CHAPTER 281*
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITY CONTROL:
STREET RAILWAY OPERATIONS

*History of legislation as to construction. 80 C. 632. Special charter not ordinarily repealed by general law. 65 C. 410. Terms of charter as to motive power decisive. 61 C. 127. Under power to amend charter, reasonable conditions as to use of property may be imposed. 75 C. 442. Applicability of statutes as to steam railroads; power to condemn land in same manner as they do. 80 C. 37. Franchise to build and operate cannot be bargained away, when. 73 C. 513. Company cannot abandon operation. 81 C. 652. Power acquired by lease of franchise to build and operate. 73 C. 179. One company succeeding another stands in its shoes. 81 C. 645. Charter authorizing taking of land without compensation void. 69 C. 155. Authority to take larger portion of lot not approval of prior taking of smaller; authority to build over private property "near" highway construed. 83 C. 603. Right in structures and track in street. 69 C. 155. Mechanic's lien against. 78 C. 291; 83 C. 83. Property of street railway is liable to attachment. 89 C. 59. Location in highway does not ordinarily entitle abutting owner to compensation; 32 C. 579; 69 C. 146; but there may be a special and peculiar injury that must be compensated; 70 C. 610; 84 C. 45; or the nature of the construction or operation of the railway may require it. 84 C. 452; 85 C. 401. Authorized crossing of railroad not ordinarily basis for damages. 65 C. 410; see 70 C. 610. Liability to pay for street paving. 75 C. 442; id., 471; 77 C. 219; 203 U. S. 379. Legislature may delegate determination as to how many tracks shall be built on highway bridge to public utilities commission. 89 C. 528. See note to section 33-392.

Table of Contents

Secs. 16-191 to 16-203. Location in highway; payment for certain repairs. Failure to repair or pay costs. Agreements for repairs. Company liable for defects. Notice to commissioner of repairs on highway. Apportionment of expense of repair of highway. Appeal. Liability of railroad companies not affected. Location of tracks and equipment. Company to pay cost of bridge maintenance over amount required for highway traffic. Relocation on private way. Supervision of construction and equipment. Orders on company's application.
Sec. 16-204. Right of certain companies to lay tracks to cease.
Sec. 16-205. Failure to operate railway.
Sec. 16-206. Appeal by adjoining owner.
Sec. 16-207. May operate motor buses and discontinue cars.
Sec. 16-208. Street railway company operating motor buses may change capital structure.
Sec. 16-209. Directors to be residents of state.
Sec. 16-210. Rights of trustees and others after foreclosure.
Sec. 16-211. Court may order sale.
Sec. 16-212. Rights and liabilities of reorganized corporation.
Sec. 16-213. Certificate of reorganization to be filed.
Sec. 16-214. Sale of mortgaged property when electrical operation abandoned and buses substituted.
Sec. 16-215. Mortgage of bus lines.


Secs. 16-191 to 16-203. Location in highway; payment for certain repairs. Failure to repair or pay costs. Agreements for repairs. Company liable for defects. Notice to commissioner of repairs on highway. Apportionment of expense of repair of highway. Appeal. Liability of railroad companies not affected. Location of tracks and equipment. Company to pay cost of bridge maintenance over amount required for highway traffic. Relocation on private way. Supervision of construction and equipment. Orders on company's application. Sections 16-191 to 16-203, inclusive, are repealed.
(1949 Rev., S. 5574−5584, 5590, 5591; February, 1965, P.A. 574, S. 22; 1969, P.A. 768, S. 225−232; 1971, P.A. 870, S. 107; P.A. 75-486, S. 1, 69; P.A. 76-436, S. 362, 681; P.A. 77-614, S. 162, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 88−94, 348; P.A. 85- 246, S. 22.)

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Sec. 16-204. Right of certain companies to lay tracks to cease. If any street railway company, which, since January 1, 1893, has been, or shall be, authorized by its charter, or by an amendment thereto, to construct its railway in any highway, has not or shall not have constructed its railway in such highway on or before the close of the second regular session of the General Assembly after that at which such authority was or shall be granted, all right of such company to lay its tracks in such highway shall thereupon cease.
(1949 Rev., S. 5594.)

