Kitabı oku: «Report of the Hoosac Tunnel and Troy and Greenfield Railroad, by the Joint Standing Committee of 1866», sayfa 6
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Principal Acts of the Legislature relating to the Hoosac Tunnel and Troy and Greenfield Railroad
[1848—Chapter 307.]
An Act to incorporate the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1. George Grennell, Roger H. Leavitt, Samuel H. Reed, their associates and successors, are hereby made a corporation, by the name of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the duties, liabilities, and restrictions set forth in the forty-fourth chapter of the Revised Statutes, and in that part of the thirty-ninth chapter thereof relating to railroad corporations, and in all other general laws which have been, or shall be hereafter passed, relative to railroad corporations.
Sect. 2. Said company are hereby authorized to locate, construct, and maintain a railroad, with one or more tracks, from some convenient point on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, at or near the termination of said railroad in Greenfield, through any or all of the following towns, viz.:—Greenfield, Deerfield, Conway, Shelburne, Buckland, Coleraine, Charlemont, Hawley, Rowe, and Monroe, in the county of Franklin, and Savoy, Florida, Adams, Clarksburg, and Williamstown, in the county of Berkshire, to some point on the line of the state of New York or of Vermont, convenient to meet, or connect with, any railroad that may be constructed from any point at or near the city of Troy, on the Hudson river, in the state of New York.
Sect. 3. The said company may, with their railroad, unite with, and enter upon, the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, at or near the termination thereof, as aforesaid, and may likewise enter upon, cross, and use, the railroad of the Connecticut River Railroad Company, in and near the town of Greenfield, (not, however, interfering with the depot buildings of either of said companies,) on such terms as may be agreed upon between the corporation hereby created and the aforesaid companies respectively, or as may be prescribed by law.
Sect. 4. The capital stock of the said company shall consist of not more than thirty-five thousand shares, the number of which shall, from time to time, be determined by the directors thereof; and no assessment shall be laid of a greater amount thereon, in the whole, than one hundred dollars on each share. And the said company may purchase and hold such real and personal estate, as may be necessary for the purposes of their incorporation.
Sect. 5. If the location of said road shall not be filed within two years, in the manner prescribed by law, or if the said railroad shall not be constructed within seven years from the passage of this act, then the same shall be void.
Sect. 6. The legislature may authorize any railroad company to enter, with their railroad, upon the Troy and Greenfield Railroad, on such terms as may be agreed upon by said companies, or as may be prescribed by the provisions of law.
Sect. 7. The legislature may, after the expiration of five years from the time when such railroad shall be opened for use, from time to time, alter and reduce the rate of toll, or profits, upon said road; but said toll shall not be so reduced, without the consent of said company, as to produce, with said profits, less than ten per cent. per annum, upon the investments of the said company.
Sect. 8. The said corporation may contract with the owners of any contiguous railroad leading into or from either of the states of Vermont or New York, for the use of the whole or any part thereof, or for the running and operating the two railroads conjointly, or for the leasing of such contiguous road, or for the letting or hiring of their own road to the owners of such contiguous road, or of any other road which composes a part of the railroad line between the cities of Boston and Troy, of which the railroad hereby authorized shall be a part.
Sect. 9. The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall, within one year after the opening of their road for use, purchase and take an assignment of the lease and contract of transportation, made and executed between the Western Railroad Corporation and the Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad Corporation, on the thirteenth day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-six; and shall have all the advantages, and assume all the liabilities, accruing under and by virtue of said lease: provided, that the said Western. Railroad Corporation shall perform their covenants in said lease, to keep said road, and other property therewith connected, in repair, until such assignment; and shall, within six months after the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall have filed the location of their road, according to law, and shall have raised, by subscription, one million of dollars, for the construction of the same, signify, in writing, their election to make such assignment: and provided, that, at the time of such assignment, there shall be secured to said Western Railroad Corporation, by a proper instrument, a lien or mortgage upon all their rights in said Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad, as collateral security for the performance of all the obligations of said corporation, contained in said lease and contract of transportation: and, provided also, that, after the completion of the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad, the said Western Railroad Corporation shall assign and convey, to the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, the said contract of transportation, according to the terms of this section, if the said Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall so elect.
