Railroad companies: Rights-of-way granted by the State, counties and municipalities; limitations; reversion on abandonment; duties of companies.
1. The right-of-way is hereby given and granted to all railroad companies that are now organized, or may be organized under the provisions of this chapter, or under the laws of any other state or territory, or under any act of Congress, to locate, construct and maintain their roads, or any part or parcel thereof, over and through any of the swamp or overflowed lands belonging to this State, or any other public lands which are now or may be the property of the State, at the time of constructing the railroad.
2. Such railroad companies are hereby authorized to survey and mark through the lands of the State, to be held by them for the track of their respective railroads, 200 feet in width, for the whole length the roads may be located over the lands of the State; and the right is hereby further given and granted to the companies to locate, occupy and hold all necessary sites and grounds for watering places, depots or other buildings, for the convenient use of the same, along the line of the road or roads, so far as the places convenient for the same may fall upon the lands belonging to the State, except within the limits of any incorporated city or town, or within 3 miles where the same shall be taken, on paying to the State the value of the same.
3. No one depot, watering place, machine or workshop, or other buildings for the convenient use of such roads, shall cover over 6 acres each, and the sites or places on the lands of this State shall not be nearer to each other than 5 miles along the line of the roads.
4. The right is hereby further given and granted to the companies to take from any of the lands belonging to this State all such materials of earth, wood, stone or other materials whatever, as may be necessary or convenient, from time to time, for the first construction or equipment of the road or roads, or any part thereof.
5. If any road, at any time after its location, shall be discontinued or abandoned by the company or companies, or the location of any part thereof be so changed as not to cover the lands of the State thus previously occupied, then the lands so abandoned or left shall revert to this State.
6. When the location of the route of either of the railroads, or sites or places for depots, watering places, machine or workshops or other buildings for the convenient use of the same, shall be selected, the secretary of the company shall transmit to the Director of the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and to the State Controller, and to the recorder of the county in which the lands so selected are situated, to each of the officers, a correct plot of the location of the railroad, or sites or places, before such selection shall become operative.
7. When any such company shall, for its purposes aforesaid, require any of the lands belonging to any of the counties, cities or towns in this State, the county, city and town officers, respectively, having charge of such lands, may grant and convey such land to such company, for a compensation which shall be agreed upon between them, or may donate and convey the same without any compensation; and if they shall not agree upon the sale and price, the same may be taken by the company as is provided in other cases of taking lands by condemnation.
8. Before any corporation incorporated or organized otherwise than under the laws of this State shall be entitled to any of the rights granted by this chapter, it shall file in the office of the county recorder of each county in which the railroad, or any part, extension or branch thereof shall be situate, a copy of its certificate or articles of incorporation, or of the act or law by which it was created, with the certified list of its officers, in the manner and form required by law.
Last modified: February 26, 2006