[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7339]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 29, 1994]


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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION

[Finance Docket No. 32464]

 

H. Peter and Linda C. Claussen--Continuance in Control 
Exemption--Piedmont & Atlantic Railroad Co., Inc.

    H. Peter and Linda C. Claussen (the Claussens) have filed a notice 
of exemption to continue in control of Piedmont & Atlantic Railroad 
Co., Inc. (PARR), upon PARR becoming a class III rail carrier.
    PARR, a noncarrier, has concurrently filed a notice of exemption in 
Piedmont & Atlantic Railroad Co., Inc.--Lease and Operation Exemption--
L & S Holding Company d/b/a Laurinburg & Southern Railroad Co. and 
Yadkin Valley Railroad Company, Finance Docket No. 32462, to sublease 
and operate approximately 101.7 miles of rail line owned by Southern 
Railway Company, leased by Laurinburg and Southern Railroad Company 
(LSR), and operated by Yadkin Valley Railroad Company (YVRR).\1\ The 
trackage consists of two rail segments entirely within North Carolina 
extending: (1) 63.2 miles from milepost K-37.0 at Rural Hall in Forsyth 
County to milepost K-100.2 at North Wilkesboro in Wilkes County; and 
(2) 38.5 miles from milepost CF-0.0 at Mount Airy in Surry County and 
milepost CF-38.5 near Brook Cove in Stokes County.\2\ The notice became 
effective on March 3, 1994.\3\
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    \1\LSR originally acquired the lease and YVRR the operating 
authority in Laurinburg and Southern Railroad Company, et al.--Lease 
and Operation Exemption--Southern Railway Company, Finance Docket 
No. 31526 (ICC served Nov. 7, 1989).
    LSR and YVRR are two of four active rail carriers [the other two 
are Robeson County Railroad Corporation (RCR) and Nash County 
Railroad Corporation] and two inactive rail carriers (Saltville 
Railroad Corporation and Franklin County Railroad Corporation) that 
were recently merged into Laurinburg Oil Company (Laurinburg), in a 
corporate family transaction. Laurinburg Oil Company--Merger 
Exemption--Laurinburg and Southern Railroad Company, Robeson County 
Railroad Corporation, Yadkin Valley Railroad Company, and Nash 
County Railroad Corporation, Finance Docket No. 32426 (ICC served 
Jan. 13, 1994). The merger also involved the Red Springs and 
Northern Railroad Company, a division of RCR. After the merger, 
Laurinburg's name was changed to L & S Holding Company (L&S), and 
the four active railroads operated as separate divisions of L&S.
    \2\In two other concurrently filed notices of exemption, the 
Rocky Mount & Western Railroad Co., Inc. (RMWR), another noncarrier 
controlled by the Claussens, is acquiring a nonconnecting rail line 
from L & S Holding Company d/b/a Nash County Railroad Corporation; 
and the Claussens correspondingly seek to continue in control of 
RMWR when it becomes a class III rail carrier. Rocky Mount & Western 
Railroad Co., Inc.--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--L & S 
Holding Company d/b/a Nash County Railroad Corporation, Finance 
Docket No. 32463; and H. Peter and Linda C. Claussen--Continuance in 
Control Exemption--Rocky Mount & Western Railroad Co., Inc., Finance 
Docket No. 32465.
    \3\Under 49 CFR 1150.32(b), notices of exemption become 
effective 7 days after filing. Here, the effective date is 
calculated from February 24, 1994, when petitioners' additional 
submission was received.
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    The Claussens own and control the following nonconnecting class III 
rail carriers: Albany Bridge Company, Inc. (operating in Georgia); Gulf 
and Ohio Railways, Inc. (operating in Mississippi as the Mississippi 
Delta Railroad and in Georgia as the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad); 
Wiregrass Central Railroad Company, Inc. (operating in Alabama); and H 
& S Railroad Company, Inc. (operating in Alabama).
    The Claussens state that: (1) The properties operated by these 
railroads do not connect with each other or with the lines being 
acquired from PARR and RMWR; (2) the continuance in control is not a 
part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the 
railroads with each other or with any railroad in the corporate family; 
and (3) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier. Therefore, 
the transaction is exempt from the prior approval requirements of 49 
U.S.C. 11343. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2).
    As a condition to use of this exemption, any employees affected by 
the transaction will be protected by the conditions set forth in New 
York Dock Ry.--Control--Brooklyn Eastern Dist., 360 I.C.C. 60 (1979).
    Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10505(d) may be 
filed at any time. The filing of a petition to revoke will not 
automatically stay the transaction. Pleadings must be filed with the 
Commission and served on: Adam M. Mycyk of Weiner, Brodsky, Sidman & 
Kider, P.C., 1350 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 
20005-4797.

