Union Lime Co. v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.

Background

A railroad company sought to take land owned by a lime company to extend a spur track after another lime company asked the state Railroad Commission to require the extension. The landowner resisted, arguing the spur would serve only a private business and that taking the land would violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of fair process and equal protection. Wisconsin statutes (sections 1797-11m, 1797-12n, and §1831-a) authorize the Commission to order spur construction and allow railroads to acquire rights of way, sometimes requiring the industry to pay initial costs. The Wisconsin Supreme Court held the spur to be a public use and allowed condemnation, and the railroad’s appeal reached this Court.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether a spur initially serving a single factory can be treated as part of the railroad’s public system. Relying on the state court’s findings and prior decisions, the opinion explained that a spur built and operated by a common carrier under the state’s regulatory scheme becomes part of the carrier’s trackage and is subject to public obligations. The Court distinguished privately owned sidings from spurs owned and operated by the carrier, and it upheld the state statutes that authorize the Commission to require construction and to allocate or require payment of initial costs.

Real world impact

The decision means states may require railroads to extend spur tracks when statutory conditions are met, and such extensions can be condemned as a public use even if they first serve one industry. Industries gain a route to markets, railroads assume public duties for the spur, and landowners may be subject to condemnation when the state finds the use public. The Wisconsin judgment was affirmed.