Article X of the Texas Constitution
Article X of the
Sections
Section 1 gave companies the right to build railroads in Texas and to connect with others at the state line, and the responsibility to act as a common carrier, transporting passengers and freight "without delay or discrimination".
Section 2 expands on the common-carrier provisions of section 1, and charges the legislature with passing laws to enforce this. It was amended in 1890 to allow the legislature to delegate this responsibility to an agency, leading to the creation of the Railroad Commission of Texas in 1891. Section 2 is the only one to be successfully amended, and the only one that was not repealed in 1969 (notwithstanding that the Surface Transportation Board has jurisdiction over all common-carrier railroads in the USA, even those physically located within only one state, and that the section has little force of law).
Section 3 required every railroad operating in Texas to maintain an office in the state.
Section 4 classified rolling stock as personal property.
Section 5 prohibited the consolidation or common control of parallel railroads for
Section 6 prohibited the consolidation of railroads organized in Texas with those organized outside the state.
Section 7 required the consent of local authorities before a
Section 8 required pre-existing railroad companies to accept Article X in order to benefit from future legislation.
Section 9 required any railroad that passes within 3 miles (4.8 km) of a
Requirement for a Texas office
The legislature decided in 1853 that all railroads operating in Texas should be headquartered in the state, and that was included in the 1876 constitution as section 3 of Article X. When outside companies began acquiring control of Texas railroads in the 1880s, they were required to retain the Texas corporations. Since only Texas companies could operate in the state, the outside companies could not lease the Texas companies, as decided by the courts in an 1888 lawsuit brought by
These separate Texas companies sometimes took the name of the parent, but often retained their original names. Systems that entered Texas and their local companies included:
- Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway: Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway
- Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway: Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway
- Fort Worth and Denver City Railway
- El Paso and Southwestern Railroad of Texas
- Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway of Texas
- Kansas City Southern Railway: Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway
- Louisiana Railway and Navigation Company: Louisiana Railway and Navigation Company of Texas
- Louisiana and Arkansas Railway: Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas Railway
- Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway: Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway of Texas
- Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway: Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway of Texas
- New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railroad: Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway, St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway
- St. Louis-San Francisco Railway: St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway, Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway
- St. Louis Southwestern Railway: St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas
- Houston and Texas Central Railroad, Texas and New Orleans Railroad
- Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway of Texas
The
References
- Constitution of the State of Texas: 1876, 2008[permanent dead link]
- Texas Legislative Council, Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876, April 2008, pp. 81–82
- ^ Nancy Beck Young: San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved November 2008.
- ^ a b George C. Werner: Railroads from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved November 2008.
- ^ Cecil Harper, Jr.: Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved November 2008.