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2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 8 - Certification of Facts Relating to Formation; Presentation to Department

Section 8. When the amount of capital stock named in the agreement of association has been subscribed in good faith by responsible persons, and ten per cent of the par value of each share has been paid in cash to the treasurer, the directors, clerk and treasurer shall annex to the agreement of association their certificate setting forth these facts, and that it is intended in good faith to locate, construct, maintain and operate the railway as described in said agreement, shall annex to said agreement the certificate of publication specified in section six and the several certificates of location, and shall present the same for inspection to the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 9 - Certificate of Incorporation

Section 9. When it is shown to the satisfaction of the department that the requirements of this chapter preliminary to the incorporation of a company have been complied with, and that locations have been obtained for a railway between the termini and substantially over the route set forth in the agreement of association, the clerk of the department, upon its order, shall annex to the agreement of association a certificate stating such fact. The directors shall thereupon file the agreement of association, with all the certificates annexed thereto, including the plan, if any, required by the department, in the office of the state secretary, who, upon receipt of a fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven, said state secretary, shall receive and preserve the same in form convenient for reference and open to public inspection; and shall thereupon issue a certificate of incorporation substantially in the following form:
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Be it known that whereas (names of the subscribers to the agreement of association) have associated themselves with the intention of forming a corporation under the name of the (name of company), for the purpose of locating, constructing, maintaining and operating a street railway (description of the railway as in the agreement of association), and have complied with the statutes of this commonwealth in such cases made and provided: Now, therefore, I, , secretary of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby certify that the persons aforesaid, their associates and successors, are legally established as a corporation under the name of the (name of the company), with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the duties, liabilities and restrictions, set forth in all general laws which now are or hereafter may be in force relating to street railway companies.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my official signature, and affixed the great seal of said commonwealth, this day of , in the year .
The state secretary shall sign the certificate of incorporation, and cause the great seal of the commonwealth to be thereto affixed, and such certificate shall have the force and effect of a special charter. He shall also cause a record of the certificate of incorporation to be made, and such certificate, or such record, or a certified copy thereof, shall be conclusive evidence of the existence of such corporation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 10 - First Meeting of Incorporators; Notice; Waiver of Notice

Section 10. Upon the issue of such certificate of incorporation, the first meeting of the incorporators shall be called by a notice, signed by a majority of the directors, stating the time, place and purposes of the meeting. A copy of such notice shall, seven days at least before the day appointed for the meeting, be given to each incorporator or left at his residence or usual place of business, or deposited in the post office, postage prepaid, and addressed to him at his residence or usual place of business, and another copy thereof, and an affidavit of the clerk that the notice has been duly served, shall be recorded with the records of the company. If all the incorporators shall in writing waive such notice and fix the time and place of the meeting, no notice shall be required.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 11 - Adoption of By-Laws; Election of Directors

Section 11. At such first meeting, or at any adjournment thereof, the incorporators shall organize by the adoption of by-laws, and by the election, by ballot, of not less than five directors. The clerk appointed by the directors under section five shall make and attest a record of the proceedings until the clerk of the company has been chosen and sworn, including a record of such choice and qualification.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 13 - Election of Officers; Term; Qualifications; Treasurer's Bond; Appointment of Other Officers

Section 13. The directors shall be elected annually by the stockholders by ballot, and the president shall be elected annually by and from the board of directors, and the treasurer and the clerk annually by said board. Every director, unless the by-laws otherwise provide, shall be a stockholder. The treasurer may be required to give a bond for the faithful performance of his duty in such sum and with such sureties as the by-laws may prescribe. The clerk, who shall be a resident of the commonwealth, shall be sworn, and shall record all votes of the company in a book kept therefor. The officers of a company shall hold officer for one year and until their successors are qualified. All other agents and officers shall be chosen or appointed, and all vacancies filled, in the manner prescribed by the by-laws, or, in default of such by-law, by the board of directors. Any requirement in the general laws of action to be taken or instruments to be signed by the president, directors, or a majority of the directors, of a company, relative to grants, extensions, alterations, and revocations of location, abolition of grade crossings and rights in state highways, shall be sufficiently and legally complied with if such action is taken by a vote, or if such instrument is executed in accordance with, and by the persons designated in, a vote of the directors of such company, at a meeting duly and properly held, at which a quorum of the board is present.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 14 - Stockholders' Meetings

