Chap. 74.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to incorporat
the Blue Ridye railroad company.

Approved January 28, 18%,

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the ac
entitled an act to incorporate the Blue Ridge railway company, ay
proved February the fifteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, be
and the same is hereby, amended and re-enacted so as to read a
follows:

§ 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That Wil
liam Smythe, O. H. Dolph, Winfield Scott, J. W. Williams, J. E
Hawley, W. T. James, S. Scott, and B. G. Howard, or such of then
as may accept the provisions of this act, and such other persons an
corporations as they may associate with them, and their successor
and assigns, shall be, and they are hereby, constituted and ordaine
a body corporate and politic by the name of Blue Ridge railway com
pany ; shall have all the powers, rights, privileges and franchises, con
venient or necessary to locate, construct, maintain, equip and operat
a railroad to be known as the Blue Ridge railroad company. It may
be narrow or standard gauge, operated by steam or electricity, fron
some point on the Norfolk and Western railroad, from the city o
Roanoke to Radford, and such route as deemed suitable by the boarc
of directors of said company through Roanoke, Montgomery, Floyc
and Carroll counties, or either Roanoke or Montgomery county
through Floyd county to Jacksonville; thence westward to Hillsville,
in Carroll county; thence westward to Independence, in Grayson
county. The road may be run along, parallel, across and upon the
state roads and turnpikes if they deem it proper in said counties, by
and with the consent of the county judge of the county, or the board
of supervisors of the county, over the county roads in their county,
and by the name of the 'Blue Ridge railroad shall be known in law.

§ 2. The said company shall have perpetual succession, and have
power to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be
defended in all courts whether in law or equity, and may make and
have a common seal, alter or renew the same at pleasure, and shall
have posession and enjoy all the rights and privileges of corporation
or body politic in the land and all that is necessary for the purppses
of this act.

§ 3. Capital stock of said company shall] not be less than two
thousand dollars, and may from time to time be increased not exceed-
ing eight hundred thousand dollars, divided into shares of one hun-
dred dollars each, by issuing and sale of shares from time to time
for such sums and terms, under such regulations as the board of di-
rectors of said company shall from time to time prescribe, and the
directors may receive cash, labor, materia], real or personal property,
loans, work or other means available for its purpose in payment of
subscription to capital stock, at such valuation, as may be agreed upon
between the directors and subscribers, and may make such subscrip-
tions payable in such manner or amounts and at such times as may
be agreed upon wifh directors and subscribers. It shall be lawful
for said company to borrow money and issue and sell its bonds from
time to time for such sums and on such terms as its board of direc-
tors may deem expedient and proper in the prosecution of any of its
works, and may secure the payment of said bonds by mortgages or
deeds of trust upon all or any of its property, real and personal and
mixed, its covenants, contracts and privileges, and its chartered
rights and franchises, including its franchise to be a corporation, and
it may, as the business of the company may require, sell, lease, con-
vey and encumber the same. The said company is authorized and
empowered to locate, construct, equip and operate lateral or branch
roads or tramways from any point on its line of railroad not exceed-
ing twenty miles in length to any springs or banks, mines or other
operations in said county or counties adjacent thereto, or to connect
the said line with that of any other railroad now or hereafter to be
constructed in or to any of said counties; and the said company,
may connect or unite its said road with that of any other company
or consolidate or merge its stock, property and franchises with those
of any other company operating or authorized to operate a connect-
ing line of railroad, upon such terms as may be agreed upon between
the company so uniting or connecting, merging or consolidating, and
for that purpose authority 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, merger or consolidation :
provided that a copy of every such contract of consolidation and
merger shall be filed in the office of the board of public works.
§ 4. The said company may acquire by condemnation, according
to the laws of Virginia, the lands required for the right of way of its
railroad and the necessary stations and depots for its operations, and
may connect or unite its railroad with that of any other railroad
company. Any county, town or city along the line of said railroad,
or any county, town or city adjacent to another county throush
which such line passes, or any county, town or city benefited by said
railroad may, pursuant to the laws of Vi irginia, subscribe to the capi-
tal stock of said railroad. The said company is hereby authorized
to subscribe to the capital stock of any connecting railroad company
which is not a parallel or competing line, or to any mining, manu-
facturing, real estate investment company situated on their own
lines or contiguous thereto.

§ 5. It shall be lawful for the said company to guarantee or hold
the bonds or stock of any mining, manufacturing or other corpora-
tions of this state, and mining, manufacturing or other corporations
may guarantee or hold the stock or bonds of the said company.

§ 6. The said company shall be required to commence the con-
struction of said railroad within two years from the passage of this
act, and to complete the construction of its main line within five
years after; otherwise the powers, privileges and franchises hereby
granted shall be ipso facto void.

§ 7. 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 purpose of organization;
open books and receive subscriptions for the capital stock, and by
grace, five days’ notice to subscribers, the time and place of meet-
ing to organize, shall proceed at the time and place to organize,
and for all other purposes. They 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 registered stock in his name.

§ 8. The board of directors shall be stockholders of said company,
and shall appoint one of their number president, and fill any vacan-
cies that may occur in said board, unless by removal, in which case
the same shall be filled by the stockholders in general meeting.
Whenever ten per centum of the capital stock shall have been sub-
scribed, and the board of directors shall have elected a president
said company shall be considered legally organized, and may proceed
to the transaction of business.

§ 9. No stockholder in said company shall be held liable or made
responsible for its debts and liabilities in a larger or further sur
than the amount of any unpaid balance due the said company fo:
stock subscribed for by said stockholder.

§ 10. The board of directors may establish offices and agencies a
such places as they may deem proper, but the principal administra.
tion offices of the company shall be located at some point within the
state of Virginia.

§ 11. The said company, by the acceptance of this charter, hereby
agrees to pay all taxes, dues and demands due the state that may
hereafter be lawfully assessed against it in lawful money of the
United States, and not in coupons.

2. This act shall be in force from its passage, and shall be subject
to amendment, modification or repeal at the pleasure of the general
assembly.