Chap. 984.—An ACT to incorporate the Atlantic and Western railroad company.

Approved March 4, 1898.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That E. A. Catlin,
William J. Payne, D. Q. Eggleston, E. W. Saunders, H. M. Turner,
W. H. Hale, Edmund Parr, Wingfield Scott, S. T. Turner, B. S. Pedigo,
J. P. Profit, R. O. Harvey, J. W. Simmons, Peter Willis, W. H. Suther-
land, W. S. Tipton, Dexter Goad, R. G. Wilkinson, B. N. Hatcher, S.
T. English, E. F. Daniel, A. C. Painter, J. B. Waugh, J. W. Vaughan,
C. Phipps, W. S. Hale, F. M. Young, S. F. Dobyns, James Wilkinson,
E. W. Early, or any five of them who may accept the provisions of this
act, their associates and successors be, and they are hereby, made a body
politic and corporate under the name and style of the Atlantic and
Western railroad company, under which name it may sue and be sued,
plead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted with, shall have
perpetual succession and may make and have a corporate seal and alter
and renew the same at pleasure, and may make by-laws and regulations
for the government of said company and its employees not inconsistent
with the laws of this commonwealth.

2. It shall be lawful for said Atlantic and Western railroad company
to construct, operate and maintain, in whole or in part, a line of railway
of standard or narrow gauge, with single or double track, beginning at
Rocky Mount, Virginia, and running in a westerly direction through
Franklin and Floyd counties, and from thence by the most feasible route
to a point on the Tennessee or Kentucky line, as may be found most
advantageous by actual survey. Beginning at the junction of the Frank-
lin and Pittsylvania railroad with the Southern railway between Danville
and Lynchburg said railroad may run in an easterly direction to some
point on the Atlantic and Danville railroad.

3. In order to secure a continuous line of railroad, to be operated
under one management without change of cars or break of bulk, said
company may acquire the rights, privileges, property, and franchises of
other chartered railroad companies connecting with its line in this‘and
other states, or which may hereafter be chartered, by exchanging ita
stock or by purchase or lease, and it may merge, and for the purpose
aforesaid consolidate the same or any of them with the said Atlantic and
Western railroad company on such terms as may be agreed upon by the
contracting parties, and may adopt another name for the consolidated
company, full power and authority being hereby given such other com-
panies to make and carry out such consolidation and merger, but said
company shall never by reason of such merger or consolidation with any
company in this or other states cease to be a domestic corporation.
Power is hereby given, and it shall be lawful for the Franklin and Pitt-
sylvania railroad company to dispose of its righte, privileges, property,
and franchises to said Atlantic and Western railroad company, and it
shall be lawful for the county of Franklin by and with the consent of
the board of supervisors of said county to dispose of and transfer by
lease or sale its interests in said Franklin and Pittsylvania railroad com-
pany to said Atlantic and Western railroad company.

4. Said company or its successors may from time to time issue and
sell its common and preferred stock in shares of fifty dollars each, or one
hundred dollars each, as may be deemed most advantageous to the in-
terests of the company, to an amount not exceeding fifteen million dol-
lars, and upon such terms and at such price as may be authorized by the
stockholders.

5. The said company may borrow money for its needs, may issue and
sell its bonds in whole or in part, and may secure the same by mort-
gages or deeds of trust upon its property and franchises, or any part
thereof.

6. To furnish a basis for raising capital it shall be lawful for said com-
pany or its successor to receive grants and subscriptions in lands, coal,
iron, timber, material, and labor or services at their fair value, upon such
terms as may be agreed on with the board of directors of said company,
and it may make payment for same in its stock or bonds, and may hold
or sell the same at pleasure.

7. For the purpose of aiding in the construction of said railroad, it
shall be lawful for any county, city, or town, by a vote of a majority of
the registered voters of such county, city, or town to subscribe to the
stock or bonds of said company, and such counties, cities, or towns are
hereby empowered to make such subscription in the usual mode pre-
scribed by law. It shall be lawful for any railroad company or other
incorporated company to subscribe to the stock of, or aid in the con-
struction of said Atlantic and Western railroad, and may acquire the
bonds of said railroad company. Anycounty, in order to encourage the
construction of said railroad, may rebate the taxes of said company for
a period not exceeding five years.

8. For the purpose of developing industries along its line, the said
company may own and develop any beds of coal or mineral, and may
subscribe to or guarantee the stock or bonds of any mining, manufac-
turing or development company, or loan money to such companies for
the establishment of such industries.

9. The said company shall have power to cross at grade, over or under
any other railroad now constructed, or which shall hereafter he con-
structed, at any point on its route, in the manner prescribed by the gen-
eral law of this state; to unite ite road with any of said roads, and to
enter upon the grounds of any such railroad companies with the neces-
sary sidings, switches and conveniences to facilitate the economical ex-
change of passengers and traflic between the respective roads; all of such
to be done in the mode prescribed by the law of this state.

10. No stockholder shall ever be held liable for the indebtedness of
said company in a greater sum than may be due by him on stock sub-
scribed for or purchased by him at the agreed price therefor.

11. The directors of said company shall be stockholders, and the
directors shall elect from their number a president and one or more vice-
presidents; they shall be elected and their number fixed by the stock-
holders in their annual meetings, and they shall hold their oflice until
their successors are elected, and they may fill any vacancy in their board;
each stockholder shall be allowed to cast one vote, either in person or by
proxy, for each share of stock held by him.

12. In organizing said company the persons first named in this act
shall constitute its first board of directors, and shall serve until its first
meeting of stockholders, and three or more of said incorporators may
act, and may receive subscriptions to the capital stock at any time and
place; and when fifty thousand dollars is subscribed they shall convene
the stockholders and organize said company. At said meeting one of
their number shall preside, and the chairman and secretary of such meet-
ing shall certify on the books of the company to the legal organization of
said company. Said company shall begin the work of constructing its
railroad within two years from the passage of this act, and shall complete
same within five vears from the beginning of construction.

13. All taxes which may he assessed against said company shall be
paid in lawful money of the United States.

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