MEMORANDUM L-43-356 Chicago, Illinois April 30, 1943 to The

L-43-356 M-93 MEMORANDUM Chicago, Illinois April 30, 1943 TO The Director of Retirement Claims FROM The General Counsel SUBJECT Southern Utah Railroad Company Service claimed as brakeman and conductor between Hiawatha and Price, Utah, from June 1913 to Decem ber 1914* In response to your request, I herewith submit my opinion on the following: QUESTION Was the Southern Utah Railroad Company an "employer" under the Railroad Retirement Act and is service to it creditable toward annuities under that Act? OPINION It is my opinion that the Southern Utah Railroad Com pany was an "employer" under the Railroad Retirement Act from December 1, 1910 to November 30, 1917, and that service to it during that period is creditable toward annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act. DISCUSSION The information on which this memorandum is based is taken from the various editions of Poor's and Moody's Railroads, a letter dated December 8, 1941 from Mr. J. E. Kemp, Assistant General Manager, The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company, and the records of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The information is somewhat meager and there is conflict between that available at the Commission and that furnished by Mr. Kemp, in his letter referred to, but he states that he could "only answer your /our/ inquiries after assembling such indirect information as is disclosed in our files," Therefore, it appears ap propriate that more weight be given to the information obtained from the records at the Interstate Commerce Commission. - 2- Merao to The Director of Retirement Claims The Southern Utah Railroad Company was chartered August 30, 1907 under the laws of Utah, with the power to operate as a common carrier by railroad. It wholly owned a line of standard gauge steam railroad from Castle Valley Junction to Hiawatha, Utah, about 4 miles, and an undivided half interest in a line from Price to Castle Junction, Utah, approximately 17 miles. It appears to have begun operations about December 1, 1910. Frior to June 20, 1913, its railroad (includ ing that in which it held a half interest) was operated by its own organization; from that date to October 31, 1914 it was operated under lease by The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company, a carrier by rail road subject to Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act, and from Novem ber 1, 1914 to November 30, 1917, the date operation of the line was discontinued, it was operated by The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company, as agent. Mr, Kemp, in his letter referred to in this memo randum, states that operation of the railroad was discontinued Octo ber 31, 1914, but the records at the Interstate Commerce Commission indicate that it was in operation until November 31, 1917.* The company filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission circulars No. 12 (construction) for the years 1909 and 1910. It filed with the Commission annual operating reports for the years 1911, 1912, and 1913. For the year 1914 it filed a financial or lessor report, and for the years 1915 to 1918, inclusive, operating reports. Its first annual report covered the period for seven months ended June 30, 1911. It appears to have been controlled by The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company from sometime in 1913 to sometime in 1917. •M-The annual report for the year 1917 covered eleven months ended Novem ber 30, 1917. A letter dated December 18, 1919 from the Castle Valley Railroad Company (on the letterhead of the United States Fuel Company) to the Interstate Commerce Commission, appearing in the "A" file at the Commission reads as follows: "Castle Valley dissolved and all assets and liabili ties transferred to Southern Utah Railroad Company during November 1919. "Practically all tracks owned exclusively by Castle Valley have been taken up for years. The Southern Utah Railroad Company has not operated since December 1, 1917, and probably never will. While most of track is still in place there is one large bridge missing which was taken out by flood in 1917 and another destroyed by fire the following year. The Utah Railway Company was constructed for the purpose of providing transportation facilities previously provided for by Southern Utah Railroad Company and Castle Valley Railroad Company, the latter companies being unable to handle traffic satisfactorily owing to heavy grades and defective construction." - 3- Memo to The Director of Retirement Claims It filed with the Commission 10 freight tariffs and a number of concurrences and powers of attorney. The earliest effective date of any of these instruments was that of its freight tariff, I.C.C. No. 1, December 1, 1910. These tariffs, concurrences, and powers of attorney were adopted by The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company as of June 20, 1913. The record does not indicate when these instru ments were cancelled or revoked. Its report for the year 1917 covered the period to November 30, 1917. Its report for the year 1918 indi cated that at no time during that year was it in operation. In view of the foregoing, it is my opinion that during the period from December 1, 1910, the effective date of its first tariff, to June 20, 1913, when its railroad was leased to The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company, the Southern Utah Railroad Company, as an operating carrier, was a carrier by railroad subject to Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act. Furthermore, it is my opinion that, since it appears from available information that the company had the power under its charter to operate as a common carrier by railroad, and since its railroad was, during the period June 20, 1913 to November 30, 1917, operated in interstate commerce under lease or other arrangement by The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company, a carrier by railroad subject to Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act, it was itself subject to Part I of that Act. In summary, the Southern Utah Railroad Company was an "employer" under the Railroad Retirement Act from December 1, 1910 to November 30, 1917, and service to it during that period is creditable toward annuities under that Act. Joseph H. Freehill General Counsel.

Load more