CHAPTER 1. INTERURBAN RAILROADS
IC 8-5
ARTICLE 5. COMMUTER RAILWAYS
IC 8-5-1
Chapter 1. Interurban Railroads
IC 8-5-1-1
Powers and duties; enumeration
Sec. 1. Any street railroad company organized before or afterMarch 11, 1901, under Indiana statutes and desiring to construct oracquire, or having before March 11, 1901, constructed or acquired,any street railroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban streetrailroad, shall, in addition to the rights, privileges, and powers givenand granted by statute before March 11, 1901, to street railroadcompanies, possess the general powers and be subject to theliabilities and restrictions expressed in the special powers following:
First, to cause such examination and surveys for the proposedrailroad to be made as may be necessary to the selection of themost advantageous route for the railroad, and, for suchpurposes, by their officers, agents, and servants, to enter uponthe lands or waters of any person, but subject to responsibilityfor all damages which they shall do thereto.
Second, to receive, hold, and take such voluntary grants anddonations of real estate and other personal property as shall bemade to it to aid in the construction, maintenance, andaccommodation of such railroad; but the real estate thusreceived by voluntary grants shall be held and used for thepurpose of such grants only.
Third, to purchase, or by voluntary grants and donations, or bythe special proceedings provided in this chapter, receive,acquire, and take, and by its officers, engineers, surveyors, andagents enter upon, take possession of, hold, and use, all suchlands and real estate and other property as may be necessary forthe construction, maintenance, and operation of its railroads,railroad stations, depots, powerhouses, shops, carbarns, offices,lines for transmission of electricity for heat, light, and power forsuch companies or the public, which transmission lines may beon the line of said railroad or elsewhere, as such company maydesire, and other accommodations necessary to accomplish theobjects for which the corporation is created, but not until thecompensation to be made therefor, as agreed upon by the partiesor ascertained as provided in this chapter, shall have been paidto the owner or owners thereof or deposited as in this chapterdirected, unless the consent of such owner be given to enter intopossession.
Fourth, to lay out its road or any part thereof, not exceedingfour (4) rods wide, and to construct, maintain, and operate thesame, and for the purpose of cuttings, embankments, andprocuring stone and gravel, it may take as much more lands,
which lands if taken for stone or gravel may be adjacent to theline of said road or elsewhere, in the manner provided in thischapter, as its directors may deem necessary for the properconstruction and security of the road.
Fifth, to construct its road across any stream of water,watercourse, road, highway, railroad, or canal, so as not tointerfere with the free use of the same, which the route of itsroad shall intersect, in such manner as to afford security for lifeand property, and, with the consent of the authorities of theproper county, town, or city, on any street, road, or highway,but the corporation shall restore the stream or watercourse,street, road, or highway to its former state, or in a sufficientmanner not to unnecessarily impair its usefulness or injure itsfranchises. And in case such street railroad company shall crossthe tracks of any other street railroad company or any railroadcompany, if the two (2) corporations can not agree upon theamount of compensation to be made therefor, the same shall beascertained and determined by commissioners to be appointedas is provided in this chapter in respect to the taking of lands;provided, however, that such rights as street railroad companiesmay have under statutes existing on March 11, 1901, withoutagreement with the company to be crossed, and withoutresorting to the special proceedings prescribed in this chapter,to construct, maintain, and operate their street railroads,interurban street railroads, or suburban street railroads acrossany railroad or street railroad on any street, road, or highway onwhich such street railroad companies may be legally authorizedto operate, shall not be diminished or impaired by anything inthis chapter contained.
Sixth, to maintain and operate, and to that end to construct,purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, and own or control, streetrailroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban street railroadlines and systems, constructed or in process of construction, orany part or parts thereof, and property appertaining thereto orto be used in connection therewith, in, through, between andconnecting the towns and cities, or any of them, named in itsarticles of association, or those of its constituent companies, orwhich lines and systems, or part or parts thereof, connect, orwill connect, with its lines and system of street railroadinterurban street railroad or suburban street railroad, and totake, transport, carry, and convey passengers and property on itssaid railroad lines and systems by such force as it is permittedto use for such purpose, and to receive tolls and compensationtherefor.
Seventh, to erect and maintain all necessary and convenientbuildings, stations, depots, fixtures, and machinery for theaccommodation and use of its business, and to obtain and holdthe lands necessary therefor.
Eighth, to regulate the time and manner in which passengersand property shall be transported, and the tolls and
compensation to be paid therefor; provided, however, thatnothing contained in this chapter shall take away from thetowns and cities the power to regulate and fix the tolls andcompensation for such transportation within such cities andtowns, as a condition to the grant of the right to operate therein;and nothing in this chapter shall be construed to give any streetrailroad company the right to construct or operate a railroad inany city or town without first getting the consent of the properauthorities of the city or town to such construction andoperation.
Ninth, if, at any time after the location or construction, in wholeor in part, of such street railroad, interurban street railroad, orsuburban street railroad, it shall appear to a majority of thedirectors of such company that the line of such railroad isunnecessarily dangerous, inconvenient, or expensive to operateby reason of grades, curves, or other physical conditionsaffecting the construction, maintenance, or operation of suchroad, or that, for any other reason, the location of such streetrailroad, interurban street railroad, or suburban street railroadshould be changed, it may make alterations in its line and route,and for that purpose may enter upon, take, and hold the realestate necessary therefor in the manner and by the specialproceedings prescribed in this chapter.
Tenth, to make such changes in the grade or the line ofhighways as it may be directed or permitted to make by theproper county commissioners, with the view to the safety or theconvenience of the public, or the better alignment orconstruction of such railroad, and to take by the specialproceedings described in this chapter such lands as may benecessary for such changes.
(Formerly: Acts 1901, c.207, s.1; Acts 1903, c.36, s.1.) As amendedby P.L.62-1984, SEC.91.
IC 8-5-1-2
Crossings; construction
Sec. 2. Where it becomes necessary for the track or trolley-wiresof one (1) street railroad company to cross the track or trolley-wiresof another street railroad company or the track of any railroadcompany the company owning the road last constructed at suchcrossing shall, unless otherwise agreed to between such companies,be at the exclusive expense of constructing such crossing in a mannerto be convenient and safe for both companies.
(Formerly: Acts 1901, c.207, s.2.)
IC 8-5-1-3
Crossings; maintenance
Sec. 3. Whenever such railroad crossing is constructed in themanner provided for in the preceding section, it shall be the duty ofeach company respectively to maintain and keep in repair its owntrack, so as at all times to provide a ready, safe and convenient
crossing for all locomotives, trains or cars passing on either road atsuch point.
(Formerly: Acts 1901, c.207, s.3.)