to disproportionate or unreasonable charges, or charges attributable to another period, under a proper system of accounting. As a result of our investigation it has been ascertained that the amount necessary to make good the guaranty to the carrier is $21,486.01 as shown by the following statement: Basis of claim: Deficit in net railway operating income for the guaranty period--- One half amount of average annual net railway operating income for the test period‒‒‒‒‒ Total amount claimed_ Adjustments: $77,098. 49 23, 901. 04 100, 999. 53 23, 901. 04 One half amount of average annual net railway op- Amount claimed for maintenance of way and struc- Net deductions___. Amount necessary to make good the guaranty. 813.16 113, 305. 07 7,742.69 105, 559. 38 47, 320. 73 58,238. 65 79, 513. 52 21, 486. 01 No certificate for advances under subdivision (h) or for partial payments under subdivision (g) of section 209 as amended by section 212, have been issued by us in favor of the carrier. The amount due the carrier, therefore, is $21,486.01, for which an appropriate certificate will be issued. 193 I.C.C. FINANCE DOCKET No. 9087 DENVER PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION Submitted November 6, 1933. Decided November 28, 1933 Present and future public convenience and necessity not shown to require construction by the Denver Pacific Railroad Company of a proposed line of railroad in Denver, Jefferson, Clear Creek, Summit, Eagle, Garfield, and Mesa Counties, Colo., Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah, Coconino and Mohave Counties, Ariz., and San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties, Calif. Application denied. John U. Schiess for applicant. Henry McAllister, E. J. Foulds, J. M. Souby, Douglas F. and Erl H. Ellis for interveners. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION Smith, DIVISION 4, COMMISSIONERS MEYER, BRAINERD, AND MAHAFFIE BY DIVISION 4: The Denver Pacific Railroad Company, on December 22, 1931, applied for authority to construct a line of railroad from Denver, Colo., in a general southwesterly direction to San Pedro Harbor, near Los Angeles, Calif., a distance of approximately 800 miles, in Denver, Jefferson, Clear Creek, Summit, Eagle, Garfield, and Mesa Counties, Colo., Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah, Coconino and Mohave Counties, Ariz., and San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties, Calif. The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Company, the Southern Pacific Company, the Union Pacific Railroad Company, the Oregon Short Line Railroad Company, the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad Company, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company intervened in opposition to the applicant's proposal. Following two postponements at the applicant's request, the application came on for hearing at Denver on November 6, 1933. No representations have been made herein by any State authority. The applicant was incorporated under the laws of Delaware in September 1931, with an authorized capital stock of $1,500,000. It proposes to construct an electrified railroad from Denver directly across the Continental Divide and other mountain ranges to Glenwood Springs, Colo., thence, generally paralleling the course of the Colorado River, to the Grand Canyon, and thence, either through or across the canyon, to Barstow, Calif., at which point the indicated route turns south to San Bernardino, and thence west to Los Angeles and San Pedro. The assigned purposes of the proposed line are to open up new territory and shorten the rail distances from the East to Los Angeles and the Orient. In response to our questionnaire the applicant furnished information to the effect that electric power would be obtained from the Boulder Dam project, that the chief support of the line would come from transcontinental hauls, that the time required for coast-to-coast freight movement would be reduced by at least 20 hours and the distance by at least 500 miles, that the total cost of the line, including equipment, would be about $98,459,000, which would be financed by the sale of approximately $75,000,000 of stock, at a commisison of about 10 percent, and by the issue of bonds, and that available funds amount to about $25,000. Prospective traffic in both directions during the first year of operation is estimated at 41,477,000 tons, which is based on some assumed proportion of west-coast freight traffic. Gross revenues for the first year are estimated at $179,530,000. After the first five years of operation, it is believed, these revenues should rise to $300,000,000, which, after deducting $150,000,000 for operating expenses and $100,000,000 for interest, taxes, and other charges, would leave net revenues of $50,000,000 a year. There is no evidence in support of the estimates of cost or expected traffic and earnings. The applicant's principal sponsor, a retired trainman, did not appear at the hearing. The sole witness was a civil and mining engineer who has been tentatively retained by the applicant, without remuneration, for about six months, and admits little study of or familiarity with the project and that he has made no estimate of costs. He stated that the only survey of the proposed route was made by airplane, and admitted, also, that the indicated mileage of the proposed line is less than the air-line distance between the termini, and that, because of physical barriers, construction of a line along the route proposed is impossible. The interveners refrained from adducing