Erie v. Pennsylvania Railroad

Citations

• 246 Pa. 238
• 92 A. 192
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 501

Syllabus

<p>Railroads — Municipalities—Grant of land for railroad purposes — Estate upon condition — Waiver of conditions — Ground granted but not used for railroad purposes — Question for jury— Ejectment.</p> <p>Councils of the City of Erie in 1853 passed a resolution giving certain land owned by the city to a railroad company on condition that the land should be devoted to its proper colórate uses, and that the city should be the terminus of the railroad, and that the railroad company should build a pier within two years. The railroad company undertook the .building of the pier and spent a large sum of money in its construction, but for some reason not explained the pier was not completed. The work that was done on the pier was done within the two year limit. In 1859, the pier not having been completed city councils voted to execute a deed conveying the property to the railroad company and this was done. Nothing was contained in the deed concerning the building of the pier, except as it appeared in the recital of the resolution of 1853. For sixty years the railroad company kept its terminus in the city and devoted a portion of the property to railroad purposes, but made no use of the remainder of, the ground. Meld, (1) that the railroad company took an estate upon condition subject to defeasance for condition broken; (2) that the city by the deed of 1859, the assessment of taxes for a long period of years, and the recognition of the title of the railroad company during all that time, waived the condition of the requirement of the building of the pier; (3) that the railroad company had a prima facie title to the whole of the tract, but this was only a prima facie title, and if the pity could show that the necessities of the failroad company did not require the entire tract for its corporate purposes, the right to re-enter and take possession of so much of the land as a jury might find was not necessary for the corporate uses of the railroad company clearly existed, and that