Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-20
Railroad Commission
Promulgates Order To-
day; Permits Company TO
Discontinue Trains 9 And
10 Between Devils Lake
And Minot.

The Great Northern Railway COM
pany today was ordered 70 restore
passenger trains Nos. 201 and 2O2
between Devils Lake and Grand Forks
and to continue the service as it ex-
listed before the change was made
March 5th." The order was pro-
mulgated by the North Dakota rail-
road commission, and it is effective
March &c.
The commission permits the rail
way company to discontinue trains
and Minot until such time as pas !
senger traffic demands that they be
restored"
The state board reserved the right
to enter upon further hearings. and
issue such further orders as may be
justified by the findings"
On February 81 the railway COM
pany applied for permission to dis
continue trains Nos. 9 and 10 between
Devils Lake and Minot, performing
local service between these points,
with trains Nos. 20 and 80, and to
discontinue. trains Nos 201 and ZOE
between Devils Lake and Grand
Forks, and operate trains 1877 and 1873
in lieu thereof between Larimore and
Grand Forks 1t was stated that con-
nections would be made with all
branch line trains
Hearing is Held.
Following the receipt of strenuous
objections to- the proposed changes,
the railroad commission held a hear
ing at Lakota on March 8, at which
f.. O'Brien, superintendent of the
Dakota division. appeared with others
In behalf of the railroad company.
Devils Lake. Lakota and other places
were represented by officials and
business men who objected to the
change. VI
Mr.. Murphy, counsel for the rail-
road company, declared that the
underlying reason for reducing this
service was economy: that the rail-
roads operating in the northwest had
been urged by the interstate COM
merce commission to reduce their
operating expenses in the passenger
departments 1t was contended that
trains Nos. 9 and 10 between Devils
and 202 between Grand Forks and
Devils Lake were not paying the cost
OF operating those trains, without
taking into consideration taxes. main
tenance OF interest on the investment
In it's finding regarding the cost and
returns in operating trains, the rail-
road commission said:
Figures were given by the Great
Northern Railway company tending
to show that by the removal of these
trains there would be an approximate
forty and forty-five thousand dollars
a year. Statements showing the ex-
pense Oft operating these trains were
filed with the commission. The fig
ures submitted by the company show
the approximate cost of running
day, between Devils Lake and Lari-
more to be 2 5.088.76. This appears
to the commission to be a very liberal
allowance for hat item Of expense.
This estimated saving is based upon
the transportation cost Of running the
trains. and assuming that all passen-
ger, mail and express business now
carried by those trains will be handled
by other trains. The distance from
Grand Forks to Devils Lake, and the
cost Of running trains from Devils
Lake to Grand Forks, would be about
fifty per cent greater b a Devils Lake
to LArimore. It might be less than
that as roundhouse n clean
ing expense would be the same for
the longer distance as it would be
for the shorter distance.
Claim There is Profit
1.-THE figures submitted by the pas
Northrcn Railway company shows
that trains 201 and 202 between
Grand Forks and Devils Lake earned
a gross transportation ven during
1921 of eighty-three cents (83c) per
mile. The distance between Devils
Lake and Grand Forks is shown to
be 80 miles. Trains Nos col n 202
would, therefore. cover ITS miles per
day. or 55.714 miles for a year Of 313
days (Which excludes Sundays). On
the basis Of eighty-three cents (S3c)
pei mile, this would produce a reve-
nue. Of s~46,242.62. The estimated
transportation cost is ~$3T,643.17. leav-
ing a net transportation revenue of
~SS,742.62. If we d to this figure
the evenue derived from mail aud ex-
press as shown in the record, we
would have O total net revenue of
322,6i0.s2
'~The record shows the condition to
be somewhat different Of trains Nos.
9 and 10 between Devils Lake and
-Minot, and it is evident that the COM
pany will effect a big saving by dis
continuing trains 3 and 10 between
these points"
It was pointed out that the testi-
mony shows that to discontinue the
trains would work a great hardship
upon the citizens residing in the ter
ritory between Devils Lake and
Grand Forks Citizens of Niagara, for
instance, would have to spend two
nights in Grand Forks if they came
here to transact business. It was
further shown that 119 travelling men
making their homes in Grand Forks
depended to a large extent upor
trains POI and 202 to get to and from
the points located on the Great
Northern railroad.