State ex rel. Collins v. Leland Southwestern R.

Citations

• 128 Miss. 312
• 91 So. 7

Syllabus

<p>1. Mandamus. Writ not issued, to compel owners without financial resources to operate railroad.</p> <p>Where a railroad corporation has no equipment of any kind, no funds, and no source from which it can derive funds, and its sole asset is an abandoned line of road originally eleven miles long and constructed with second-class light rails, suitable only for a logging road, and three and one-half miles of this road had been already taken up, and the balance is in such condition that it will have to be entirely rebuilt before it can be operated, a writ of mandamus will not be issued to compel or attempt to compel, such corporation to rebuild, equip, and operate such road, since without money or ‘ financial resources of any kind, the corporation would be unable to comply with such order, and its issuance would avail nothing.</p> <p>3. Railkoads. Discontinuance of branch line held justified.</p> <p>Where a branch line of railroad eleven miles long had been constructed through a forest, and operated principally as a logging road, and, after all the timber adjacent thereto had been cut and removed except such as was suitable only for ties and staves, such road had been abandoned and one-third of the track taken up, and the balance of the road was in sucia condition that it could not be operated as a common carrier without being entirely rebuilt, and where the territory to be served by such road was already afforded ample railroad facilities by two main lines of road, and there was no prospective traffic which would make it possible to operate it except at a heavy loss, and the population to be served by such branch road was very small, and no investments have been made, and no development has resulted, on account of the existence of such road, and' it was clear from the evidence that there was no public need to be served by the road and no reasonable expectation of present or future traffic which would justify the expenditure required for its construction, equipment, a