Section 14. There shall be an annual meeting of the stockholders, and the time and place of holding it, and the manner of conducting it, shall be fixed by the by-laws. All meetings of stockholders shall be held in the commonwealth, and shall be called, and notice thereof given, in the manner provided in the by-laws of the company; or, if the by-laws make no provision therefor, shall be called by the president, and a written notice, stating the place, day and hour thereof, shall be given by the clerk, at least seven days before such meeting, to each stockholder by leaving such notice with him or at his residence or usual place of business, or by mailing it, postage prepaid, and addressed to each stockholder at his address as it appears upon the books of the company. Unless the by-laws otherwise provide, a majority in interest of all stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum. Notices of all meetings of stockholders shall state the purposes for which the meetings are called. No notice of the time, place or purpose of any regular or special meeting of the stockholders shall be required if every stockholder, or his attorney thereunto authorized, by a writing filed with the records of the meeting, waives such notice.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 15 - Special Meetings

Section 15. A special meeting of the stockholders shall be called, and a written notice thereof, stating the time, place and purpose of the meeting, given, by the clerk upon written application of three or more stockholders entitled to vote, holding at least one tenth part in interest of the capital stock.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 17 - Voting by Shareholders; Proxies

Section 17. Stockholders entitled to vote shall have one vote for each share of stock owned by them. Stockholders may vote either in person or by proxy. No proxy dated more than six months before the meeting named therein shall be accepted, and no such proxy shall be valid after the final adjournment of such meeting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 19 - Stock Certificates

Section 19. Each stockholder shall be entitled to a certificate which shall be signed by the president and by the treasurer of the company, or by such other officers as may be authorized by the by-laws, shall be sealed with its seal, and shall certify the number of shares owned by him in such company.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 20a - Change of Par Value of Capital Stock

Section 20A. Every corporation subject to this chapter may, at a meeting duly called for the purpose, by the vote of a majority of all of its stock or, if two or more classes of stock have been issued, of a majority of each class outstanding and entitled to vote, authorize a change of the par value of the shares of its capital stock in accordance with paragraph (
h
) of section four or paragraph (i) of section one hundred and thirty-six, or authorize a change of the par value or values of the shares of any class or classes of its capital stock to a par value or values of ten dollars or of five dollars; but such change shall not be effective unless the department shall approve the same on an application of the corporation filed within thirty days after the passage of such vote. The aggregate par value of the outstanding shares shall not be increased by a change in the par value thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 21 - Assessments; Default of Shareholder

Section 21. The directors may assess upon all the shares subscribed, but not paid in, such amounts, not in excess of their par value, as they think proper, and may direct the same to be paid to the treasurer, who shall give written notice thereof to the subscribers. If a subscriber fails to pay his assessment for thirty days after such notice, the directors may transfer the rights under such subscription to any person who subscribes for the same and pays the assessments due, or may order the treasurer, after giving notice of the sale, to sell such shares by public auction to the highest bidder, and, upon the payment by him to the company of the unpaid assessments, of interest to the date of sale and of the charges of the sale, the shares shall be transferred to him. If, within thirty days after the sale, the purchaser does not make said payment to the company, the sale shall be cancelled, and the subscriber shall be liable to the company for the unpaid assessments, the interest thereon, and the charges of sale. If the amount so paid by the purchaser to the company is more than the amount for which the shares were sold, the subscriber shall be liable to the purchaser for the deficiency; if it is less, the purchaser shall be liable to the subscriber for the surplus.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 22 - Collection of Assessments

Section 22. If a subscriber fails to pay his assessment for thirty days, as provided in the preceding section, the directors may elect to proceed by an action at law against said delinquent subscriber to recover all amounts due and payable by him with interest. If a judgment rendered in an action against a subscriber remains unsatisfied for thirty days, all amounts previously paid by him shall be forfeited to the company, and the directors may offer such shares for sale as above provided.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 23 - Subscription for Stock; Payment for Stock; Conditions to Building Railway

Section 23. A company shall not begin to build its railway until it shall have filed in the office of the state secretary a certificate, signed and sworn to by its president, treasurer, clerk and a majority of its directors, stating that the amount of its capital stock has been unconditionally subscribed for by responsible parties, and that fifty per cent of the par value of each share thereof has been paid in cash.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 24 - Liability Prior to Payment for Capital Stock

