Central Truck Lines, Inc. v. Railroad Commission

Citation118 Fla. 526,160 So. 22
PartiesCENTRAL TRUCK LINES, Inc. v. RAILROAD COMMISSION et al.
Decision Date28 February 1935
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Florida

En Banc.

Petition by Central Truck Lines, Incorporated, for writ of certiorari to review an order of the Railroad Commission granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity to the receivers for the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company for operartion of motor vehicle common carrier service between Tampa and Brooksville and between Waldo and Morriston.

Certiorari denied.

BUFORD J., dissenting.

COUNSEL Milam, McIlvaine & Milam, of Jacksonville, for relator.

W. J Oven and T. T. Turnbull, both of Tallahassee, for respondents.

OPINION

DAVIS Justice.

Central Truck Lines, Inc., a corporation, has filed this petition for certiorari attacking as contrary to law an order entered by the Railroad Commission granting its approval to an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity sought by the Seaboard Air Line Railway, a rail carrier, for the purpose of enabling it to operate a daily motor vehicle common carrier service between Tampa and Brooksville and between Waldo and Morriston, conditioned that, when the business to be done by motor carrier so increases as to be profitable to transport by rail, the transportation in motor vehicles over the highways shall be abandoned and the rail service for which the highway transportation is thus substituted shall be resumed.

No writ of certiorari has been issued, but by special order of this court the merits of the cause have been orally argued, and all contentions of the respective parties fully presented in briefs filed in support of the pending application for such writ; so the proposition before us in whether or not the writ of certiorari shall issue and the order complained of be quashed thereon, or the proceeding dismissed for want of a substantial ground of invalidity appearing in the commission's order to which the pending application for certiorari relates.

The facts of this case as found by the Railroad Commission, and set forth in its order, are as follows:

'(a) That the Receivers of the Seaboard Air Line Railway operate a daily through train from Baldwin to Tampa. That they consider it one of the most important freight trains they operate in that it transports through freight from the west into Florida. That they also operate another daily through freight from Tampa to Baldwin. That both of these trains run through the territory involved in this application but on account of the speed of the trains they are unable to stop at all stations and give service. That on this account this carrier also operates what is known as a turn-around service leaving Waldo in the morning and going to Morriston and occasionally as far as Dunnellon returning to Waldo in the afternoon. That in addition it has a tri-weekly local freight between Tampa and Dunnellon and also a turnaround train operating from Tampa to Brooksville and back to Tampa. That by means of these trains it handles all kinds of freight including a large tonnage of perishables such as cucumbers, eggplant, okra, corn, peppers and watermelons. That a great percentage of these perishables go to the eastern markets or the western markets and is a through movement. That many of these products are shipped by express. That these products must be at Waldo or at Tampa at a certain time in order to make the through train connection. That if it does not make this through express connection for the eastern markets it means twenty-four hours delay to the express. That these local and turn-around trains gather up these shipments but are not able to handle all of the L. C. L. freight shipments as between these points because of the fact that it is necessary to have these products arrive at Waldo at a certain closing hour in order to make the through train connections. That in many instances L. C. L. freight is left at these stations because these turn-around trains or local freights are not able to handle it. That it is the purpose of the receivers of the Seaboard Air Line Railway to substitute in part truck service for these turnaround trains and the greater part of the tonnage that would be transported on the trucks would be the express tonnage which must make through train connection. That the substitution of this truck service would enable the local freights to serve all of these stations and pick up and deliver freight because they would not be required to be on any particular schedule as it would not be necessary for them to make these through train connections. That the shipment of vegetables is a seasonal operation and that for a good part of the year these special turn-around trains that are operated between these points could be abandoned and only the local freights operated and through this means a saving would be realized to the rail carrier of between $8,000.00 and $10,000.00 per year.
'(b) That it is not the purpose of the applicants to make pick up and store door delivery at Tampa, Brooksville, Waldo or Morriston or any intermediate points with these motor vehicles. That it only proposes to transport express or through freight which is delivered to them at their railway stations. That the applicants are agents of the Railway Express Agency and transport such express as is delivered to them at their freight stations. That the Express Company picks up and delivers its own express and delivers to the rail carrier at its depot and the applicant proposes to pick up this express from its own stations and transport it on its trucks along the highway to its stations and in no event to attempt to transport for the public generally or to pick up and deliver freight for the public.
'That in its opinion it will not impair the operations of any motor carrier along said route as it only proposes to transport express and freight that it now transports over its rail line, and that this service is in fact a mere substitution of truck service for rail service.'

A majority of the commission were of the opinion that the granting of the application would effect a considerable saving to the rail carrier in its operation of train service, that the railroad was badly in need of revenue, and that the authorization sought would, if approved by the commission, result in an expedited service of express and through freight that would be of benefit to the public. They were likewise of the opinion that the proposal to substitute truck service for rail service should only be permitted until business on the railroad so increased as to warrant a resumption of train service, in which event the truck service should be required to be abandoned. The commission's order was so framed as to thus express and condition the commission's approval of the application.

The Railroad Commission has been made the repository of a general grant of regulatory powers as to both rail and motor carrier services performed in the state of Florida...

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