State ex rel. Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. Railroad Commission
State ex rel. Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. Railroad Commission
Opinion of the Court
Upon a hearing had in October, 1909, the railroad commission entered an order requiring the Northern
The evidence upon which the commission’s order was based is practically free from conflict, though it is not very satisfactory. However, we believe that the following is a fair statement of the controlling facts established, and is as favorable to the commission’s contention as the record will warrant. The railway company owns and operates a branch line of railway from South Aberdeen to Ocosta, in Chehalis county, a distance of about fourteen miles. The railway company now maintains a train service on this branch consisting of one mixed train each way twice a week. During November and December, 1907, and January and February, 1908, the railway company maintained a daily train service on this line, and during that period the passenger travel on the line only produced an income of nine cents per mile per day in one direction, and eleven cents per mile per day in the opposite direction. That is, there was an average of between three and four passengers per day carried over the-line in each direction at the usual fare of three cents per mile. There is no evidence in the record to warrant the conclusion that the passenger earnings would be greater than this at the present time with a daily train service. The cost of operating a train over the line is not less than thirty cents per mile, not including maintenance expenses. The two trains per week now operated are entirely sufficient to render all necessary freight service to the people along the line. The entire receipts from freight and passengers, even as the train service is now operated, is
We are of the opinion that the learned superior court correctly determined that the order of the commission is unreasonable. The judgment is affirmed.
Rudkin, Mount, Fullerton, and Gose, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.