Curry v. Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler & New Castle Railway Co.

Citations

• 251 Pa. 340
• 96 A. 821
• 1916 Pa. LEXIS 471

Syllabus

<p>Street railways — Construction of power line — Authority—Charter-— Municipal ordinance — Bights of property owner — Bill in equity — Injunction.</p> <p>1. A street railway company is required to describe the route for its proposed railway in its application for a charter, naming the streets, highways and bridges over which it intends to construct, maintain and operate its railway; the franchise of the Commonwealth limits the railway company to the operation of the road on the route described in the charter.</p> <p>2. The Act of June 1,1907, P. L. 368, authorizing street railway companies to occupy lands for certain purposes, empowers such companies to construct transmission lines which may be divergent from the line of the railway, only where the routes for such lines are properly set forth in its charter route or in extensions thereof.</p> <p>3. A street railway company wag properly enjoined from constructing a transmission line to convey electric power, at the instance of a property owner affected, where on the hearing it showed as authority to construct such line an ordinance granting the consent of the local municipal authorities, but failed to show the essential prerequisite of authority from the Commonwealth designated in the company’s charter or in extensions to its charter route. In such ease the burden was upon the defendant to show that it had the right to construct the line.</p>