Sect. 10. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. [May 10, 1848.
[1852.—Chapter 291.]
An Act concerning the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1. The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company and the Southern Vermont Railroad Company, a corporation established by the laws of Vermont, are hereby authorized by a vote of the stockholders now, or to be, passed, to unite themselves in one corporation; and such vote having been passed, they shall thereupon become one corporation, and all the franchises, property, powers, and privileges now enjoyed by, and all the restrictions, liabilities, and obligations imposed upon, said two corporations, by virtue of their respective charters, shall appertain to said united corporation in the same manner as if the same had been contained in or acquired under an original charter. Such corporation, so formed by such union, shall be called by the name of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Sect. 2. If the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall unite with said Southern Vermont Railroad Company, then, and in that case, one or more of the directors of such corporation, formed by such union, shall be an inhabitant of this Commonwealth, on whom processes against such corporation may be legally served, and said company shall be held answerable to answer in the jurisdiction where the service is made and the process returnable.
Sect. 3. The said company and the stockholders therein, so far as they are situate in Massachusetts, shall be subject to all the duties and liabilities of railroad corporations in Massachusetts, and to the general laws of this Commonwealth in relation to railroad corporations. [Approved by the Governor, May 20, 1852.
[1854.—Chapter 226.]
An Act authorizing a Loan of the State Credit to enable the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company to construct the Hoosac Tunnel.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1. The treasurer of the Commonwealth is hereby authorized and instructed to issue scrip, or certificates of debt, in the name and in behalf of the Commonwealth, and under his signature and the seal of the Commonwealth, for the sum of two millions of dollars, which may be expressed in the currency of Great Britain, and may be payable to the bearer thereof in London, and bearing an interest of five per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually in London, on the first days of April and October; or the said scrip may be issued in federal currency, payable in Boston, as the directors of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall elect when they apply for each and every issue of said scrip, with warrants for the interest attached thereto, signed by the treasurer; which scrip or certificates, in the currency of Great Britain, shall be redeemable in London, and those in the federal currency, at Boston, at the end of thirty years from the date thereof, and the same shall bear date on the first day of April or October which shall precede the issue of each portion of said scrip; and all such scrip shall be countersigned by the governor of the Commonwealth, and be deemed a pledge of the faith and credit of the Commonwealth, for the redemption thereof; and the treasurer of the Commonwealth, under the conditions hereinafter provided, shall deliver the same to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company for the purpose of enabling the said company to construct a tunnel and railroad under and through the Hoosac Mountain, in some place between the "Great Bend" in Deerfield River, in the town of Florida, at the base of Hoosac Mountain on the east, and the base of the western side of the mountain, near the east end of the village of North Adams, on the west.
Sect. 2. Whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the governor and council, that the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall have obtained subscriptions to their corporate stock, in the sum of six hundred thousand dollars, and twenty per cent. on each and every share of said six hundred thousand dollars shall have been actually paid in, and shall have completed seven miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and one thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel under the Hoosac, in one or more sections, of size sufficient for one or more railroad tracks, a portion of said scrip, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed, in one or two sections, ten miles of their said railroad, and two thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed fifteen miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and three thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed twenty miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and four thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed twenty-five miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and five thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed thirty miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, and six thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have completed thirty-two miles of their said railroad, in one or two sections, including all their line to be constructed east of the town of Florida, and seven thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel, in one or more sections, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and for each additional portion or portions of said tunnel, of fifteen hundred lineal feet, in one or more directions, completed by said company, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; subject, however, to this proviso, that the last two hundred thousand dollars of said scrip shall be reserved until said company, their successors or their representatives, have opened said railroad for use through the Hoosac, and laid a continuous railroad from Greenfield to the line of the state in Williamstown, when the same shall be delivered: provided, that prior to the second delivery of scrip to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad corporation, according to the provisions of this section, evidence shall be furnished, satisfactory to the governor and council, that a sum, equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of the scrip then applied for, shall have been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation; in cash, by the stockholders thereof, in addition to the hundred and twenty thousand dollars to be paid prior to the delivery of any scrip. And that on each application for scrip, in pursuance of the provisions of this section, and prior to the delivery thereof, satisfactory evidence shall be furnished to the governor and council, that a sum, equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of scrip then applied for, has been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation, until six hundred thousand dollars subscribed for have been paid by the stockholders. And no scrip shall be delivered till satisfactory evidence of such payment is, from time to time, furnished to the governor and council.