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Sec. 16-205. Failure to operate railway. If any such company discontinues the operation of its railway in any highway or portion of a highway, or, having constructed its railway thereon, does not begin to operate the same within a reasonable time thereafter, the selectmen of any town, the mayor and common council of any city or the warden and burgesses of any borough, within whose respective jurisdictions such discontinuance or failure to operate occurs, may order such company, in writing, to operate such part of its railway within thirty days from a date named in such order. On failure to comply with such order, all right of such company to occupy such highway or portion thereof, or to keep or operate its railway in such highway or portion thereof, shall cease; and such company shall immediately thereafter remove its tracks and fixtures from such highway, and put such highway or portion thereof in good condition for public travel. If such company fails to remove such tracks and fixtures and put such highway or portion thereof in good condition for public travel, such town, city or borough may cause such tracks and fixtures to be removed and such highway to be put in good condition for public travel; and may recover the expense thereof from such company in an action on this section.
(1949 Rev., S. 5595.)
See Sec. 16-207 re replacement of street cars with motor buses.

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Sec. 16-206. Appeal by adjoining owner. Section 16-206 is repealed.
(1949 Rev., S. 5596; 1969, P.A. 768, S. 233; P.A. 75-486, S. 1, 69; P.A. 77-614, S. 162, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 95, 348; P.A. 85-246, S. 22.)

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Sec. 16-207. May operate motor buses and discontinue cars. The provisions of chapter 244 shall apply to street railway companies and, under said provisions, any such company may acquire, own and operate motor vehicles for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire at a fixed individual or per capita fare. Any street railway company operating street railway cars over routes authorized by its charter and amendments thereto may discontinue the operation of street railway cars over any such route without loss of its franchise so to operate, provided the Department of Transportation, after petition and hearing thereon, shall consent thereto, and any such street railway company shall thereafter operate motor vehicles over such route if the department finds such operation to be required by public convenience and necessity.
(1949 Rev., S. 5616; 1969, P.A. 768, S. 234; P.A. 75-486, S. 1, 69; P.A. 77-614, S. 162, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 96, 348; P.A. 85-246, S. 11.)
History: 1969 act required that notice of hearing be given to commissioner of transportation; P.A. 75-486 replaced public utilities commission with public utilities control authority; P.A. 77-614 replaced authority with division of public utility control within the department of business regulation, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 made division of public utility control an independent department and deleted reference to abolished department of business regulation; P.A. 85- 246 substituted department of transportation for department of public utility control.

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Sec. 16-208. Street railway company operating motor buses may change capital structure. Any street railway company incorporated under a special act of the General Assembly, which has discontinued its railway operations and is operating motor buses pursuant to the provisions of section 16-207, may make such changes in its capital structure as any company incorporated under the general incorporation laws of this state may make, provided the Department of Transportation, after a petition and hearing thereon, shall approve thereof.
(1949 Rev., S. 5617; P.A. 75-486, S. 1, 69; P.A. 77-614, S. 162, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 97, 348; P.A. 85-246, S. 12.)
History: P.A. 75-486 replaced public utilities commission with public utilities control authority; P.A. 77-614 replaced public utilities control authority with division of public utility control within the department of business regulation, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 made division an independent department and deleted reference to abolished department of business regulation; P.A. 85-246 substituted department of transportation for department of public utility control.

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Sec. 16-209. Directors to be residents of state. Section 16-209 is repealed.
(1949 Rev., S. 5620; P.A. 85-246, S. 22.)

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Sec. 16-210. Rights of trustees and others after foreclosure. When the trustees for any mortgage bondholders of any street railway company take possession of the property of the same under a decree of foreclosure, or when the mortgage bondholders take possession either as such bondholders or as stockholders, upon a reorganization of such company, such trustees, bondholders or stockholders shall succeed to and enjoy all the rights, privileges, immunities and franchises that were or might have been enjoyed by the original stockholders or company.
(1949 Rev., S. 5621.)

