upon the said wool by the said valuation committee was proper and correct, and that the amount allowed the said claimant for his said. wool was all the grade of said wool entitled it to. 2. All relief asked for by the claimant is denied. 3. For a full statement of facts and the opinion of this Board in support of this decision, see the Wool Growers Central Storage Co., San Angelo, Tex., claim No. 150-C-2621. DISPOSITION. A final order denying relief will be entered. Lieut. Col. McKeeby and Capt. Sheppard concurring for the Appeal Section; Col. Hull concurring for the War Department Claims Board. OCTOBER 1, 1920. Case No. 2885. In re CLAIM OF CHESAPEAKE & OHIO RAILROAD CO. AND UNITED STATES RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION. 1. CONTRACTS IMPLIED-RAILROAD TRACKS.-Where railroad tracks were built to and within an embarkation camp under an informal agreement between claimant and a Government officer to postpone settlement agreement therefor and abide by the determination of the Government's policy affecting such settlements, and the policy subsequently adopted by the Government provided for payment by the railroad for tracks connecting its line with the camp and payment by the Government for track laid on Government-owned property, claimant is entitled to settlement upon the above basis, in the absence of specific agreement in advance as to payment for any specific portion of such trackage. 2. CONTRACTS IMPLIED-CONVERSION.-Where railroad tracks were built by a railroad company at its own expense pursuant to previous understanding with the Government, for the purpose of connecting its line with a camp site, and the Government sells such track material as salvage, the railroad company is entitled to be paid the fair salvage value of said material at the time of its disposal by the Government. 3. CLAIM AND DECISION.-Appeal from a decision of the Claims Board, Transportation Service, under the act of March 2, 1919, for $91,603.62, expense incurred under an informal agreement to construct railroad tracks at Camp Stuart, Va. Held, claimant entitled to relief in part. Mr. Averill writing the opinion of the Board. 1. This claim is an appeal from the decision of the Claims Board, Transportation Service, and is for $91,603.62 by reason of an agreement alleged to have been entered into between the claimant and the United States within the purview of the act of March 2, 1919. The claim is divided into five parts, as follows: A. Animal embarkation depot, blue printe “X-1640: " B. Tracks serving warehouses, group 2, blue print "X-1638 ' 3, 644. 72 $27, 119. 48 18,775, 47 38, 636. 91 2,992. 37 14, 079. 39 The Claims Board, Transportation Service, held hearings in the matter on January 23, 24, 1920, and April 7, 1920, and on May 20 and 27, 1920, further evidence was taken ex parte by the Board. Α decision was rendered denying relief to the claimant on Items A, B, C, and D, and granting relief in full on Item E. This item is not here in dispute and will not be considered. From this decision the claimants appeal. Items of the claim will hereafter be referred to by letters as designated above. FINDINGS OF FACT. 1. In June, 1917, a committee consisting of three officers visited Newport News, Va., to make an inspection with a view to locating a remount station and embarkation depot in that city. They had no authority to enter into any contractual relations and their investigation was purely preliminary. Upon this occasion they conferred with Mr. E. I. Ford, superintendent of terminals for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Co. They asked Mr. Ford if the railroad would build certain trackage to accommodate the remount station in the event that Newport News was selected by the War Department. Mr. Ford undertook with the knowledge and consent of his superiors to install, at the expense of the railroad and without expectation of compensation from the Government, 2,000 feet of trackage suggested by Col. Fair (then Capt. Fair), the head of the committee. The railroad company thereupon obtained the right of way from the owner of this property and immediately began the construction of the 2,000 feet of trackage designated in the petition of claimant and upon blue prints filed therewith as A-a-b at an expense of $8,975.95. On July 10, 1917, Mr. F. M. Whitaker, then vice president of the Chesapeake & Ohio, after conference with Col. Fair in Washington, addressed to him the following letter: "THE CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILWAY COMPANY, "Captain J. S. FAIK, "RICHMOND, VA., "At Washington, D. C., July 10, 1917. "Quartermaster, United States Army, Washington, D. C. "DEAR SIR: Confirming my understanding of conference with you and Captain Channing, at which Mr. J. R. Cary, general superintendent, and Mr. J. D. Potts, general passenger agent, were present "I beg to advise that upon the understanding that the Government will provide free and unrestricted right of way, our company will lay, at its own cost, tracks, as follows: "(1) Fill extend the so-called 'Belt line' as far as necessary to reach the warehouses to be erected by the Government thereon; (2) with necessary sidings for loading or unloading freight; (3) will extend the present siding on the old brewery property to the end of the property, an estimated distance of about 450 additional feet; and (4) will build a track to the cantonment site, estimated not to exceed 2,000 feet. (5) This company will also lay such tracks within the cantonment as may be required by the Government, due regard to economy being exercised and the matter of payment for these tracks within