CHAP. 72.—An ACT to incorporate the Chesapeake, Shendun
and Western railroad company.

Approved January 22, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That Jed Hotchkiss, H. M. Bell, M. Erskine Miller, R. H.
Catlett, and J. N. Stubbs, and their associates, successors,
and assigns, be, and they are hereby, made and declared a
body politic and corporate by the name and style of the
Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western railroad company.

2. The capital stock of said company shall be one hun-
dred thousand dollars, divided into shares of one hundred
dollars each, and may, from time to time, be increased by
the board of directors to any amount not exceeding ten
million of dollars.

3. The said Chesapeake, Shendun, and Western railroad
company is authorized and empowered to locate, construct.
equip, and operate a railroad of standard gauge, with a
single or double track, commencing at any point it may
select on or between the Potomac and York rivers, and
running thence by the most practicable, eligible and direct
route deemed advisable by the directors of said company,
to such point as it may elect on the the West Virginia
state line. And it shall be Jawful for said company to
construct and maintain lateral or branch roads of stand-
ard or narrow gauge not exceeding twenty miles each in
length, which shall have all the rights and powers, and be
subject to the same restrictions as the main line.

4. The said company shall have power to borrow money
or issue and sell its bonds from time to time on such terms
as the board of directors may deem proper and necessary
in the prosecution of any of its works; and to secure the
payment of said loan or Joans or bonds, the said company
may create one or more mortgages or deeds of trust on the
whole or any part of its property, chartered rights and
franchises.

5. The said company may receive subscriptions to its
capital stock in land, property, materials, and equipment,
at such valuation and upon such terms as may be agreed
upon between the said company and the subscribers, and
may exchange its bonds therefor, and may hold, improve,
sell, or convey at pleasure all Jands so acquired: provided
that said company shall not hold land not needed for the
purposes of its incorporation for a longer period than twen-
ty years.

6. Any county, city, or town on or near the line of rail-
road of said company, or any branch thereof, may sub-
scribe to its capital stock in the mode prescribed by law.

7. The said company shall have power to cross at grade
over or under any other railroad now constructed, or which
shall be hereafter constructed within this state, atany point
on its route subject to the provisions of the general law of
this state; to unite its roads with any of said roads, and
to enter upon the grounds of such railroad companies with
the necessary turnouts, sidings, switches, and conveniences
in furtherance of the objects of its construction, as well as
to facilitate the economical exchange of passengers and
traffic between the respective roads: provided that the ac-
quisition of any of the real estate of another company
shall be in the mode prescribed by the law of this state.

8. It shall be lawful for said company to consolidate
with, or lease or purchase the works, property, franchises,
and privileges of any other railroad company, in or out of
the state of Virginia, whose line of railroad connects, or
will connect with the railroad hereby authorized to be
constructed; and any railroad company heretofore incor-
porated in the state of Virginia, whose line of railroad
connects with, or will connect with the railroad hereby
authorized to be constructed, or which lies along its route,
so as to be used as a part of its main line, or in lieu of
such lateral or branch road as this company is authorized
to construct, is hereby authorized to consolidate with, or
sell to, or lease its works, property, franchises, and privi-
leges to the said Chesapeake, Shundun, and Western rail-
road company: provided, that such consolidation, lease or
purchase, or sale, shall be made only upon such terms and
conditions as shall be agreed upon by a majority of the
stockholders in each of the said companies; and provided
further, that the company hereby incorporated shall never,
by reason of consolidation with any other company, lose
its identity, or cease to be a domestic corporation, subject
to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state.

9. The corporators named in this act shall constitute
the board of directors for the first year, and shall continue
in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified.
They shall have the power and authority of a president and
board of directors for the purpose of organization, and for
all other purposes incidental thereto. They shall elect one
of their number president of the board, and may appoint
such officers as they may deem proper. They shall fill
any vacancy that may occur in the board or in the office
of president, and may receive eubscriptions to the capital
stock of the company. Whenever one hundred thousand
dollars of the capital stock shall have been subscribed,
and the tax on the charter paid, the board of directors
shall proceed to organize the company by the election of
a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and such
other officers and agents as may be required; thereupon
the’said company shall be considered legally organized,
and shall have all the general powers conferred upon cor-
porations and chartered companies by the laws of this
atate, and shall be subject to all the provisions thereof,
except so far as the same are modified, or are inconsistent
with this act.

10. The board of directors of said company is authorized,
at any meeting, when a majority of the directors are
present, if they deem it advisable, to change the name of
said company.

11. All taxes which may be assessed against said com-
pany shall be paid in lawful money of the United States,
and not in coupons; and the general assembly of Virginia
reserves the right to alter or repeal this act any time
hereafter.

12. This act shall be in force from its passage.