[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 2301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-237]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 34766]


Watco Companies, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--
Vicksburg Southern Railroad, Inc.

    Watco Companies, Inc. (Watco), has filed a verified notice of 
exemption to continue in control of Vicksburg Southern Railroad, Inc. 
(VSOR), upon VSOR's becoming a Class III rail carrier.\1\
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    \1\ Watco owns 100% of the issued and outstanding stock of VSOR.
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    The transaction is expected to be consummated on or shortly after 
January 8, 2006.
    This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
of exemption in STB Finance Docket No. 34765, Vicksburg Southern 
Railroad, Inc.--Lease and Operation Exemption--The Kansas City Southern 
Railway Company. In that proceeding, VSOR seeks to acquire by lease 
from The Kansas City Southern Railway Company and operate approximately 
21.5 miles of rail line consisting of the following lines located in 
Mississippi: (1) KCS's Redwood Branch, which is located between 
milepost 21.9, at the end of the line near Redwood, MS, and milepost 
218.0, north of KCS's Vicksburg Yard, at Vicksburg, MS, and includes 
track numbers 418, 419, 429, 430, 431, 432, and 433, and the locomotive 
facility buildings within the Vicksburg Yard; and (2) the branch line 
located between milepost 223.0, south of the connection with the KCS 
main line, and milepost 229.85, near Cedars, MS.
    Watco, a Kansas corporation, is a noncarrier that currently 
controls 16 Class III rail carriers: South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad 
Company (SKO), Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad, Inc. (PRCC), 
Timber Rock Railroad, Inc. (TIBR), Stillwater Central Railroad, Inc. 
(SLWC), Eastern Idaho Railroad, Inc. (EIRR), Kansas & Oklahoma 
Railroad, Inc. (K&O), Pennsylvania Southwestern Railroad, Inc. (PSWR), 
Great Northwest Railroad, Inc. (GNR), Kaw River Railroad, Inc. (KRR), 
Mission Mountain Railroad, Inc. (MMT), Appalachian & Ohio Railroad, 
Inc. (AO), Mississippi Southern Railroad, Inc. (MSRR), Yellowstone 
Valley Railroad, Inc. (YVRR), Louisiana Southern Railroad, Inc. (LSRR), 
Arkansas Southern Railroad, Inc. (ARSR), and Alabama Southern Railroad, 
Inc. (ABS).\2\
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    \2\ SKO's lines are located in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma; 
PRCC's lines are located in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho; TIBR's 
lines are located in Texas and Louisiana; SLWC's lines are located 
in Oklahoma; EIRR's lines are located in Idaho; K&O's lines are 
located in Kansas and Colorado; PSWR's line is located in 
Pennsylvania; GNR's lines are located in Idaho and Washington; KRR's 
lines are located in Kansas and Missouri; MMT's lines are located in 
Montana; AO's lines are located in West Virginia; MSRR's line is 
located in Mississippi; YVRR's lines are located in Montana; LSRR's 
lines are located in Louisiana; ARSR's lines are located in 
Arkansas; and ABS's lines are located in Mississippi and Alabama.
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    Applicant states that: (1) The rail lines operated by SKO, PRCC, 
TIBR, SLWC, EIRR, K&O, PSWR, GNR, KRR, MMT, AO, MSRR, YVRR, LSRR, ARSR, 
and ABS do not connect with the rail lines being leased by VSOR; (2) 
the continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated 
transactions that would connect the rail lines being leased by VSOR 
with any railroad in the Watco corporate family; and (3) neither VSOR 
nor any of the carriers controlled by Watco are Class I rail carriers. 
Therefore, the transaction is exempt from the prior approval 
requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2). The purpose 
of the transaction is to reduce overhead expenses, coordinate billing, 
maintenance, mechanical and personnel policies and practices of 
applicant's rail carrier subsidiaries, thereby improving the overall 
efficiency of rail service provided by the 17 railroads.
    Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption 
authority to relieve a rail carrier of its statutory obligation to 
protect the interests of its employees. Section 11326(c), however, does 
not provide for labor protection for transactions under sections 11324 
and 11325 that involve only Class III rail carriers. Accordingly, the 
Board may not impose labor protective conditions here, because all of 
the carriers involved are Class III carriers.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption 
under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. The filing of a 
petition to revoke will not automatically stay the transaction.
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB 
Finance Docket No. 34766, must be filed with the Surface Transportation 
Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a 
copy of each pleading must be served on Karl Morell, Of Counsel, Ball 
Janik LLP, 1455 F Street, NW., Suite 225, Washington, DC 20005.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http//
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: January 5, 2006.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06-237 Filed 1-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P