Article X of the

Texas Constitution The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that establishes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of Texas. The current document was adopted on Febr ...

of 1876 covers

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

companies and the creation of the

Railroad Commission of Texas The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil industry, oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas indus ...

. The

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

later created the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

to regulate railroads, and eight of the nine sections (all but section 2) of Article X were repealed in 1969 as "deadwood".

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 A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...

, 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

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 Section 2 is the only one to be successfully amended, and the only one that was not repealed in 1969 (notwithstanding that the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 The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Intersta ...

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 The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

personal property property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...

. Section 5 prohibited the consolidation or common control of parallel railroads for

anti-competitive Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws differ among state and federal laws to ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usuall ...

purposes. The

Southern Pacific Company Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

was required to give up control of the

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of Texas in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of San Antonio as a direct route from the city to Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast. It was eventual ...

due to this section. 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

street railway A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

can be chartered. 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 of a

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

to pass through that seat if the citizens donated the

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

and land for a

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, unless

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prevented such a routing.

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

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

James S. Hogg James Stephen "Jim" Hogg (March 24, 1851March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman, and the List of Governors of Texas, 20th Governor of Texas. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of the conservativism, conservative New ...

against the railroads controlled by

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...

(

International and Great Northern Railroad International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway, and

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

, all leased to the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

). 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 The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. From its starting point in Galveston, Texas, the railroad eventually extended northwestwards across the state to Sweetwater and northwards via ...

Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway The Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway (P&SF) is a now-defunct railroad company that was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF), operating primarily in the Texas Panhandle. History Chartered November 2, 1886 as The Southern ...

* Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway:

Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway The Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway was a Texas subsidiary of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The railroad was chartered in 1902 with intention to construct a railway from Fort Worth, Texas to Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ...

Colorado and Southern Railway The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was absorbed into the Burli ...

Fort Worth and Denver City Railway The Fort Worth and Denver Railway , nicknamed "the Denver Road", was a Class I railroad, class I Rail transport in the United States, American railroad company that operated in the northern part of Texas from 1881 to 1982, and had a profound influ ...

* El Paso and Southwestern Company:

El Paso and Southwestern Railroad of Texas EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, started in 1900 by American railroad entrepreneur Arthur Edward Stilwell, was the predecessor of the Chihuahua al Pacífico railroad in Mexico. It was intended to reach the Pacific Ocean at Topolobampo ...

: Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway of Texas *

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and ...

Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway The Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway was the Texas subsidiary of the Kansas City Southern Railway, operating railroad lines in the states of Arkansas and Texas, with headquarters at Texarkana, Texas. On June 18, 1885, the Texarkana and Northern R ...

Louisiana Railway and Navigation Company Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

Louisiana Railway and Navigation Company of Texas Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

Louisiana and Arkansas Railway The Louisiana and Arkansas Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The railroad's main line extended 332 miles, from Hope, Arkansas to Shreveport and New Orleans. Branch lines served Vidalia, Louis ...

: 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 New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway The Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway was an railroad that ran from Beaumont, Texas to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston. It passed through small southeast Texas communities such as Hull, Kenefick, and Huffman. As part of the Gulf Coast L ...

, St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway * St. Louis-San Francisco Railway:

St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway The St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway was a subsidiary railway to the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco) operating 159 miles of railway line in Texas. The Frisco, including the subsidiary, formed a large X-shaped system across the ...

Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway, chartered under the laws of Texas on June 1, 1885, was part of a plan conceived by Buckley Burton Paddock and other Fort Worth civic leaders to create a transcontinental route linking New York, Fort Worth ...

* St. Louis Southwestern Railway:

St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas The St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas , operated the lines of its parent company, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway within the state of Texas. The St. Louis Southwestern, known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply the Cotton ...

Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now a ...

Houston East and West Texas Railway The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

Houston and Texas Central Railroad The Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC), was an 872-mile (1403-km) railway system chartered in Texas in 1848, with construction beginning in 1856. The line eventually stretched from Houston northward to Dallas and Denison, Texas. with branch ...

Texas and New Orleans Railroad The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated of railroad in 1934; by 1961, remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific. Location The Morgan's Louisiana and ...

Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway The Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway, its affiliate the Northwestern Railway Company of Texas, and two subsidiaries collectively constructed a railway running from Wichita Falls, Texas through Altus, Oklahoma to Forgan, Oklahoma, with a bran ...

: Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway of Texas The

approved a lease of the Texarkana and Fort Smith to the Kansas City Southern in 1933. Texas took the case to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

but lost, and section 3 was effectively nullified. The Fort Worth and Denver, the last of the Texas subsidiaries, merged into the

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...

in 1982.

References

*Constitution of the State of Texas
1876
* Texas Legislative Council
Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876
April 2008, pp. 81–82 {{DEFAULTSORT:Article 10 Of The Texas Constitution Rail transportation in Texas Texas law United States railroad regulation Railroad Commission of Texas