FOREST LAWS CONCERNING ILROADS f-ROM THE FORF^^r [ \'^ '^ OF THE .TH OF MASSACHUSETTS IK WM. PANE STATE FORESTER iHOUSE . BOSTON, MASS. VV' ;r .t?:^. /' iv-,--"^-:: FOREST LAWS CONCERNING RAILROADS EXTRACTS FROM THE FOREST LAWS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS FRANK WM. PANE STATE FORESTER STATE HOUSE . BOSTON, MASS. v^b\.-\ r< D. OFft WAR 14 1908 LAND ADJOINING RAILROADS AND POWERS AND DUTIES OF RAILROADS Spark- Arrester. Must Remove Inflammable Material 1907, 431, sec. 1. Every corporation operat- ing a steam railroad within this Commonwealth shall, subject to the approval of the board of railroad commissioners, install and maintain a spark-arrester on every engine in its service in which wood, coke or coal is used as fuel, and shall, between the first day of April and the first day of December in each year, keep the full width of all of its locations over which such engines are operated, to a point two hundred feet distant from the centre line on each side thereof, clear of dead leaves, dead grass, dry bush or other inflammable material, and shall not at any time leave any deposit of fire, hot ashes or live 3 RAILROAD FOREST LAWS coals upon its locations in the immediate vicinity of woodlands or grass lands, and shall post in stations and other conspicuous places within its location and right of way such notices and warn- ing placards as are furnished to it for the purpose by the state forester : provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any railroad corporation from piling or keeping upon its location or right of way cross-ties or other material necessary for the maintenance and oper- ation of its railroad. May Clear Land Adjoining Location 1907, 431, sec. 2. Any railroad corporation may, upon giving notice according to the pro- visions of this section, enter upon unimproved land adjoining any location or right of way upon which it operates engines burning wood, coke or coal, and may there at its own expense and subject to the direction of the forest warden, or the officer or board having his powers, in the city or town in which the land is situated, clear such land of dead leaves, dead grass and dead wood 4 RAILROAD FOREST LAWS to a distance of one hundred feet from the tracks, without thereby becoming liable for trespass : provided^ that no railroad corporation shall, under the provisions of this section, do any acts on unimproved land outside its location or right of way, unless it has within two mouths given fourteen days' notice in writing by mail or other- wise to the occupant of the land, and to the owner thereof, if he resides or has a usual place of business in the city or town in which it is situated, and if the land is unoccupied and the owner does not reside or have a usual place of business in the city or town, then, unless the rail- road corporation has within two months published notice of its purpose once in three successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county in which the land is situated, and unless it has within three days given at least twenty-four hours' notice to the forest warden [or the officer or board having his powers], in the city or town in which the land is situated of the location of the land which it intends to enter under the pro- visions of this section, and of the time at which it intends to enter the same ; and provided^ 5 RAILROAD FOREST LAWS further^ that no notice hereby required shall be valid unless it sets forth the provisions of this section. Railroad Fire Signal 1907, 431, sec. 3. Any engineer, conductoi or other employee on a train who discovers a fire burning uncontrolled on lands adjacent to the tracks shall forthwith cause a fire signal to be sounded from the engine, which shall consist oi one long and three short whistle blasts repeated several times, and shall notify the next sectionmen whom the train passes, and the next telegraph station, of the existence and loca- tion of the fire. The provisions of this sectior shall not affect the authority conferred upon th( board of railroad commissioners by the provision? of section one hundred and forty-eight of Part IT. of chapter four hundred and sixty- three of th( acts of the year nineteen hundred and six. Duties of Railroad Employees 1907, 431, sec. 4. Sectionmen or other em- ployees of a railroad corporation who receive 6 RAILROAD FOREST LAWS notice of the existence and location of a fire burning on land adjacent to the tracks shall forthwith proceed to the fire and shall use all reasonable efforts to extinguish it : provided, that they are not at the time employed in labors im- mediately necessary to the safety of tracks or to the safety and convenience of passengers and the public. Duty of Corporation 1907, 431, sec. 5. Railroad corporations shall inform their employees as to their duties under this act and shall furnish them with the appro- priate facilities for reporting and extinguishing such fires. Proviso as to Park Lands 1907, 431, sec. 6. Nothing in this act shall be construed to give any railroad corporation power to enter upon, or to interfere in the man- agement or care of, any public park or reservation. 7 RAILROAD FOREST LAWS SPECIAL LIABILITY OF RAILROADS Railroads Liable for Fire and May- Procure Insurance R. L. Ill, sec. 270. Every railroad corpora- tion and street railway company shall be liable in damages to a person or corporation whose build- ings or other property may be injured by fire communicated by its locomotive engines, and shall have an insurable interest in the property upon its route for which it may be so held liable, and may procure insurance thereon in its own behalf. If it is held liable in damages, it shall be entitled to the benefit of any insurance effected upon such property by the owner thereof, less the cost of premium and expense of recovery. The money received as insurance shall be de- ducted from the damages, if recovered before they are assessed ; and if not so recovered, the policy of insurance shall be assigned to the cor- poration which is held liable in damages, and it may maintain an action thereon. 8