The U.S. Supreme Court case Chicago & North Western Railway Co. et al. v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. et al., 1966 revolved around a dispute between several railway companies over the interpretation of an agreement made in 1915 regarding the use and maintenance of Union Station in Chicago, Illinois - one of America's busiest rail hubs at that time. Chicago & North Western (C&NW) claimed that under this agreement they were entitled to be reimbursed for certain costs associated with maintaining and operating the station by other railways using it, including Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (AT&SF). AT&SF disputed this claim arguing that C&NW was misinterpreting the terms of their contract. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of AT&SF stating that according to their understanding of the original contract from 1915, each company was responsible for its own expenses related to using Union Station unless otherwise specified within said contract which wasn't applicable here as per them.

In the dissenting opinion for Chicago & North Western Railway Co. et al. v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. et al., Justice Harlan disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold an Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) order that allowed a railroad company to abandon a line without state approval, arguing it violated states' rights and exceeded federal authority under the Transportation Act of 1920. He contended that Congress intended for both federal and state authorities to have concurrent jurisdiction over rail abandonment cases when it passed this act, not just the ICC alone as interpreted by his colleagues in their ruling. Furthermore, he believed that allowing such unilateral decisions could potentially harm local communities dependent on these railway lines for economic survival without any recourse or say in these matters at all from their respective states.