Sect. 3. Whenever the treasurer of said company shall receive any of said scrip, he shall, within three months from the receipt of the same, pay to the commissioners of the sinking fund, by this act hereafter established, ten per cent. on the amount of scrip so taken, as a sinking fund; after the whole of said road is open for us, twenty-five thousand dollars annually, shall be set apart from the income of said road and paid to said commissioners, and the whole thereof shall be added to said sinking fund, and shall be managed, invested and appropriated, as is, or shall be provided by law, in relation thereto.
Sect. 4. The treasurer of the Commonwealth, the auditor of accounts of the Commonwealth, and the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company for the time being, shall be the commissioners of the sinking fund of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company. The said commissioners shall have the care and management of all the moneys, funds and securities at any time belonging to said sinking fund, and shall invest the same; but the moneys not invested, and all the securities of said fund, shall be in the custody of the treasurer of said Commonwealth.
Sect. 5. This act shall not take effect until said company, at an annual meeting, or at a special meeting duly notified for that purpose, shall have assented to the provisions thereof, and shall have executed to the Commonwealth a bond, in such form as the attorney-general prescribed on the issuing of scrip to the Western Railroad Corporation, conditioned, that the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall comply with the provisions of this act, and shall faithfully expend the proceeds of said scrip as herein provided, and shall indemnify and save harmless, the Commonwealth, from all loss or inconvenience on account of said scrip, and that said company shall well and truly pay the principal sum of said scrip, punctually when the same shall become due and payable, or such part thereof as the sinking fund aforesaid shall be insufficient to pay, and the interest thereon semi-annually, as the same shall fall due, and shall also assign to the Commonwealth, by suitable instrument or instruments, of the same form with that or those prepared by the attorney-general on the issuing of scrip to the Western Railroad Corporation, the entire railroad, with its income, and all the franchise and property to them belonging, the whole thereof to be held by the Commonwealth as a pledge or mortgage to secure the performance of all the conditions of said bond: provided, however, that the Commonwealth shall not take possession of said pledged or mortgaged property, or any part thereof, under or by virtue of said mortgage, unless for some substantial breach of some condition of said bond.
Sect. 6. In addition to the security provided in the preceding section, the said company shall assign all the interest they now have, or may hereafter obtained, in the Southern Vermont Railroad Company.
Sect. 7. The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company are authorized, and at any time prior to the execution of said mortgage, and within one year from the passage of this act, to alter the present location of their road: provided, that the tunnel shall be located and constructed within the limits prescribed by the first section of this act.
Sect. 8. The time for completing the Troy and Greenfield Railroad is hereby extended, for the additional term of six years.
Sect. 9. When the Commonwealth shall have advanced to said company, said bond or scrip to the amount of five hundred thousand dollars, the legislature may elect two directors of said company, who shall hold office for the same time, be elected in the same manner, and receive compensation to the same amount as the state directors of the Western Railroad Corporation, but neither of them, while holding such office, shall serve as a director of any other railroad company. [Approved by the Governor, April 5, 1854.
[1855.—Chapter 394.]
An Act to authorize certain towns in the Counties of Franklin and Berkshire to subscribe to the Capital Stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company.
Be it enacted, &c.
Sect. 1. That each of the several towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Conway, Coleraine, Charlemont, Deerfield, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Rowe, and Shelburne, in the county of Franklin, and each of the several towns of Adams, Florida and Williamstown, in the county of Berkshire, be, and hereby is, authorized to subscribe for and hold shares in the capital stock of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company, to any amount of money not exceeding three per centum on the amount of its last valuation: provided, the inhabitants of such town or towns, at a legal town meeting duly called for that purpose, shall vote by a two-thirds vote to subscribe for such shares in accordance with the terms of this act, to pay for the same out of the town treasury, and to hold the same as town property, subject to the disposition of the town, for public purposes, in like manner as any other property which it may possess.