Section 24. The directors of a company shall be jointly and severally liable, to the extent of its capital stock, for all its debts and contracts, until the whole amount of its capital stock as originally fixed by its agreement of association, or if a chartered company, by its directors, and authorized by the department, shall have been paid in, and until a certificate stating the amount thereof so fixed and paid in shall have been signed and sworn to by its president, treasurer, clerk and a majority of its directors, and filed in the office of the state secretary.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 25 - Purposes Authorizing Increase in Capital Stock or Bond Issue; Action of Department

Section 25. A company, for the purpose of building an extension, or acquiring land for pleasure resorts, or acquiring or building power houses or car houses or park buildings, or acquiring or equipping additional rolling stock, or changing its motive power, or furnishing electricity to a town for light, or abolishing grade crossings, or paying betterment assessments for widening or otherwise altering streets, or complying with any requirements lawfully imposed, or making permanent investments or improvements, or acquiring any additional real or personal property necessary or convenient for its corporate objects, or refunding its funded debt, or paying money borrowed or indebtedness incurred for any of the foregoing purposes, or other similarly necessary and lawful purposes, may, in accordance with sections twenty-eight and twenty-nine of this chapter, sections fifty to fifty-two, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine and sections forty-seven to fifty-five, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and sixty, increase its capital stock or issue bonds, secured by mortgage or otherwise, to such an amount, beyond the amounts fixed and limited by its agreement of association or its charter, or by any special law, as the department shall determine will realize the amount which has been properly expended or will be properly required, and as the department shall approve for such of the purposes aforesaid as are set out in its petition to the department.
The department, in authorizing the issue of any bonds under this section, may prescribe the minimum price at which such bonds shall be sold, and may modify such price from time to time, as it deems proper. Whenever it authorizes or has approved the issue or sale of bonds of a face value in excess of the amount determined by it to have been properly expended or to be properly required, it may, in its order of approval, or at any time thereafter, require the company issuing such bonds to establish a sinking fund, estimated to realize at the maturity of said bonds a sum equal to the difference between the amounts for which such bonds were authorized or approved, and the face value of the bonds so authorized or approve therefor, and may designate a domestic trust company as trustee and custodian of such fund, and may from time to time change such trustee. Any agreement relative to said sinking fund, made between the street railway company and the trust company selected as such trustee, shall not be valid until approved by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 26 - Supplying Working Capital; Stock Increase or Bond Issue

Section 26. In addition to the purposes for which a company may increase its capital stock or issue bonds, as provided in the preceding section, a company to supply itself with working capital may, in accordance with sections twenty-eight, twenty-nine and thirty-one of this chapter or sections fifty to fifty-two, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, in the case of companies to which said last named sections are applicable, and of sections forty-seven to fifty-five, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and sixty, increase its capital stock to an amount not exceeding five per cent of the par value thereof then outstanding, or may issue bonds, secured by mortgage or otherwise, to such an amount, beyond the amounts fixed and limited by its agreement of association, or by any general or special law, and not more than the department shall determine will be properly required therefor, as the department shall approve as being consistent with the interest of the public and of the stockholders of such company and as not unreasonably reducing the security of any bond previously issued.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 27 - Reduction of Capital Stock; Approval of Department; Liability of Directors

Section 27. On petition of a company for authority to reduce its capital stock, presented in accordance with a vote of the stockholders at a meeting called therefor, the department may, after a hearing and such examination of the financial condition of the company as it considers necessary, authorize such reduction, if it appears to be consistent with the public interest and with the limitations imposed by general or special laws. A certificate of the amount of the reduction and of any terms and conditions imposed shall be forthwith filed by the department in the office of the state secretary. When such reduction is made, no money or other property shall be paid or transferred to the stockholders unless specially authorized by the department, and by vote of the directors of the company taken by yeas and nays at a meeting called therefor. The directors voting therefor shall be jointly and severally liable for the debts or contracts of the company existing when the capital stock is reduced, to the extent of the money or property paid or transferred to the stockholders.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 28 - Issue of Stock and Bonds; Authorization; Certificate of Department; Filing

