Wilson v. Duluth Street Railway Co.
Wilson v. Duluth Street Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Defendant’s charter
The defendant contends that a station at “the end of a line” means the station at the end of the run of any particular cars, while plaintiff contends that it means the station at the end of a particular track. While it is not entirely clear what the court meant by the word “system,” yet it seems to be conceded or assumed by both parties that the instruction was in substantial conformity with plaintiff’s present contention as to the meaning of the term “end of the line.”
A reference to the facts will illustrate the meaning of the parties : Defendant had two parallel tracks on Superior street, which were several miles long. It had a track on Fourth street which oonnected with the Superior street tracks at Third avenue west, three blocks distant from the point on the Superior street tracks .at which the car in question was left standing more than 10 min; utes. This car was one of those called “14th Ave. East Oars,” 'One of the terminal points of the run of these cars was on the Superior street tracks between Fifth and Sixth avenues (the place .at which the car in question was left standing), at which point, on their arrival, they were turned round, and then run back on one of the Superior street tracks to its connection with the Fourth street track, over which it ran to the other terminus of its run. The point, however, on the Superior street track which constituted
Inasmuch as street railways usually have no “station,” properly so called, but receive and discharge passengers at any point along the route of the cars, it is not entirely clear what the legislature meant by that term, especially as there is no other part of the act that tends to throw any particular light on the question. Neither is there anything in the act clearly and positively indicating what the legislature meant by the word “line.” The act, as has been seen, authorizes the defendant to construct a single or double track on every street in the village (now city), thus enabling it to cover the streets with a network of tracks. There is nothing in the act to prevent the defendant from making the end of the “run” of any particular cars at any point on any street it sees fit. Conceding that cars must be run on schedule time, and that for the purpose of receiving passengers, and waiting for the arrival of the schedule time for its departure, it would be necessary for a car to be left standing longer at the terminus of its run than would be required at any intermediate point on its route, yet it is a matter of common knowledge that, under any ordinary circumstances, 10 minutes would be ample time for such purposes, even at the terminus of its run. We attach much importance to the length of time thus allowed, as tending to indicate what exceptions the legislature intended to make to the general rule. The end of a track will usually be out in the suburbs, where no great public inconvenience will result from allowing cars to stand in the street, and where circumstances might often require that they be allowed to stand longer than at other places. It might often be necessary for a car to stand longer than 10 minutes' at or near .a railway station, while waiting for passengers to arrive on incoming trains. These, we think, were the cases which the legislature must have intended to except from the general rule.
Our conclusion, therefore, is that plaintiff’s contention is correct, and that “stations at the end of the lines,” in this statute, means stations at the end of the tracks. This being so, the in
Order affirmed.
Sp. Laws 1881, Ex. Sess., e. 200.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOHN WILSON v. DULUTH STREET RAILWAY COMPANY
- Status
- Published