St. Louis-San Francisco Ry. Co. v. State, LOUIS-SAN

• Decision Date: 03 May 1955
• Docket Number: No. 36282,LOUIS-SAN,36282
• Citation: 283 P.2d 519
• Parties: , 1955 OK 126 ST.FRANCISCO RAILWAY COMPANY, Plaintiff in Error, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Defendant in Error.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

Page 519

283 P.2d 519

9 P.U.R.3d 367, 1955 OK 126

ST. LOUIS-SAN FRANCISCO RAILWAY COMPANY, Plaintiff in Error, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Defendant in Error.

No. 36282.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

May 3, 1955.

Syllabus by the Court.

1. To require the operation of passenger trains at a loss to meet public convenience, as distinguished from public necessity, is a taking of the carrier's property without due process of law.

2. An order of the Corporation Commission not supported by substantial evidence reasonably tending to sustain the order will be reversed.

Appeal from an order of the Corporation Commission denying application to discontinue passenger trains Nos. 409 and 404 from Lawton to the Oklahoma-Texas State Line. Reversed.

John E. McCullough, Satterfield Franklin & Harmon, Oklahoma City, for plaintiff in error.

James G. Welch, Montford Johnson, T. Earl Curb, Oklahoma City, for Corporation Commission of State of Oklahoma, for defendant in error.

ARNOLD, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order of the Corporation Commission denying St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company permission to discontinue the operation of passenger trains over its branch line running from Lawton to the Oklahoma-Texas State line and having its terminus at Quanah, Texas.

In support of its application to discontinue such passenger trains the evidence of the railway company is to the effect that trains 409 and 404 operate daily between Lawton and the Oklahoma-Texas State line, a distance of 85.7 miles, Train 409 being the westbound and Train 404 the eastbound train over sale line; that these trains serve and make a scheduled stop at Lawton, Cache, Indiahoma, Odetta, Snyder, Headrick, Altus, Olustee, and Eldorado; that each train consists of an engine, baggage car, combination baggage-mail car, and air conditioned chair car with a seating capacity of 60 persons; that five employees are required to run each of these trains, and each train also carries an express messenger whose salary is paid one-half by the express company and one-half by the railroad company; that the average number of passengers carried by these trains per train mile during the last three months of 1951 was 4.9 persons, the year 1952 was 5 1/2 persons and for the first four months of 1953 was 4.5 persons; that over this 19-month period these trains operated at a loss of 97cents per mile when direct, out-of-pocket expenses were compared with the earnings of these trains and at a loss of $2.64 per train mile when the fully distributed operating expenses (such as taxes, administration expense, etc.) were compared with the earnings; that even if the earnings from the carriage of mail, (which is not a common carrier duty) were considered the trains still operated at a loss of 60cents per train mile; that every one of the 9 communities having a total population of 48,465, located on this route is...