Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corp. shareholders voted...

Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corp. shareholders voted to defeat a “poison pill” measure undertaken by the company’s management earlier this year to thwart a hostile takeover. But the measure--proposed by a stockholder group that included dissident trainmen--is advisory in nature and the Santa Fe board has to decide whether to abide by it, the Topeka, Kan.-based company said. It was not immediately clear if the action would pave the way for a bid for the transportation company, whose holdings include the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. plus vast real estate and natural resource holdings.