Re: Chili Line blocked ATSF from Alamosa

I just bought the copy of Branch Line Traffic Study, from the Colo. RR Museum, which the D&RGW did of their lines by Pearman, in 1938. It indicated that the Chili line had been a loser for a few years but if they abandoned it earlier, they feared the ATSF would have taken it over for the Alamosa food traffic. Much of the produce was sold to California, and west. Pearman spoke of making an [illegal] agreement with the ATSF that if they abandoned, the ATSE would not enter the Rio Grande Valley. I guess that they made that agreement as they progressed that as the biggest abandonment to come out of the study. As we now know, Pearman went on to abandon much of the Rio Grande and later NYC lines. Too bad that they did not load that produce in the narrow gauge equipment and ship it to Santa Fe. That would have made the Chili line profitable. They could have used containers like the White Pass & Yukon did and still get a good portion of money from the shipment and not have the cost of hauling it over three mountains ranges to get it to Salt Lake. They may have made much more money and still today have a efficient business with container transfer at Santa Fe. Wonder what the railroads would be like today if the ICC had learned of that internal agreement and caught Pearman in the act. PRR