Sect. 2. Said towns are hereby authorized to raise, by loans or taxes, any sums of money which shall be required to pay the instalments on their respective subscription to said stock and interest thereon.
Sect. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. [Approved by the Governor, May 18, 1855.
[1859.—Chapter 117.]
An Act in addition to, an Act authorizing a loan of the State Credit, to enable the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company to construct the Hoosac Tunnel.
Be it enacted, &c., as follows:
SECT 1. The terms of the act authorizing a loan of the state credit to enable the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company to construct the Hoosac Tunnel, are hereby modified as follows, viz.:
Whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the governor and council, that the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company shall have actually obtained unconditional subscriptions to their corporate stock in the sum of six hundred thousand dollars, and twenty per cent. on each and every share of said six hundred thousand dollars shall have been actually paid in, and shall have completed seven miles of their road, in one or two sections, and one thousand lineal feet of their said tunnel under the Hoosac Mountain, in one or more sections, of size sufficient for one or more railroad tracks, a portion of said scrip, to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and whenever said company shall have, excavated, in addition to the amount of tunnel above provided for, one thousand lineal feet, in one or more sections, of heading or gallery of fourteen feet width at the bottom, and six feet in height in the middle, and of suitable proportion and form, or (if excavated by machinery) circular, and with a diameter of not less than eight feet, another portion of said scrip, amounting to fifty thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of said company; and when said company shall have excavated two thousand feet of their said tunnel, of the size above specified, another portion of said scrip, amounting to thirty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company in addition to said two thousand feet, shall have excavated one thousand lineal feet of heading, in one or more sections, and of the size above specified, and shall have graded three miles of road, commencing on the bank of Green River, at the present location of the crossing of said stream, or north thereof, and extending towards Shelburne Falls, on the same side of Green River and Deerfield River as the present location, said three miles being all situated within four miles of the point of commencement, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever in addition to the grading of said three miles as above, said company shall have excavated three thousand lineal feet of tunnel as above specified, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the three thousand feet above specified, shall have excavated, in one or more sections, one thousand lineal feet of heading, as above specified, and shall have graded six miles of road in location and otherwise as aforesaid, said six miles of road being all situate within seven miles of the point of commencement at Green River, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and when said company, in addition to the grading of six miles of road above specified, shall have excavated four thousand feet of tunnel as above, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the above, shall have excavated, in one or more sections, one thousand lineal feet of heading as aforesaid, and shall have graded nine miles of road, in location and otherwise as aforesaid, between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the above nine miles of graded road, shall have excavated five thousand feet of tunnel as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company shall have excavated, in one or more sections, one thousand lineal feet of heading as aforesaid, in addition to the five thousand feet of tunnel above specified, and shall have graded the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, crossing the Green River upon the present location, or at a point north thereof, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the grading of the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls as aforesaid, shall have excavated six thousand feet of tunnel as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever in addition to the grading and tunnel above specified, the said company shall have excavated as aforesaid, one thousand lineal feet of heading, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of thirty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever in addition to the grading above specified, the said company shall have excavated seven thousand feet of tunnel as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and for each additional thousand feet of heading that shall be excavated of dimensions as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to thirty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and for each additional one thousand feet of tunnel that shall be excavated of dimensions as aforesaid, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company shall have completed the graduation and superstructure of the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, on the route herein before specified, and shall have put the same in running order, another portion of said scrip, to the amount of forty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and whenever said company, in addition to the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls above specified, shall have completed the graduation and superstructure of two continuous miles of road, commencing at the western termination of the above road, another portion of said scrip, amounting to eighty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid; and