Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad v. Illinois Central Railroad

Citations

• 113 Ill. 156
• 1885 Ill. LEXIS 657

Syllabus

<p>1. Eminent domain—acquiring right of wary by one railway company across the track of another. The sixth clause of section 19 of the general Railroad law of 1872, confers power upon any railroad corporation formed under that act, to cross, intersect, etc., any other railway before constructed, at any point in its route, and upon the grounds of such other railway company; and provides that if the two corporations can not agree upon the amount of compensation to be made therefor, or the points and manner of such crossings, etc., the same shall be ascertained and determined in the manner provided by law,—which means by a proceeding under the Eminent Domain act.</p> <p>2. The fact that a railway company has acquired a strip of land thirty feet wide across another railway company’s right of way, for a crossing, upon which to lay two tracks, at the expense of the former, by mutual agreement and for a consideration agreed upon, will not preclude the former from obtaining, under the Eminent Domain act, an additional right of way of twenty feet across the latter company’s road when rendered necessary by the increased business of the former road, where there is no restriction of such right in the agreement; and it matters not that such increased business is brought about by its contracts of connection with other railroad companies.</p> <p>3. Where a right of one railway company to cross another company’s road by two tracks has been acquired by purchase, and limited to a right of way thirty feet wide, and it does not appear that the relinquishment for the future of any right of further application for additional facilities of crossing in any way entered into the amount of compensation which was arranged, and the right to lay additional tracks across the same road is sought by condemnation, the company- seeking to condemn will not be required to surrender its rights acquired by the purchase in order that it may have the condemnation sought, and have compensation assessed for