    Decided: March 22, 1994.

    By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Sidney L. Strickland, Jr.,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-7337 Filed 3-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P
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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
[Docket No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 139X)]

Norfolk and Western Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--In 
Madison and St. Clair Counties, IL, et al.

    Norfolk and Western Railway Company (N&W) has filed a notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon 
approximately 23.38 miles of rail line in Madison and St. Clair 
Counties, IL, and the city of St. Louis, MO. The lines to be abandoned 
are segments which extend: (1) Between milepost A-9.13 at Wanda, IL, 
and milepost A-13.0 at Bluffs Junction, IL;1 (2) between milepost 
A-20.5 at Troy, IL, and milepost A-37.04 at Bridge Junction, IL; (3) 
between milepost 2.20 at Branch Street Yard, MO, and milepost 3.35 at 
Venice, IL; and (4) between milepost O.O at Venice, IL, and milepost 
1.82 at McKinley, Junction, IL.
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    \1\The notice of exemption erroneously stated that this line 
segment was 4.0 miles long. The correct distance is 3.87 miles. N&W 
has acknowledged the error and concurs in this correction.
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    N&W has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the 
line for at least 2 years; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of 
rail service on the line (or by a State or local government entity 
acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the 
line either is pending with the Commission or with any U.S. District 
Court or has been decided in complainant's favor within the 2-year 
period; and (4) it has met the notice requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(b) 
(service of environmental report on agencies), 49 CFR 1105.8(c) 
(service of historic report on State Historic Preservation Officer), 49 
CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice 
to government agencies).
    As a condition to use of this exemption, any employee adversely 
affected by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line 
R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To address whether 
this condition adequately protects affected employees, a petition for 
partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10505(d) must be filed.
    This exemption will be effective on April 28, 1994, unless stayed 
or a formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial 
assistance (OFA) is filed. Petitions to stay that do not involve 
environmental issues,2 formal expressions of intent to file an OFA 
under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),3 and trail use/rail banking requests 
under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by April 8, 1994.4 Petitions to 
reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must 
be filed by April 18, 1994, with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control 
Branch, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423.
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    \2\A stay will be issued routinely by the Commission in those 
proceedings where an informed decision on environmental issues 
(whether raised by a party or by the Commission's Section of 
Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation) cannot be 
made before the effective date of the exemption. See Exemption of 
Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any entity seeking 
a stay on environmental concerns is encouraged to file its request 
as soon as possible in order to permit the Commission to review and 
act on the request before the effective date of the exemption.
    \3\See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4 
I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).
    \4\The Commission will accept late-filed trail use requests as 
long as it retains jurisdiction to do so.
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    A copy of any pleading filed with the Commission should be sent to 
Conrail's representative: James R. Paschall, Norfolk Southern 
Corporation, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510.
    If the notice of exemption contains false or misleading 
information, the exemption is void ab initio.
    N&W has filed an environmental report which addresses the 
abandonment's effects, if any, on the environment and historic 
resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an 
environmental assessment (EA) by April 1, 1994. Interested persons may 
obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 3219, Interstate 
Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling Elaine Kaiser, 
Chief of SEA, at (202) 927-6248. Comments on environmental and historic 
preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the EA becomes 
available to the public.
    Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail 
banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent 
decision.

    Decided: March 22, 1994.

    By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Sidney L. Strickland, Jr.,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-7339 Filed 3-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P