testimony. We are of the view that the applicant's contentions herein are without merit. We find that the present and future public convenience and necessity are not shown to require the construction by the Denver Pacific Railroad Company of the proposed line of railroad in Denver, Jefferson, Clear Creek, Summit, Eagle, Garfield, and Mesa Counties, Colo., Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah, Coconino and Mohave Counties, Ariz., and San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties, Calif., described in the application. It follows that the application must be denied. An appropriate order will be entered. FINANCE DOCKET No. 9849 TALLULAH FALLS RAILWAY COMPANY ABANDONMENT Submitted October 26, 1933. Decided November 28, 1933 Certificate issued permitting (a) the Tallulah Falls Railway Company to abandon its entire line of railroad in Habersham and Rabun Counties, Ga., and Macon County, N.C.; and (b) J. F. Gray, receiver, to abandon operation of said line. A. C. Wheeler, L. L. Oliver, and J. F. Gray for applicant. G. L. Houk, F. M. Reeves, R. S. Jones, R. D. Sisk, Joseph T. Davis, and W. H. Hendley for protestants. Jud P. Wilhoit for Georgia Public Service Commission. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION DIVISION 4, COMMISSIONERS MEYER, BRAINERD, AND MAHAFFIE BY DIVISION 4: Exceptions to the report proposed by the examiner were filed by the protestants and the case was argued orally. Pursuant to authorization by the District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Gainesville Division, the Tallulah Falls Railway Company, by J. F. Gray, its receiver, on February 15, 1933, applied for permission to abandon its entire line of railroad extending in a general northwesterly direction from a connection with the main line of the Southern Railway Company at Cornelia, Ga., to Franklin, N.C., approximately 57.10 miles, all in Habersham and Rabun Counties, Ga., and Macon County, N.C. A hearing was held for us by the Georgia Public Service Commission at which appearances in opposition to the proposed abandonment were entered in behalf of the towns of Franklin, N.C., and Clayton, Ga., the citizens of the counties traversed by the line, and certain business interests within those counties. The entire capital stock of the applicant is owned by the Southern Railway Company, hereinafter called the Southern, and the line in question is operated in conjunction with the latter's railway system. All points mentioned herein are in the State of Georgia unless otherwise designated. The southern portion of the line, which extends between Cornelia and Tallulah Falls, approximately 20 miles, was constructed by the Northeastern Railroad Company and opened for traffic in 1882. The properties of the latter were acquired by the Blue Ridge & Atlantic Railroad Company, incorporated for that purpose in 1887. After a period of receivership, the properties were sold and the latter company was reorganized, in 1898, under the corporate name of the Tallulah Falls Railway Company, applicant herein. The line was later extended to Franklin, N.C., its present terminus. With the exception of a period of receivership lasting about one year, the applicant operated the properties continuously from the date of its incorporation to June 30, 1923, when the present receiver was appointed. The general balance sheet of the applicant, as of December 31, 1932, shows investment in road and equipment $1,687,125.49, investment in affiliated companies $2,001, other investments $260, current assets $1, deferred assets $27,950.26, capital stock $323,400, grants in aid of construction $372.50, funded debt unmatured $1,519,000, open accounts payable $20,000, traffic and car-service balances payable $28,230.78, audited accounts and wages payable $100,525.48, interest matured and unpaid $1,738,454.93, unmatured interest accrued $25,316.78, other deferred liabilities $852.81, accrued depreciation on equipment $14,481.66, additions to property through income and surplus $8,615.50, and profit and loss, debit balance, $2,061,912.69. The general balance sheet of the receiver, as of December 30, 1932, shows investment in road and equipment $48,371.59, current assets $22,047.91, deferred assets $124.60, unadjusted debits $388.64, receivers certificates $10,000, nonnegotiable debt to affiliated companies $30,188.83, traffic and car service balances payable $28,903.72, audited accounts and wages payable $103,322.56, unmatured interest accrued $110, other deferred liabilities $28,419.21, tax liability $265.44, accrued depreciation on equipment $15,383.79, other unadjusted credits $1,442.24, additions to property through income and surplus $3,454.24, and profit and loss, debit balance $150,026.41. Cornelia, the junction point of the applicant's line, is a town of about 1,600 inhabitants located in northern Georgia about 77 miles east of Atlanta on the main line of the Southern. North of Cornelia, to Tallulah Falls, the line traverses a generally hilly country utilized extensively for peach and apple orchards and general farming. Airline distances between this segment of the line and the Southern's main line vary from 5 to 10 miles. Beyond Tallulah Falls, northerly, to Clayton, about 14 miles, the line is constructed in the gorges of the Tallulah River and Tiger Creek. Beyond Clayton, it crosses the summit of the Blue Ridge Mountains and enters the State of North Carolina for a distance of about 14 miles by following the narrow valley of the Little Tennessee River northerly to Franklin, its ter |