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Sec. 16-211. Court may order sale. When the trustees for any mortgage bondholders of any such company take possession of its property under a decree of foreclosure, and all the rights, privileges, immunities and franchises have become vested thereby in the trustees, as provided by section 16-210, the court in which such foreclosure is pending may authorize such trustees, or their lawful agent, to sell and convey, all and singular, the property, rights, privileges, immunities and franchises which were or might have been enjoyed by the original stockholders or company, in such manner as said court may order; and, by virtue of the mortgage of all the property of such company and of such foreclosure and sale, such property, rights, privileges, immunities and franchises, all and singular, shall pass to and become vested in the purchaser or purchasers of such property, who shall have full power to reorganize such company.
(1949 Rev., S. 5622.)

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Sec. 16-212. Rights and liabilities of reorganized corporation. The capital stock and the par value of the shares of such reorganized corporation shall be the same as authorized in the original act of incorporation, and such reorganized corporation shall succeed to and enjoy all the rights, privileges, immunities and franchises which were or might have been enjoyed by the original stockholders or company, and shall be subject in all respects to the provisions of such act and any amendments thereto.
(1949 Rev., S. 5623.)

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Sec. 16-213. Certificate of reorganization to be filed. Within thirty days after the date of such reorganization, the persons so reorganizing such corporation, their grantees or assigns, or a majority of them, shall file in the office of the Secretary of the State a certificate under their hands and seals, duly acknowledged, setting forth the name of the corporation whose rights, privileges and franchises have been acquired, and referring to the acts of the General Assembly under which the original organization was and the reorganization has been made; the name of the court by authority of which such sale was made and the date of the judgment or decree; the amount of the capital stock and the number of shares into which the same has been divided and the owners of such shares at the date of filing such certificate and the names and residences of the directors of such reorganized corporation. If such certificate is not filed in the manner and form as aforesaid, such proceedings for reorganization shall be void.
(1949 Rev., S. 5624.)

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Sec. 16-214. Sale of mortgaged property when electrical operation abandoned and buses substituted. Any street railway company that may change, in whole or in part, to bus operation under and pursuant to the provisions of its charter or amendments thereto or of the general law, having previously given a mortgage upon its property, covering its electrical equipment, transmission lines, rights-of-way, cars and equipment and other similar property belonging to and essential to street railway operation by electricity, which mortgage contains no provisions for the sale of such property under such conditions, may bring a petition to the superior court for the judicial district in which such company has its principal office, for the purpose of obtaining a determination of the court as to whether its street railway property so encumbered by a mortgage shall be sold in whole or in part. The trustee or the mortgagee, as the case may be, may join with such company in such petition and, if he or it fails to join, he or it shall be made a party defendant and shall be served with a copy of such petition in the same manner as in ordinary civil process returnable to the court, which petition shall thereafter be proceeded with in the same manner as other civil process. If, after hearing on such petition, the superior court finds that any of the street railway property set forth in such petition, which the company desires to sell, is no longer needed in the operation of its service by the petitioner and that it is for the best interests of the company and of the holders of its mortgage bonds that such property or any part thereof should be sold and disposed of, said court may pass an order authorizing the sale or disposal of such property free and clear of the lien of such mortgage, either at public or private sale as the court may determine. The proceeds from any such sale shall be paid to the mortgagee or trustee, as the case may be, of the mortgage upon such property, and such proceeds shall be disposed of by it in accordance with the terms of such mortgage regarding the disposal of property sold under and in pursuance of the terms thereof, or the proceeds of such property so sold may be reinvested in additional property, provided the same shall be made subject to the lien of such mortgage and there shall be no clause in such mortgage or deed of trust prohibiting such reinvestment.
(1949 Rev., S. 5625; P.A. 78-280, S. 2, 127.)
History: P.A. 78-280 replaced "county" with "judicial district".

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Sec. 16-215. Mortgage of bus lines. Any street railway company owning and operating buses under authority of its charter or of the amendments thereto or of the statutes may mortgage the same to the same extent and in the same manner as it may mortgage its other property.
(1949 Rev., S. 5626.)
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