76706 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / Notices

1 Kern Valley Railroad Company’s acquisition and

operation of a line of railroad in Colorado was

previously exempted by the Board in Kern Valley

Railroad Company—Acquisition and Operation

Exemption—Trinidad Railway, Inc., STB Finance

Docket No. 33956 (STB served Nov. 21, 2000). That

line of railroad is the subject of a notice of

exemption for abandonment in Trinidad Railway,

Inc.—Abandonment Exemption—in Las Animas

County, CO, STB Docket No. AB–573X (STB served

Sept. 21, 2000). On November 28, 2000, the Rails

to Trails Conservancy filed a petition to revoke the

exemption in STB Finance Docket No. 33956 and

in the alternative a petition to dismiss the notice of

exemption in STB Docket No. AB–573X.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33965]

Kern W. Schumacher and Morris H.

Kulmer—Continuance in Control

Exemption—V and S Railway, Inc.

Kern W. Schumacher and Morris H.

Kulmer, individuals (collectively

applicants), have filed a verified notice

of exemption to continue in control of

the V and S Railway, Inc. (V&S), upon

V&S’s becoming a Class III railroad.

The transaction was scheduled to be

consummated on or after November 28,

2000.

This transaction is related to STB

Finance Docket No. 33964, V and S

Railway, Inc.—Acquisition and

Operation Exemption—Central Kansas

Railway, L.L.C., wherein V&S seeks to

acquire a line of railroad approximately

41 miles long in Harper and Barber

Counties, KS.

Applicants currently indirectly

control two existing Class III railroads:

Tulare Valley Railroad Company,

operating in the State of California; and

Kern Valley Railroad Company,

operating in the State of Colorado.1

Applicants state that (i) the rail line

of V&S will not connect with any other

lines of railroads under their control or

within their corporate family, (ii) the

transaction is not part of a series of

transactions that would connect the

railroads with each other or any railroad

in applicants’ corporate family, and (iii)

the transaction does not involve a Class

I carrier. Therefore, the transaction is

exempt from the prior approval

requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49

CFR 1180.2(d)(2).

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. Because this transaction

involves Class III rail carriers only, the

Board, under the statute, may not

impose labor protective conditions for

this transaction.

If the 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. 33965, must be filed with

the Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each

pleading must be served on Fritz R.

Kahn, Esq., 1920 N Street, NW., 8th

Floor, Washington, DC 20036–1601.

Board decisions and notices are

available on our website at

‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’

Decided: November 29, 2000.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–30942 Filed 12–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P