Old Colony would be acquired at a rate of two New Haven shares per Old Colony share. Old Colony shareholders demanded a higher rate, leading the ICC to examine the value and costs of the Old Colony to the greater New Haven system. The trustees produced a formula to segregate the earnings and costs of the Old Colony to establish charges for continued operation. The ICC approved the formula, albeit with substantial doubts about the validity of its results, on April 15, 1938. The court approved it on May 25; the Old Colony did not appeal. Abandonments of several minor lines during this time deprived the Old Colony of connecting traffic, as did the July 1937 discontinuance of Fall River Line steamship service between New York City and the South Coast. Station closures case The railroad attempted to close 22 low-ridership stations effective September 27, 1937, and removed them from public timetables. The Massachusetts Public Utilities Commission (PUC) rejected the closures because they were improperly filed, and the stations remained open; passenger counts were taken at most of the stations in October. On November 18, the PUC ordered that the 22 stations be restored to timetables effective November 29, and remain open for at least 30 days afterward. The same day, the railroad filed a new petition with the PUC to abandon 14 of the stations. On December 28, 1937, the Old Colony trustees filed with the PUC to abandon passenger service to 74 additional stations in Massachusetts, bringing the total to 88, while retaining freight service. The railroad filed the proposed new schedules on January 31, 1938; the PUC began "lengthy" hearings. All passenger service was to end on the Randolph Branch, the Cape Main Line between Yarmouth and Provincetown, the Newport Secondary between Newport and Fall River (including five additional stations in Rhode Island), the Dorchester Branch, the Wrentham Branch, the Charles River Branch, between and , and between North Easton and Taunton; some minor stations would be closed on lines that retained service. Fifty-eight of the stations were on Old Colony lines; ten were on B&P lines, and 25 on NY&NE lines. On June 20, 1938, the trustees and a bondholders committee petitioned the court to allow closure of the 93 stations regardless of the PUC outcome. The PUC (which had not yet finished its hearings) appeared in the hearing but did not call or cross-examine witnesses,