,514, and total loss $228,826. Total revenues for each of the years and six months of 1932, in order, were $7,481, $11,913, $14,935, $15,076, $12,725, and $6,504. According to service the revenues for the entire period were freight $18,739, passenger $6,584, express and milk $1,353, and mail $41,957. The freight revenue declined from $6,020 in 1928 to $3,114 in 1929, $3,111 in 1930, $1,679 in 1931, and $847 in six months of 1932. Both passenger and freight revenues are allocated to the line on a mileage basis, and express and milk revenues on a proportional basis. The mail revenue represents the amounts actually received for the service performed on the branch. Effective August 1, 1928, the mail pay was increased about $8,500 annually under a contract which expired by limitation on July 31, 1932, but which, it is stated on brief, has been extended for one year. With the exception of car repairs and lubrication, the operating expenses include only actual expenditures directly assignable to the branch. Of the 9.493 tons of freight handled on the branch during the period, 77 percent originated at or was destined to points on the applicant's system and 23 percent moved to or from connections. Coal, the chief commodity in volume, originated in the vicinity of Crested Butte, about 30 miles north of Gunnison. Total system revenues from all the freight amounted to $68,700. Total system revenues from both the freight and passenger traffic were $88,651, or $1,574 less than expenditures made during the period for maintenance of the branch, $90,225. Except for the first half of 1932, for which they are estimated, taxes are amounts paid to Gunnison and Hinsdale Counties. In the five years 1927-1931, such taxes aggregated $125,013. While taxes would not be payable to the two counties if the branch is abandoned, the protestants contend that there would be little or no saving in the amount payable by the applicant in the State. The manner in which taxes on railroad properties are assessed in Colorado has been presented to us in several previous proceedings. On the present record the chairman of the tax commission expressed the belief that if the branch had been abandoned in January, 1931, there would have been a small decrease in the taxes due in 1932; and that, assuming the situation in 1933 will be exactly the same with respect to net earnings and stock and bond values, abandonment of the branch would result in a reduction in taxes due to the decrease in physical value. In any event the applicant would be relieved from other losses from operation and be enabled to avoid large expenditures for necessary rehabilitation. The applicant sustained net deficits in income of $225,652 in 1931 and $3,172,464 in eight months of 1932. The loss for the whole of the latter year is estimated at $3,439,902. It was testified that the branch has reached the end of its usefulness for safe and economical operation. With minor exceptions it is laid with secondhand 30-pound rails which have been in service for 43 years. There are in the line 17 bridges, aggregating 2,337 feet in length, on which only enough work has been done to keep them serviceable for the light power used, and renewal of many of them is imperative if operation of the line is to continue. Expenditures for repairs to bridges, rail replacement, tie renewals, and other rehabilitation necessary to put the line in satisfactory condition are estimated at $246,690, but operation could be continued for about a year with repairs estimated to cost from $30,000 to $40,000. The net salvage value of the line is estimated at $8,472. State Highway No. 149, hereinafter called the Iola road, extends from Iola, through Powder Horn and Gateview, to Lake City, about 46 miles, and thence over the continental divide. Gateview is a siding on the branch about 20 miles north of Lake City. At Iola the road connects with a highway between Salida and Grand Junction. The Iola road is graded but is graveled only in part. In Gunnison County it crosses two passes called Nine-Mile Hill and Goose Creek Flats. To July 27, 1932, the State has spent $74,137 for construction work on this highway in Gunnison and Hinsdale Counties, but it is maintained by the counties. From Sapinero, 1 mile east of Lake Junction, to Gateview, there is another road which crosses the Sapinero Mesa, in Gunnison |