 Gephart held that the sheriff's sale of the Centre Iron properties to Valentine Iron had nullified the contract, and Valentine Iron began sending most of its traffic over the Central Railroad.While Gephart was initially successful, the PRR won on appeal, and Gephart was forced to step down as president of Valentine Iron, although he retained his post with the Central Railroad.Despite the loss of traffic that followed this decision, the Central Railroad continued operations and improvement of its right-of-way.