Title 37, Title 37 — Public Utilities

Mortgages; issue of corporate bonds; provisions as to bonds. Every railroad company organized under the general incorporation laws of this state shall have power and is hereby authorized to mortgage or execute deeds of trust, in whole or in part, of the real and personal property…

Consolidation; mode of effecting. Whenever a line of railroad or any railroad company in this state, or any portion of said line, has been constructed so as to connect with any two (2) or more of such roads, said companies are hereby authorized to consolidate themselves into a si…

Consolidation; when consummated. Upon making the agreement mentioned in the preceding section, in the manner required therein, and filing a duplicate or counterpart thereof in the office of the secretary of state, the said two (2) or more corporations (mentioned or referred to in…

Consolidation; effects; rights of creditors. Upon the election of the first board of trustees of the corporation created by the agreement pursuant to W.S. 37-9-102, and by the provisions of W.S. 37-9-101 through 37-9-105, all and singular the rights and franchises of each and all…

Company may subscribe to capital stock of other railroad company. Any railroad company incorporated under the general laws of this state may at any time by means of subscription to the capital stock of any other company or otherwise, aid such company in the construction of its ro…

Aid to other companies; extension outside of state; sale or lease to other railroads permitted; foreign railroads; taxation. Any railroad company now or hereafter incorporated pursuant to the laws of this state, or of the United States, or of any state or territory of the United …

Lands heretofore taken may be acquired. Any railroad company which may have prior to January ninth, A.D. 1891, taken any of the lands of this state for right-of-way and depot grounds shall, upon filing a plat and survey thereof, with the director, and payment for depot grounds, b…

Rights-of-way for oil and gas companies. W.S. 37-9-202 and 37-9-203 shall also apply to all gas and petroleum oil corporations, companies and individuals, for the right-of-way ten (10) feet wide, through the school and other lands, over which the state has control, for the purpos…

Plats of survey to be filed. The secretary of state is hereby authorized to transfer to the office of the director all plats of survey which may have been filed in the office of the secretary of state under the provisions of W.S. 37-9-203 and 37-9-204, and from and after the pass…

Fireguards. It shall be the duty of every railroad corporation operating its line of road, or any part of it, within this state, upon its right-of-way upon each side of its roadbed, to maintain annually an effective fireguard upon order of and satisfactory to specifications set f…

Fireguards; penalty. (a) Any railroad corporation failing to comply with the provisions of W.S. 37-9-301 shall be liable to pay a penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each and every mile, or fractional mile, of any strips of land it neglects to treat as directed by the…

Fireguards; liability for damages. (a) Every railroad corporation operating its line of road, or any part of it, within this state, shall be liable for all damages by fire resulting from or caused by operating any such line of road together with suppression costs, established by …

Fences and cattle guards; generally. (a) All railway corporations, owning or operating a line of railway within the state, shall construct, maintain and keep in repair on each side of the track thereof, a sufficient fence which meets or exceeds department of transportation fencin…

Fences and cattle guards; liability for damages. Any corporation operating a railway and failing to fence the same and to construct and maintain suitable cattle guards as required by W.S. 37-9-304, shall be liable to the owner or owners of any livestock killed or injured by reaso…

Injury to stock; definitions. For the purpose of this article the terms "livestock" and "stock" shall include all classes of horses, asses, mules, cattle, sheep, swine, buffalo, beefalo, llamas and other domesticated animals.

Injury to stock; notice to owner; procedure if owner unknown. Any railroad corporation injuring or killing any livestock, by running any engine, car or cars, over or against the livestock, shall immediately notify the owner or owners, a brand inspector or the department of transp…

Injury to stock; owner to make sworn statement of value. Any person owning any livestock which is killed or injured, in the manner set forth in W.S. 37-9-307, shall within thirty (30) days after the person is notified of the killing or injuring, as provided in W.S. 37-9-307, furn…

Payment of claims; time; interest; costs. (a) Any railroad corporation liable for the payment of claims for damages from fire and livestock killed or injured shall either pay or reject the claim within sixty (60) days after notice and evidence of the claim is furnished by the cla…

Authority of department of transportation to adopt rules and regulations; information to be provided. The department of transportation shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act prescribing standards for fireguards, fences and ca…

Spraying weeds on rights-of-way. It shall further be the duty of the railroad to spray noxious weeds on rights-of-way to prevent spread to adjoining lands.

Immediate or urgent fence repairs. (a) After notification to the railroad and the department of transportation by the landowner concerning any damaged fence or a fence in disrepair, the landowner shall have the right to be reimbursed by the railroad for the reasonable and customa…

Establishment of depots; when required; deviation to avoid establishment prohibited. No railroad company shall construct or operate a railroad within four (4) miles of any existing town or city without providing a suitable depot or stopping place at the nearest practicable point …

Establishment of depots; prosecution; notice to railroad. Whenever it shall come to the knowledge of the district attorney for any county in this state, or whenever complaint shall be made to such officer by any citizen or citizens thereof, that any railroad corporation or compan…

Establishment of depots; penalty. If, after the expiration of thirty (30) days from the service of the notice hereinbefore specified, the said railroad corporation or company still neglects or refuses to comply with the term of such notice and with the provisions of W.S. 37-9-401…

Sale of tickets; agent to have certificate of authority. It shall be the duty of the owner or owners of any railroad or other conveyance for the transportation of passengers to provide each agent who may be authorized to sell tickets or other certificates, entitling the holder to…

Any person or persons violating the provisions of the preceding section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to be punished by a fine of not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) and by imprisonment not exceeding one (1) year, or either or both, in the …

Sale of tickets; penalty for violating W.S.