for the graduation and superstructure of each additional mile of road, graded and laid continuously through either of the towns of Buckland, Charlemont, Rowe or Florida, another portion of said scrip, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid: provided, that when the rails shall have been laid and the road put in running order, between Greenfield and the east end of the Hoosac Tunnel, excepting that portion of the road which is to be made from the material to be furnished by the tunnel itself, another portion of said scrip, amounting to one hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid: and provided, also, that whenever the aggregate amount of scrip that shall have been delivered to the treasurer of said company shall have reached the sum of one million seven hundred thousand dollars, no further delivery of scrip shall be made until the whole of the tunnel through the Hoosac Mountain shall have been completed, of size not less than fourteen feet in width and eighteen feet in height from the bottom to the top of the excavation, and until the facades of the said tunnel and such portions as may require arching shall be finished with good substantial stone or brick masonry, and until the rails shall have been laid over the whole length of the road, including the tunnel, and the same constructed in such manner, and the necessary connections with other roads 80 finished, as will permit the convenient use of the same in the transportation of passengers and freight between the cities of Boston and Troy; but when such connections shall have been made, the tunnel fully completed and the road constructed as herein before provided, the balance of said scrip, amounting to three hundred thousand dollars, shall be delivered as aforesaid: and provided, also, that until the rails shall have been laid and the road put in running order between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, the aggregate payments under this act shall not exceed one million of dollars: and provided, also, that prior to the second delivery of scrip to the treasurer of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Corporation, according to the provisions of this section, evidence shall be furnished, satisfactory to the governor and council, that a sum equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of the scrip then applied for, shall have been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation, (in cash,) by the stockholders thereof, in addition to the one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to be paid prior to the delivery of any scrip, and that on each application for scrip, in pursuance of the provisions of this section, and prior to the delivery thereof, satisfactory evidence shall be furnished to the governor and council that a sum equal to thirty per cent. of the amount of scrip then' applied for, has been actually paid to the treasurer of said corporation, until the six hundred thousand dollars subscribed for shall have been paid by the stockholders; and no scrip shall be delivered until satisfactory evidence of such payment is, from time to time, furnished to the governor and council; and provided, also, no scrip shall be delivered to the treasurer of said corporation until satisfactory evidence shall be furnished to the governor and council, that said corporation have expended in a reasonable manner, in excavating and completing said tunnel, and in grading, constructing and completing the line of road, a sum at least equal to the amount of all the preceding issues of scrip.
Sect. 2. The preceding section of this act shall not be so constructed as necessarily to delay the opening of the road between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, until after the completion of six thousand feet of tunnel; but whenever any portion of not less than three miles of said road shall have been graded between Greenfield and Shelburne Falls, as herein before provided, a portion of scrip, amounting to fifty thousand dollars, shall be delivered to the treasurer of the said company; and in case such payments shall have been previously made upon the road, the payments upon the completion of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth thousand feet of tunnel shall be reduced to thirty thousand dollars for each thousand feet of heading, and twenty thousand dollars for each thousand feet of tunnel of the required dimensions; but no portion of said scrip shall be delivered for any portion of said heading or tunnel, until the corresponding portion of the road shall have been graded as is herein before provided.
Sect. 3. Whenever the treasurer of said company shall receive any of said scrip, he shall offer the scrip, 80 received, to the treasurer of the Commonwealth for sale; and if the treasurer of the Commonwealth shall so require, being thereunto authorized by law, the treasurer of said company shall sell and dispose of the same to the treasurer of the Commonwealth, at the fair market value thereof, to be determined by the governor and council. If the treasurer of the Commonwealth shall decide to buy as aforesaid, then the treasurer of the company shall forthwith pay, to the commissioners of the sinking fund, ten per cent. on the amount of the scrip so taken, as a sinking fund. If the treasurer of the Commonwealth shall decide not to buy, as aforesaid, then the treasurer of the company, within three months after the receipt of any of said scrip, shall pay to the commissioners of the sinking fund, ten per cent. on the amount of the scrip so received, as a sinking fund. After the whole of said road is open for use, twenty-five thousand dollars annually, shall be set apart from the income of said road, and paid to said commissioners; and the whole thereof shall be added to said sinking fund, and shall be managed; invested and appropriated, as is or shall be provided by law in relation thereto.