Section 28. A company shall issue only such amounts of stock and bonds, coupon notes and other evidences of indebtedness payable at periods of more than one year after the date thereof, as the department may from time to time determine to be reasonably necessary for the purpose for which such issue of stock or bonds has been authorized. The department shall render a written decision upon an application for such issue within thirty days after the final hearing thereon, assigning the reasons therefor, and shall, if authorizing such issue, specify the respective amounts of stock, bonds, coupon notes or other evidences of indebtedness as aforesaid, which are authorized to be issued for the respective purposes to which the proceeds thereof are to be applied, and the decision shall, within seven days after it has been rendered, be filed in the office of the department. A certificate of the decision shall, within three days after it has been rendered and before the stock, bonds, coupon notes or other evidences of indebtedness as aforesaid are issued, be filed in the office of the state secretary, and a duplicate thereof delivered to the company. Such company shall not apply the proceeds of such stock, bonds, coupon notes or other evidences of indebtedness as aforesaid to any purpose not specified in such certificate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 29 - Limit of Issue of Bonds, Coupon Notes and Other Evidences of Indebtedness

Section 29. A company, unless expressly authorized by its charter or by special law, shall not issue bonds, coupon notes or other evidences of indebtedness payable at periods of more than one year after their date to an amount which, including the amount of all such securities previously issued and outstanding, computed as provided in section fifty-three of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, exceeds in the whole the amount of its capital stock at the time actually paid in; but this limitation shall not apply to an issue of bonds for the purpose of paying and refunding at maturity bonds lawfully issued prior to June second, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven; nor shall it apply to such of the bonds issued or to be issued under a mortgage as are deposited to retire at or before maturity bonds or other evidences of indebtedness previously issued and outstanding at the date of such mortgage, and as do not exceed the par value of the funded or other debt so to be retired; nor shall it apply to bonds, coupon notes or other evidences of indebtedness payable at periods of more than one year after their date, in addition to, and not exceeding twenty per cent of, the amount so computed, which shall be authorized as consistent with the public interest by the department, and which shall be subject to such requirement as to a sinking fund or other method of retiring said evidences of indebtedness within a period not exceeding ten years, as the department may prescribe, to provide means for, or to fund, the actual cost of replacement or reconstruction of any existing property; and such company shall not issue the securities specified in this section unless authorized by a vote of its stockholders at a meeting called therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 30 - Enforcement of Provisions Relating to Issue of Stocks and Bonds

Section 30. The supreme judicial or superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity, upon the application of the department, the attorney general, any stockholder, or any interested party, to enforce the two preceding sections and all lawful orders and decisions, conditions or requirements of said department made in pursuance thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 31 - Penalty for Improper Issue of Stocks and Bonds

Section 31. A director, treasurer or other officer or agent of a company who knowingly votes to authorize the issue of, or knowingly signs, certifies or issues, stock or bonds contrary to any provision of section twenty-eight or twenty-nine, or who knowingly votes to authorize the application, or knowingly applies the proceeds, of such stock or bonds contrary to any provision of said sections, or who knowingly votes to assume or incur, or knowingly assumes or incurs in the name or behalf of such company, any debt or liability except for legitimate purposes of the company shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 32 - Preferred Stock

Section 32. A company organized under the laws of the commonwealth may, by vote of two thirds in interest of its common stockholders at a meeting duly called therefor, with the approval of the department, and subject to section twenty-eight of this chapter and section fifty-two of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, issue, and from time to time increase, preferred stock of one or more classes, for any lawful purposes for which such companies may issue or increase their capital stock. Each class of preferred stock shall be entitled to the preferences and rights and subject to the restrictions and limitations fixed by such vote as approved by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 33 - Exchange of Common for Preferred; Limitations

Section 33. Any such company may, upon such terms and in such manner as shall be determined by vote of two thirds in amount of its outstanding common capital stock and as shall be approved by the department, issue in lieu of outstanding common shares preferred shares to such number, of such par value and with such preferences, rights, restrictions and limitations and entitled to such rate of preferred dividend as shall so be determined and approved; provided, that the aggregate par value of such preferred stock shall not exceed the aggregate par value of the common stock in exchange for which it is issued.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 34 - Designation of Each Class of Preferred; Record of Proceeding Creating Class; Content of Certificate

Section 34. Each class of preferred stock issued under sections thirty-two to thirty-five, inclusive, shall be designated by a name approved by the department to distinguish it from all other classes of stock of the company. A certified copy of the vote creating, and of the order of the department approving, the creation of any class of preferred stock shall be filed in the office of the department and in the office of the commissioner of revenue. Every certificate of stock issued by such company after the approval by the department of the creation by it of preferred stock shall contain a reference to all votes creating preferred stock and a brief description of the respective preferences, rights and restrictions of each class of such stock.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 35 - Preferred Stock; Voting Powers; Issue, Etc.

