§ 19

Every corporation formed under this act shall, in addition to the powers hereinbefore conferred, have power: 1. To cause such examination and survey for its proposed railway to be made as may be necessary to the selection of the most advantageous route; and for such purpose, by its officers, agents or servants, may enter upon the lands or waters of any person or corporation, but subject to responsibility for all damages which shall be occasioned thereby. 2. To take and hold such voluntary grants of real estate and other property as shall be made to it, in aid of the construction and use of its railway, and to convey the same when no longer required for the uses of such railway, not incompatible with the terms of the original grant. 3. To purchase, hold and use all such real estate and other property as may be necessary for the construction and use of its railway, and the stations and other accommodations necessary to accomplish the object of its incorporation, and to convey the same when no longer required for the use of such railway. 4. To lay out its road, not exceeding one hundred feet in width, and to construct the same; and for the purpose of cuttings and embankments, to take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of the railway; and to cut down any standing trees that may be in danger of falling upon or obstructing the railway, making compensation therefor in manner provided by law. 5. To construct its railway across, along or upon any stream of water, watercourse, street, highway, plank road, turnpike or canal, which the route of such railway shall intersect or touch; but such corporation shall restore the stream, watercourse, street, highway, plank road and turnpike thus intersected or touched, to its former state, or to such state as not unnecessarily to have impaired its usefulness, and keep such crossing in repair: Provided, that in no case shall any railroad company construct a roadbed without first constructing the necessary culverts or sluices, as the natural lay of the land requires for the necessary drainage thereof. Nothing in this act contained shall be construed to authorize the erection of any bridge, or any other obstruction, across or over any stream navigated by steamboats, at the place where any bridge or other obstructions may be proposed to be placed, so as to prevent the navigation of such stream; nor to authorize the construction of any railroad upon or across any street in any city, or incorporated town or village, without the assent of the corporation of such city, town or village, but in case of the constructing of the railway along highways, plank roads, turnpikes or canals, such railway shall either first obtain the consent of the lawful authorities having control or jurisdiction of the same, or condemn the same under the provisions of any eminent domain law now or hereafter in force in this state. 6. To cross, intersect, join and unite its railways with any other railway before constructed, at any point in its route, and upon the grounds of such other railway company, with the necessary turnouts, sidings and switches, and other conveniences, in furtherance of the objects of its connections; and every corporation whose railway is or shall be hereafter intersected by any new railway, shall unite with the corporation owning such new railway in forming such intersections and connections, and grant the facilities aforesaid; and if the two corporations cannot agree upon the amount of compensation to be made therefor, or the points and manner of such crossings and connections, the same shall be ascertained and determined in manner prescribed by law. 7. To receive and convey persons and property on its railway, by the power and force of steam or animals, or by any mechanical power. 8. To erect and maintain all necessary and convenient buildings and stations, fixtures and machinery, for the construction, accommodation and use of passengers, freights and business interests, or which may be necessary for the construction or operation of said railway. 9. To regulate the time and manner in which passengers and property shall be transported, and the compensation to be paid therefor, subject, nevertheless, to the provisions of any law that may now or hereafter be enacted. 10. From time to time, to borrow such sums of money as may be necessary for completing, finishing, improving or operating any such railway, and to issue and dispose of its bonds for any amount so borrowed, and to mortgage its corporate property and franchises to secure the payment of any debt contracted by such corporation for the purposes aforesaid; but the concurrence of the holders of two-thirds in amount of the stock of such corporation, to be expressed in the manner and under all the conditions provided in the fifteenth section of this act, shall be necessary to the validity of any such mortgage; and the order or resolution for such mortgage shall be recorded as provided in the second section of this act; and the directors of such corporation shall be empowered, in pursuance to any such order or resolution, to confer on any holder of any bond for money so borrowed, as above stated, the right to convert the principal due or owing thereon into stock of such corporation, at any time not exceeding 10 years after the date of such bond, under such regulations as may be provided in the by-laws of such corporation.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 84-551.)