Chap. 457.—An ACT to incorporate the Norma Iron railroad com-
pany.

Approved March 5, 1888.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That.
Evans R. Dick, A. J. May, James A. Walker, George McCall,
George R. Dunn, Henry Fairfax, William A. Dick, and
Charles B. Wright, junior, or such of them as may accept the
provisions of this act, their associates, successors and assigns,
be and they are hereby incorporated and made a body poli-
tic and corporate under the name and style of the Norma
Iron railroad company, and by that name shall be known in
the law, and as such are authorized and empowered to locate,
construct, and operate a line of railroad, commencing at a

oint ator near the property lately owned by the Norma

ron company, in Wythe county, and running thence toa
point on the line of the Norfolk and Western railroad, or any
branch thereof, or on the line or branch of any other rail-
road that is now or hereafter may be located or constructed
in or to Wythe county, or any other county adjacent there-
to, and by such route as may be deemed most suitable by the
directors of said county.

2. The said company shall have perpetual succession and |
have power to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, de- '
fend and be defended in all courts, whether in law or in
equity, and may make and have a common seal, and alter or
renew the same at pleasure, and shall have and possess and
enjoy all the rights and privileges of a corporation or body
politic in the law, and necessary for the purposes of this act.

3. The capital stock of the said company shall not be less :
‘than five thousand dollars, and may from time to time, with
the consent of a majority of its stockholders, be increased to
an amount requisite for the purposes of the company by issue
and sale of shares, the par value of which shall not be less
than fifty dollars, from time to time, under such regulations
as the board of directors of said company shall from time to
time prescribe; and the directors may receive cash, labor,
material, real and personal property suited to the business of
the company, in payment of subscriptions to the capital
stock, at such valuation as may be agreed upon between the
directors and the subscribers, and may make such subscrip-
tions payable in such manner or amounts, at such times as
may be agreed apon with the subscribers.

4. It shall be lawful for the company to acquire by dona- |
tions or purchase, land for right of way, depots, stations, and ‘
other purposes necessary for the successful construction and
operation of its road in any of the counties through which it
is authorized to construct its line.

5. It shall be lawful for said company to borrow money, :
or issue and sell its bonds from time to time, for such sums, '
and on such terms as its board of directors may deem expe-
dient and proper; and to secure the payment of said bonds

by mortgages or deeds of trust upon all or any portion of its
property, railroads, and franchises.

, 6. It shall be lawful for said company to guarantee or
hold the stock or bonds of any mining, manufacturing, or
other corporation of this state, and mining, manufacturing,
or other corporations may guarantee or hold the stock or
bonds of the said company.

, | The said company may acquire by condemnation ac-
cording to the laws of Virginia, the lands required for the
right of way of its railroad, and the necessary stations and
depots for its operation, and may connect or unite its rail-
road with that of any railroad company now or hereafter
constructed in or to any of the counties hereinbefore men-
tioned, or consolidate its stock, property and franchises with
those of any company operating or authorized to operate a
connecting line of railroad, not a competing line, upon such
terms as may be agreed upon by the board of directors of
the companies so uniting or consolidating; and for that pur-
pose power is hereby given to it and to such other company
or companies, to make and carry out such contracts as will
facilitate and consummate such connection or consolidation:
provided, that a copy of every such contract of consolidation
be filed in the office of the board of public works: provided,
that no consolidation of the corporation hereby created, with
any corporation chartered by another state, shall change
their identity or work the dissolution of the corporation here-
by created, but the consolidated company shall remain, as
regards the operation of property in this state, a corporation
of this state.

8. The said company shall be required to commence the
construction of said railroad within two years from the pas-
sage of this act, and to complete the construction of the main-
line within five years thereafter, or otherwise the powers,
privileges, and franchises hereby granted shall be annulled
and become void.

9. The persons first named in this act, or such of them as
shall accept the provisions thereof, shall have the power and
authority of a president and board of directors for the pur-
pose of organizing and all other purposes. They shall
constitute the board of directors for the first year, and
shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected
and qualified. Each stockholder in the company shall, at
all meetings or elections, be entitled to one vote for each
share of stock registered in his name.

10. The board of directors shall be stockholders of said
company; they shall appoint one of their number president,
and may fill any vacancy that may occur in said board, un-
less by removal, in which case the same shall be filled by the
stockholders in general meeting. Whenever twenty-five per
centum of the capital stock shall have been subscribed and
the board of directors shall have elected a president, said
company shall be considered legally organized and may pro-
ceed to the transaction of business.

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11. The board of directors may establish offices and agen-
cies at such places as they may deem proper, but the princi-
pal office of the company shall be located at some point with-
in the limits of the state of Virginia.

12. All taxes due the commonwealth by said company,
shall be paid in lawful money of the United States, and not
in coupons.

13. This act shall be in force from its passage, but the gen-
eral assembly of the state of Virginia reserves to itself the
right to modify, alter, or repeal this act any time hereafter.