Section 35. Preferred stock issued under sections thirty-two to thirty-five, inclusive, shall have the same voting power as the common stock, except that, in any case, there may be such limitations of the voting power of said preferred stock as the department approves and finds consistent with public interest. The aggregate amount at par of preferred stock of all classes issued by a company shall at no time exceed twice the amount at par value of its outstanding common stock, except when such excess shall result from a reduction in the aggregate par value of its outstanding common stock made under either section twenty A or section twenty-seven, and no class of preferred stock shall be created which is not, in a manner approved by the department, made subordinate in respect to dividends or to participation in the proceeds of liquidation to the preferences of every previously created class of preferred stock. Upon any issue of preferred stock the new shares shall, unless the common stockholders with the approval of the department otherwise provide, first be offered to the common stockholders in the manner prescribed in sections fifty to fifty-two, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, and any shares of the preferred stock not duly subscribed and paid for by the common stockholders or their assigns shall be offered in the same manner to the holders of preferred stock of the same class; and any of such preferred shares then remaining untaken, and all of the preferred shares if the common stockholders so determine and the department approves, may be sold in the manner provided by and subject to section fifty-one of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine. In case of any increase in the common stock of the company, holders of preferred stock shall be entitled to have offered to them shares of the new stock in the manner provided in sections fifty to fifty-two, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, whenever the vote creating such preferred stock as approved by the department shall so provide.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 37 - Effect of Issue; Liability of Directors

Section 37. A certificate of stock or scrip issued in violation of the preceding section shall be void; and each director of the company issuing it shall be liable to a penalty of one thousand dollars, to be recovered by indictment in the county where he resides, or, if he resides in no county in the commonwealth, in the county where he is commorant, or the offence was committed; but if any such director proves that, before such issue, he filed his written dissent thereto with the clerk, and at no time voted therefor, he shall not be so liable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 38 - Time to Begin Operation; Extension

Section 38. A company, incorporated under the laws of the commonwealth, may, subject to this chapter and chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, construct, maintain and operate a street railway, but, if such company does not build and put in operation its railway within eighteen months after the date of its certificate of incorporation, its corporate powers shall cease, unless the department, after public notice and a hearing, shall extend said time by a certificate, stating that in its judgment due diligence has been exercised by the company, and that public necessity and convenience required such extension.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 39 - Extension of Railway Into Other Cities and Towns

Section 39. A company, which, by its charter or certificate of incorporation, or by special act, is authorized to construct, maintain and operate a street railway in any city or town in the commonwealth, and which has constructed its railway therein, may, subject to the provisions of the general laws relative to the location, construction and operation of street railways, extend its railway into such other cities and towns in the commonwealth as the department shall, on application of such company, and after public notice and a hearing, certify that the public necessity and convenience require. An attested copy of such certificate shall, within three days after it is granted, be filed by the department in the office of the state secretary.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 40 - Connecting Locations

Section 40. A company whose petition for a location, necessary, in the judgment of the department, to furnish proper transportation facilities between two cities, or two towns, or a city and town, has in whole or in part been granted or refused, or has been neither granted nor refused within three months after the filing thereof, may, within thirty days of such grant or refusal of a location, or the expiration of said three months, apply to the department for such location. If it shall appear at a hearing on said application, after such notice to the board of aldermen or the selectmen, and to all persons who own real estate abutting upon any way in which such location was asked for, by publication or otherwise, as the department orders, that the company has already been granted and has accepted locations for a street railway in two cities, or two towns, or a city and town, adjoining the city or town where such location has been asked for, or has already been granted and has accepted locations for a street railway in two adjoining cities, or two adjoining towns, or an adjoining city and town, and that a location is necessary to connect such existing locations, the department may, if it finds that public necessity and convenience so require, enter a decree granting a connecting location. In granting the location the department may prescribe the appliances and impose the conditions and obligations which are specified or referred to in section seven relative to the granting of original locations. Such location shall be the true location, if, within thirty days after the issue of notice to the company of the entry of said decree, the directors shall file a written acceptance of such location with the department; otherwise, said location shall be void.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 41 - Real and Personal Estate; Stock or Bonds of Other Street Railways

Section 41. A company may purchase and hold real and personal estate necessary or convenient for the operation of its railway; but it shall not, except as provided in section sixty-four, directly or indirectly, subscribe for, take or hold stock or bonds of any such company organized under general laws unless specially so authorized by the general court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 42 - Recreation and Pleasure Resorts; Sale of Alcoholic Beverages