the cantonment to be settled on whatever basis of settlement is arrived at between the Government and the railroads at such cantonments as Port Admiral and Long Island. "It is our further understanding that the Government will require pier facilities for the loading of approximately seventy steamers per month, which steamers will handle approximately 40,000 troops per month, with their equipment, heavy guns, forage, and also cargoes of foodstuffs, and we will arrange to turn over for the sole use of the Government our pier five as at present constructed, and I will recommend to our board of directors for their approval at meeting to be held on the 19th that they authorize the immediate rebuilding, lengthening, widening, and covering of our old piers two and ten. These three piers should permit of the simultaneous loading of six vessels or more (depending upon size), and it will also be our purpose, if necessary, to arrange for the embarkation of animals through the upper deck of pier four, if this additional facility is found necessary. If this arrangement is made, we to furnish the Government with an estimate of the value of the pier property and the additional expenses incurred in preparing same for the purposes outlined, and the Government to pay this company six per cent interest per annum upon such agreed valuation. "Will you please let us hear from you definitely as early as possible, that we may proceed with the work in line with such plans as may be mutually approved? "Yours, very truly, "F. M. WHITAKER, "Vice President Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co." 2. On July 16, not having heard from Col. Fair, Mr. Whitaker sent the following telegram: "In addition facilities covered by my letter to you July tenth. Have authorized building mile track to additional cantonment, but to have matter approved by board Thursday necessary to know whether proposition accepted. Will you please wire me here?" On July 17 Col. Fair sent the following letter to Mr. Whitaker in response to the above telegram: "All matters pertaining to accommodations at Newport News, Virginia, for the port of embarkation, are now in the hands of Colonel Grote Hutcheson. You should direct all correspondence relative to railway siding and facilities to the Commander of the Port of Embarkation at the Port of Embarkation, Newport News, Virginia. "Your letter of July 16th has been forwarded to Newport News for consideration by the commander of the Port of Embarkation." 3. All negotiations were thereafter discontinued with the office of the Quartermaster General in Washington and further arrangements with reference to trackage in Newport News were made through Gen. Grote Hutcheson, commander of the Port of Embarkation. Under instructions from him the company during the remainder of 1917 and the Federal administration during the early part of 1918 proceeded to install trackage A-(b)-c-(d)-(e)-(f), item B, item C, item D, and item E. All of the above trackage was laid upon express orders from Gen. Hutcheson for the sole use and benefit of the Government upon land owned and controlled by the War Depart ment. 4. After the close of the war all of the trackage contained in item A was sold by the Construction Division of the War Department to the Atlantic Salvage Co., a Virginia corporation with headquarters at Newport News, Va. Items B, C, and D are still in the possession of the Government. 5. The letter from Col. Fair to Mr. Whitaker, under date of July 17, 1917, while not a rejection of the offer of the company served to break off negotiations from the office of the Quartermaster General and to transfer the whole matter to Gen. Hutcheson. Gen. Hutcheson testified at the hearing before the Claims Board, Transportation Service, on May 27, 1920, in substance that he could not say definitely whether or not he had ever seen the letter from Mr. Whitaker to Col. Fair of July 10; that he did not at the time of construction consider himself bound by previous negotiations with the War Department; that the undertaking at Newport News had assumed proportions much larger than originally contemplated, rendering much more trackage necessary. Gen. Hutcheson, under date of December 19, 1919, addressed to the Chief of Transportation Service, Washington, D. C., the following letter setting forth his understanding with the railroad company: "1. Having reference to your letter to me of December 15th, 1919, regarding claim submitted by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company in the sum of $91,482.99 for the construction of certain tracks at Newport News, Virginia, I can advise you as follows: "2. In all arrangements and agreements verbally made with the representatives of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad by me it was understood that the railroad company would build side tracks and extensions as promptly as possible to meet the urgent demands of the Government, the settlement for cost to be arrived at later on the basis of an equitable and just agreement. At the time of these earlier agreements it was not definitely known what the policy of the Government would be with reference to payment for the building of railroad facilities to the various activities necessary to be installed for the use of the Government at Newport News. "3. Later a general policy was adopted by the construction branch. of the War Department, communicated to me at numerous times, the dates I cannot now recall, which policy in substance was that the cost of trackage necessary to connect the railroad to the line of leasehold, or otherwise Government owned or controlled property, would |