Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co. v. Nebraska State Railway Commission

124 N.W. 477, 85 Neb. 818, 1910 Neb. LEXIS 29
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 20, 1910
DocketNo. 16,399
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 124 N.W. 477 (Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co. v. Nebraska State Railway Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co. v. Nebraska State Railway Commission, 124 N.W. 477, 85 Neb. 818, 1910 Neb. LEXIS 29 (Neb. 1910).

Opinion

Letton, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of tlie district court refusing to set aside an order of the state hoard of railway commissioners. On August 23, 1907, a complaint was filed before the state board of railway commissioners by J. A. Beal and others against the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company. The substance of the complaint is that the complainants are residents and citizens of University Place, Nebraska, a city of upwards of 4,000 inhabitants, and are doing business therein; that the tracks of the defendant extend into and through said city, but that defendant has no depot -or station house therein for the accommodation of passengers or for the receipt or delivery of freight; that several thousand students attend the educational institutions in said city each year; that there is a large amount of passenger traffic on this account, and that people are obliged to leave and take trains at Lincoln, and are subjected to great trouble and annoyance in getting local transportation* for themselves and baggage to and from University Place. It is also alleged that there is a v<wy large amount of freight business done to supply the needs of the population, and that this in itself is sufficient to require a depot on the line of defendant’s railroad in said city. The prayer is tli at an order be made requiring the defendant to erect at a convenient place in said city a passenger and freight depot, to provide an agent, sidetracks and other things necessary for the proper use of such depot by the patrons of the defendant company, and for general relief.

The defendant answered, denying any jurisdiction in the railway commission. It further answered to the merits, alleging that University Place lies between Lincoln and Havelock, which are four miles apart; that the street car and transportation facilities are such that it is easier to reach Lincoln from the center of University Place than a station at any place that could be established in University Place; that it has recently constructed at a [820]*820great expense a switch some two or more miles in length from Lincoln to the center of the business district of University Place, and thereby has satisfactorily handled freight business to that point over its line; that passenger traffic arising from students does not come from the line of defendant, which has only a short line in Nebraska, so that only a small part of such traffic would come over its lines; that it is willing to furnish additional facilities as fast as the returns on business will justify; that the returns from the business in University Place, which are small, would be not greatly increased; that the expense of acquiring and constructing a station would be at least $5,000, and that “the compelling of the construction by the defendant of the transportation facilities prayed for in the petition Avould amount to a confiscation of its property to the extent named, * * * and Avould be unreasonable, unjust, and unfair in law and in fact.”

A hearing was had by the state railway commission upon the issues thus raised, and, after being argued and submitted, the commission ordered that the defendant “be and the same is hereby notified and directed to erect, on or before the 1st day of July, 1908, and thereafter maintain on its road at or near a point in University Place, Nebraska, where it intersects or touches Warren avenue, a suitable station and freight house Avith a floor space of not less than 500 square feet, together Avith the necessary SAvitcli tracks and appurtc nances thereto.” The order further directed that an agent be provided, and schedules of rates and charges be published and put into effect. Afterwards, the railway company being dissatisfied with this order, filed a petition in the district court for Lancaster county on appeal, setting forth the particular causes of objection to the order. A large part of the petition is devoted to setting forth constitutional objections to the statute authorizing the creation of the commission, and the proceedings of which complaint is made. The further objections are made that the matter concerns interstate commerce, and that the order is, therefore, be[821]*821yond tlie powers of the commission; that the complaint does not state facts sufficient to entitle the complainants to relief; that the allegations are not established by the evidence; and it is further contended that the order is unreasonable because no necessity exists for the establishment of a station at University Place. The petition prays that the order of the railway commission be vacated, and that it be enjoined from ordering the railway company to establish such station. The railway commission answered, setting forth at length the proceedings and findings of fact upon which the order was based, alleged that the facts so found are the facts in relation to the matter, and further alleged that the railway company is a common carrier engaged in intrastate transportation of both passengers and freight for hire in the state of Nebraska.

The findings as to matters of fact, so far as material here, are as follows:

“Prom the evidence it appears, and the commission so finds, that University Place is an incorporated town, having a population between twenty-five hundred and thirty-five hundred inhabitants; that a university enrolling several hundred students is located within its limits.
“That there is a considerable number of merchants maintaining business houses in said city, engaged in the business of shipping, buying and selling drugs, groceries, hardware, lumber, coal, general merchandise, plumbing and building supplies.
“That the main line of the defendant company passes through the northern portion of the town at a distance of about three-fourths of a mile from the center of town.
“That the nearest stations on the defendant’s road, or any other steam railroad, are located at Lincoln, and Havelock, each at a distance from the center of University Place of about four miles and one and three-quarter miles, respectively.
“That the defendant company has constructed a switch track from its main line for a distance of about two miles to a point near the center of the city; that car-load freight [822]*822alone to the extent of several hundred cars a year is delivered on said switch track; that, except where competition enters into the service, a switching charge of $5 a car is added to the regular tariff rate to Lincoln, on all car-load shipments delivered on said switch track; that no (less than car-load’ shipments are received on said switch track; and that the citizens of said city are compelled to either go to Lincoln or Havelock for such shipments, thereby causing them more or less inconvenience, and entailing considerable and unnecessary extra expense and loss of time. * * * 1
“Furthermore, it is the opinion of this commission that the entire business of the railroad done at University Place will not only pay expenses, but indeed return a fair profit to the defendant. * * *
“We do not concur in the conclusions of counsel for defendant that the transportation facilities afforded the complainant and his fellow citizens in University Place are sufficient to satisfactorily and reasonably supply the public need.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Tucson Electric Power Co. v. Arizona Corp. Commission
645 P.2d 231 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1982)
Union Pacific Railroad v. Nebraska State Railway Commission
31 N.W.2d 552 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1948)
Southern Ry. Co. v. Public Service Commission
10 S.E.2d 769 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1940)
Abrahamson v. Canadian Northern Railway Co.
225 N.W. 94 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1929)
Washam v. Beaty
99 So. 163 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1923)
Hogan v. Twin City Amusement Trust Estate
193 N.W. 122 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1923)
Mayor & Aldermen of Lowell v. Boston & Maine Railroad
130 N.E. 638 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1921)
Lincoln Commercial Club v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co.
172 N.W. 687 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1919)
Denver & Salt Lake Railroad v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
64 Colo. 229 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1918)
Illinois Cent. R. v. Mississippi Railroad Commission
77 So. 314 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1917)
Byington v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co.
148 N.W. 520 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1914)
Anderson v. Schertz
143 N.W. 238 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1913)
Gregg v. Public Service Commission
87 A. 1111 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1913)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
124 N.W. 477, 85 Neb. 818, 1910 Neb. LEXIS 29, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-rock-island-pacific-railway-co-v-nebraska-state-railway-neb-1910.