Section 42. A company may, except in Boston, acquire, hold, maintain and equip land for purposes of recreation and for pleasure resorts, provided that the department shall find that the acquisition, equipment and maintenance of such land for such purposes and the cost thereof and other circumstances relating thereto are consistent with the public interest. Such recreation and pleasure resorts shall be subject in the same manner as other places of amusement to the supervision and regulation of the local authorities of the cities or towns where situated, and shall be subject to such further restrictions as the department may from time to time impose. No company shall sell alcoholic beverages, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, or allow them to be sold within the limits of any resort held or maintained by it; nor shall it sell without the approval of the department any land so acquired. No company shall contribute, directly or indirectly, by payment of money or otherwise, except in such cases and to such extent as the department shall first approve, to the establishment, equipment or maintenance of any recreation park or pleasure resort not owned by such company.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 44 - Use of Motor Vehicles Not Running on Rails

Section 44. Any company, with the approval of the department, may acquire, own and operate, for the transportation of passengers or freight, motor vehicles not running upon rails or tracks, but in such operation shall be subject to chapters one hundred and fifty-nine A and one hundred and fifty-nine B, so far as applicable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 45 - Manufacture, Use and Transmission of Electricity

Section 45. A company may, for all purposes necessary or reasonably incident to the construction, maintenance or operation of its railway, generate, manufacture, use and transmit electricity in any city or town where authorized to operate its railway, and may erect and maintain therefore, as a part of its railway, and subject to sections seven, seventy, seventy-one and seventy-seven, relative to the grant and revocation of authority therefor, poles and trolley, feed and stay wires, and other proper devices for, or used in connection with, the transmission of electricity, of materials and workmanship prescribed in the grant of authority therefor, in, over and under any ways and bridges in any such city or town; provided, that authority to erect and maintain the same is granted by the board of aldermen of the city or selectmen of the town, respectively; and may also erect and maintain such poles, wires and other devices upon and over any private land, with the consent of the owners thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 47 - Interchange of Traffic and Cars Between Companies

Section 47. The department may, on petition of a company or of any interested party, after notice and a public hearing, determine the reasonable conditions which shall govern the interchange of traffic and cars between companies, and may, wherever it is reasonable and consistent with the public interest, order such company to receive and convey over its tracks the cars of another such company at such times and over such routes and upon such terms, including reasonable compensation, as the department may prescribe; provided, that a company shall have control of and responsibility for the management and operation of all cars while upon its railway as fully as if it owned them. The department may also recommend such joint rates, fares and charges as are consistent with the provisions of any special charter of any company, specifying at the same time and in every instance the part of the joint rate, fare or charge to which each company affected thereby shall be entitled, and may make such other recommendations as seem appropriate to the circumstances of each particular case.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 48 - Use of Railroad Tracks

Section 48. A company, with the consent of a railroad corporation owning tracks, may, to such extent and subject to such terms and regulations as the department may approve or prescribe, operate cars upon and over such tracks of said railroad corporation as are equipped for operation by the electric system of motive power, and may connect its own tracks with the tracks of such railroad in such manner as may be agreed upon by the two companies and approved by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 49 - Street Sprinkling Cars Upon Railway Tracks

Section 49. A company may allow street sprinkling cars or similar apparatus to be used upon its tracks, may furnish the motive power and use of tracks or other facilities, and may make contracts therefor; but this section shall be operative only to such extent and subject to such regulations and restrictions as the department, having regard to the necessities of public travel, may approve.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 50 - Municipal Street Maintenance Cars Upon Railway Tracks

Section 50. A company may, with the consent of the board of aldermen or the selectmen, convey in cars over its tracks snow, ice, stones, gravel, dirt, or street sweepings, taken from any street or way over or through which its tracks are located, in order to keep said street or way in proper condition for travel, or may convey to any point on its line, or deliver to any connecting line or any other such company, necessary material for use in constructing, grading, repairing or improving any street or way in any city or town, or any state highway, whether on the line of any such company or not, and may make contracts with cities, towns, the department of highways, and with other such companies for the transportation of such material.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 53 - Common Carriers of Newspapers, Baggage, Express Matter and Freight