Sale of tickets; certificate of authority to be posted; form. It shall be the duty of every agent who shall be authorized to sell tickets or parts of tickets, or other evidences of the holder's title to travel, to exhibit to any person desiring to purchase a ticket, or to any off…

Sale of tickets; unused tickets redeemable; sale of unused ticket by purchaser. It shall be the duty of the owner or owners of railroads, or other public conveyances, to provide for the redemption of the whole or any parts, or coupons of any ticket or tickets, as they may have so…

Demurrage on cars. All railroads, shipping cars, or parts of cars of all commodities, from any point in the state of Wyoming, to consignees in any other part of this state, shall give time, free of charge, for loading and unloading said cars, or parts of cars, as follows: All loa…

Additional charges for delay forbidden. Any railroad company, operating within the state of Wyoming, and transporting commodities from a consignor to a consignee, within this state, shall not charge to either the consignor, or consignee of said commodities any additional sum of m…

Death or injury due to negligence. Every person or corporation operating a railroad in the state shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury while he is employed by the person or corporation so operating any railroad, or, in case of the death of an employee, instant…

Contributory negligence. In all actions hereafter brought against any such person or corporation so operating such railroad, under and by virtue of any of the provisions of this act, the fact that the employee may have been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recove…

Assumption of risk. Any employee of any such person or corporation so operating such railroad shall not be deemed to have assumed any risk incident to his employment when such risk arises by reason of the negligence of his employer or of any person in the service of such employer…

Contracts restricting liability void. Any contract, rule, or regulation or device whatsoever, the purpose or intent of which shall be to enable any such person or corporation, so operating such railroad to exempt itself from any liability created by this act shall, to that extent…

Two-way radios required; penalty. (a) When a railroad train is operated in Wyoming with a caboose, it shall be equipped with operable, two-way radios located in the lead locomotive and in the caboose. The radios shall have and be operated at the same frequency as the control oper…

Contractor's bond. Whenever any railroad company shall contract with any person, persons or corporation for the construction of its railroad or any part thereof, the company shall take from the person, persons, or corporation with whom a contract is made, a good and sufficient bo…

Verified statement of account; to be delivered to company; account to be withheld out of subsequent payments. Every laborer, mechanic, ranchman, farmer, merchant, or other person performing any work or labor or furnishing any material, ranch or farm products, provisions, goods, o…

Verified statement of account; recovery procedure. Whenever any verified account mentioned in the last preceding section shall be placed in the hands of any railroad company or its agent as above stated, it shall be the duty of such company to furnish the contractor with a copy o…

Contracts valid; conditions to validation against subsequent purchaser for value. (a) In any contract for the sale of railroad or street railway equipment or rolling stock, it shall be lawful to agree that the title to the property sold or contracted to be sold, although possessi…

Chattel mortgage laws not to apply. Statutes relating to the filing, recording, interpretation, or validity of chattel mortgages shall not affect the recording, interpretation, or validity of contracts of the character hereinbefore named, but the same shall be controlled by the p…

Contracts to be filed; provisions for release; fees. The contracts herein authorized, or a certified copy thereof, shall be filed by the secretary of state in a special file to be kept for that purpose. On payment in full of the purchase money, and the performance of the terms an…

Requirements as to equipment. It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator of a railroad running through or within the boundaries of the state of Wyoming and engaged in the business of common carrier to operate for or transport its employees in a motor car which is not equipped…

Penalty; exceptions. Any owner or operator of a railroad running through or within this state as a common carrier of persons or property or both, for compensation, who either operates for its employees, or who furnishes to its employees for their transportation to or from the pla…

City and county authority to acquire and lease railroad lines and to receive grants and loans. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, cities, towns or counties within the state acting either singly or jointly pursuant to the Wyoming Joint Powers Act are authorized to: …

Limitations of authority. (a) The actions authorized in W.S. 37-9-901 may be taken only if a rail carrier has: (i) Abandoned or filed an application to abandon railroad lines with the proper regulatory authority; or (ii) Taken action leading to potential abandonment of railroad l…

Liability insurance; immunity. (a) A city, town or county acting either singly or jointly shall require a lessee of railroad lines to obtain comprehensive liability insurance covering damages resulting from the operation of a railroad leased by the city, town, county or joint pow…

Policy to prevent abandonment. It is the policy of this state to prevent the loss of railroad service and competition in the provision of railroad service by preventing abandonment of railroad lines.

Department of transportation authority to take action; when action may be taken; attorney general and department of transportation responsibility. (a) To fulfill the policy stated in W.S. 37-9-1001 the department of transportation shall, subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this…

Injury or death of persons unlawfully riding on railroads; immunities. Except in cases of attractive nuisance, no person owning, operating, loading or unloading a railroad car or train shall be liable for any damages for the accidental death or injury of a person occurring while …