sentences:  An improved highway up the valley had begun construction in 1912.The railroad also had to grapple with the expense of transshipment to standard gauge cars at Port Royal; the Tuscarora Valley was particularly vulnerable due to its lack of a major shipper producing a steady volume of commodities.Operating expenses rose sharply in 1917, and the following year saw a brief takeover by the United States Railroad Administration, whose federally mandated wage increases created a further loss for the railroad.