Section 53. A company, on petition of any interested party, may become a common carrier of newspapers, baggage, express matter and freight, upon such parts of its railway and subject to such orders, rules or regulations as may from time to time be made, established or prescribed by the board of aldermen or the selectmen, in this section called the licensing authorities. Any such petitioner or any company, aggrieved by such orders, rules or regulations, or in case of failure of the licensing authorities of any city or town to act upon such petition within thirty days of its presentation, may appeal to the department, whose decision, after public notice and hearing, shall be made within thirty days of the said appeal and shall be final. All orders, rules or regulations made, established or prescribed as aforesaid shall be enforced in the manner provided in section forty of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine. Any company acting under the authority herein granted shall be subject to all laws relating to common carriers in so far as consistent herewith. The authority conferred upon any company by said licensing authorities by virtue of this section may be revoked at any time by said licensing authorities if, after public notice and hearing, they determine that the public interest so requires; provided, that any company or interested party, aggrieved at such revocation, may appeal to the department, whose decision, after public notice and hearing, shall be made within thirty days of the said appeal and shall be final and shall be enforceable as provided in section forty of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 54 - Operation Outside Limits of Public Way or Bridge

Section 54. Except as provided in this chapter or chapter one hundred and fifty-nine or one hundred and sixty, and except for the purpose of reaching its car barns or repair shops, and of reaching and providing convenient terminals in parks and pleasure resorts situated upon the line of its railway, and of reaching its freight yards and terminals, and of maintaining spurs and sidings, and for other purposes incident to performing the business authorized by the preceding section, a company shall not, unless authorized by special act of the general court, construct or operate any part of its railway outside the limits of a public way or bridge; but such a company which, prior to June fourteenth, nineteen hundred and one, without special legislative authority therefor constructed any part of its railway upon private land, with the consent of the owners thereof, or upon land leased or purchased by such company, or which prior to said date purchased or leased land for the purpose of constructing its railway thereon, or which prior to said date after public notice and a hearing obtained the approval of the board of aldermen of a city or of the selectmen of a town to the construction of a part of its railway upon private land within such city or town, and prior to said date actually with the consent of the owners of the land began, or obtained their consent to begin, such construction, may construct, maintain and operate its railway upon such private land, subject to the provisions of this chapter conferring upon the department control over street railways constructed upon private land.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 55 - Authorization to Operate on Private Land

Section 55. A company, organized, or in process of organization, under the laws of the commonwealth, having first obtained the approval of the board of aldermen of the city or of the selectmen of the town where private land is situated to the construction of its railway thereon, may, for the purpose of avoiding grades and curves in public ways, and for such other purposes incidental to the use of such ways, as the department may in the manner hereinafter provided approve, petition the department for authority to construct and maintain parts of its railway or extension thereof upon such private land outside the limits of such ways. The company in such petition shall set forth the purpose for which such authority is desired in each case, and shall file with the petition a plan, in such form and upon such scale as the department prescribes, of the railway or extension, and of the localities where it is desired to construct the same upon private land, and the department, after public notice and a hearing, if satisfied that public necessity and convenience demand that parts of the railway or extension should be built outside the limits of such ways, substantially on the private land selected, and that the approval of the board of aldermen or the selectmen of the city or town where the land is situated has been obtained as aforesaid, may authorize the petitioner to construct and operate its railway or extension upon and over private land, and for that purpose to purchase or lease private land or rights therein and thereover, in such cases and to such extent as the department deems public necessity and convenience in the construction and operation of the railway or extension require. The department in granting such authority may determine the kind of construction to be used, the grade and alignment of the tracks, and may order such special appliances to be furnished and such safeguards to be adopted in the construction and operation of the railway or extension upon private land as it deems public necessity, convenience and safety demand.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 56 - Certification Permitting Operation on Private Land; Regulation of Operation and Construction

Section 56. A street railway constructed upon private land shall not be opened for public use until the department, after examination, certifies that all laws relative to its construction and all requirements of the department have been complied with, and that it appears to be in a safe condition for operation. The department may, at any time after the opening of a street railway for public use, order such changes and improvements to be made in the construction and operation of any part thereof upon private land as it deems necessary for public safety in the use thereof; and such order shall be complied with by such company.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XXII - Corporations › Chapter 161 - Street Railways › Section 57 - Laws Applicable to Railways Located on Private Land

Section 57. A company, whose railway is constructed in part outside the limits of public ways, shall, in respect of the equipment, use and operation of its railway and transportation thereon, be subject to the laws relative to street railway companies, as fully as if its railway were located wholly within the limits of public ways.