People v. Rome

• Decision Date: 05 October 1886
• Citation: 103 N.Y. 95,8 N.E. 369
• Parties: PEOPLE v. ROME, W. & O. R. CO.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

103 N.Y. 95

8 N.E. 369

PEOPLE

v.ROME, W. & O. R. CO.

Court of Appeals of New York.

October 5, 1886.

The attorney general applied to the special term of the supreme court for a peremptory writ of mandamus, and the following are the material facts alleged in his petition:

That the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company is a railroad corporation, organized under the laws of this state, and was engaged in the operation of a railroad from Rome, Oneida county, to Watertown, Jefferson county, and to points north on the St. Lawrence river, passing through the town of Sandy Creek, and havind a station at Washingtonville; that in February, 1868, the Syracuse & Northern Railroad Company was incorporated, under the general railroad act, to construct, and it subsequently did construct, a railroad from Syracuse to the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, at Washingtonville, and there formed a junction with that road; that, prior to such construction, a map locating the line and termini of the road was duly adopted by the board of directors, and filed, as provided by law, covering the location of its line and northern terminus, as subsequently constructed; that there was also a railroad from Oswego connecting with the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad at Richland, upon which road there was a station called ‘Pulaski Station,’ about four miles west wardly from Richland; that the Syracuse & Northern Railroad also passed through Pulaski station, and thence, about one mile, to Pulaski village, where it had a station, and thence, about five miles, in a northerly direction, to Sandy Creek village, where there was a station, and thence, about a mile, to Washingtonville station; that while that road was thus operated the travel from Washingtonville station southerly to Syracuse was through the villages of Sandy Creek and Pulaski to Pulaski station, and thence southerly.

That before that road was constructed the town of Sandy Creek, under statutory authority, subscribed for $80,000 of the stock of that company, and paid therefor in the bonds of the town issued for that amount; that the statutory consent for the bonding of the town was upon the express condition that the railroad should be constructed through the town of Sandy Creek, and a permanent depot erected at Sandy Creek village; that a mortgage was given upon that road in 1873, and that mortgage was subsequently foleclosed, and the railroad and its franchises were purchased by an individual; that subsequently, in September, 1875, a reorganization of the road was effected under ‘An act to facilitate the reorganization of railroads sold under foreclosure, and providing for the formation of new companies,’ passed April 11, 1884, and a new company, under the name of the Syracuse & Northern Railroad Company, was organized, which was vested with all the rights, privileges, and franchises which at the time of the foreclosure sale belonged to or were vested in the Syracuse & Northern Railroad Company; that subsequently the Syracuse & Northern Railroad became consolidated with the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad under chapter 917 of the Laws of 1869, and the latter company took possession, and assumed control, of the road, and until September 5, 1877, operated the same from Syracuse, to and through the villages of Pulaski and Sandy Creek, to Washingtonville; that the consolidation agreement recited that the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company owned and operated a railroad from Rome to Ogdensburg, and leased a road from Oswego to Richland junction; that the Syracuse & Northern Railroad Company owned and operated a railroad from Syracuse to a connection with the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, at Washingtonville, and that thus the railroads formed a continuous line of railroad between the city of Syracuse and the points and places to which the railroads of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company did and were authorized to extend; that soon after the defendant ceased to operate that portion of the Syracuse & Northern road lying between the Oswego branch of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, at Pulaski station and Washingtonville, and removed the track on that section of the road, as well as the station-houses at the villages of Pulaski and Sandy Creek; that since that time such abandonment has continued, and still exists; that the junction formerly maintained at Washingtonville has been changed, with its attendant local advantages, to Richland; that such abandonment was and continued to be a matter of serious damage to the people of the state of New York, and especially to that portion of the people of this state who were residents and tax-payers of the town of Sandy Creek, their property and business interests, and compelling them, when desirous of travel to the village of Pulaski and city of Syracuse, to adopt a circuitous route, ‘involving more or less change of cars, transfer, and delay,’ for which they have no remedy for damages as law.

That by chapter 353 of the Laws of 1882 the legislature enacted that there should be created in this state, in the manner and form therein referred to, a board of railroad commissioners, with certain powers and duties therein mentioned; that, in pursuance of the provisions of that act, complaint in due form of the abandonment and proceedings above stated was made against the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company, to which complaint the company filed an answer; that a hearing was had thereon before the board, and, after due deliberation, it, on the twenty-first day of April, 1884, adjudged and determined as follows: ‘The judgment of the board is that the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company had no right or authority to abandon the portion of the Syracuse & Northern Road in question, and that in so doing it has violated the laws of the state, and has neglected, and now neglects, to comply with the terms of chapter 140 of the Laws of 1850, and its amendments, under which the Syracuse & Northern Railroad was created; that in so doing, and in running its trains via Richland junction, it usurps authority conferred by no act or law of this state. The board hereby notifies the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company of said violation, neglect, and usurpation, and recommends that said company proceed, within a reasonable time, to and do rebuild, restore, and operate said abandoned portion of its road hereinbefore particularly described;’ that a copy of the determination of the board was thereafter served upon the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company, but that it failed to comply with the recommendation of the board; and that, thereafter, on or about the fifteenth day of November, 1884, the board of railroad commissioners transmitted, in pursuance of the provisions of the act of 1882, to the attorney general, a copy of the proceedings, and its determination in the above matter.

The application for the mandamus was opposed by the defendant, upon an affidavit of its general manager, in which he denied that the alleged abandonment by it of a portion of a former line ‘has been or continues to be a matter of serious damage to the people of the state of New York, and especially to that portion of the people of the state who are residents and tax-payers of the town of Sandy Creek, their property and business interests,’ and stated that, on the contrary, the present lines operated by the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company furnished greatly increased facilities to the people of the state of New York, as well as to the people of the town of Sandy Creek, above those which were enjoyed by that community at any time prior to the last two years; that it is now far more convenient for the people of the town of Sandy Creek to reach their principal markets, the cities of Oswego, Syracuse,...